2011-11140. Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (Pb)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of a document titled, “First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead” (EPA/600/R-10/075A). This draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development as part of the review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead (Pb).

EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register Notice). The draft document does not represent and should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will consider any timely public comments submitted in response to this notice when revising the document.

DATES:

The public comment period begins May 6, 2011, and ends July 5, 2011. Comments must be received on or before July 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

The “First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead” will be available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/​ncea. A limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be available. Contact Ms. Debbie Wales by phone [phone]), fax [phone]), or e-mail ([e-mail]) to request either of these, and please provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title, “First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead” (EPA/600/R-10/075A) to facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For technical information, contact Dr. Ellen Kirrane, NCEA; telephone: [phone]; facsimile: 919-541-2985; or e-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) govern the establishment and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. section 7408) directs the Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then to issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator is to list those air pollutants that in her “judgment, cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare;” “the presence of which in the ambient air results from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary sources;” and “for which * * * [the Administrator] plans to issue air quality criteria * * *.” Air quality criteria are intended to “accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a] pollutant in the ambient air* * *.” 42 U.S.C. 7408(b). Under section 109 (42 U.S.C. 7409) the Administrator is to establish national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d)(1) requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. EPA is also to revise the NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria. Section 109(d)(2) requires that an independent scientific review committee “shall complete a review of the criteria * * * and the national primary and secondary ambient air quality standards * * * and shall recommend to the Administrator any new * * * standards and revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate . * * *” Since the early 1980's, this independent review function has been performed by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).

Under the current NAAQS review process, EPA reviews the scientific basis for the NAAQS by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) and supplementary materials (formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document). On February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934), EPA formally initiated its current review of the air quality criteria for Pb, requesting the submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. A workshop was held on May 10-11, 2010 (75 FR 20843) to discuss policy-relevant science to inform EPA's planning for the Pb NAAQS review. Following the workshop, a draft of EPA's “Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead” (EPA-452/D-11-001) was made available in late March, 2011 for public comment and consultation with CASAC. It will be discussed by the CASAC via a publicly accessible teleconference consultation on May 5, 2011 (76 FR 21346). In December 2010, EPA held a workshop (75 FR 69078) to discuss, with invited scientific experts, preliminary draft materials prepared during the ongoing development of the Pb ISA.

The first external review draft ISA for Pb will be discussed at a public meeting for review by CASAC, and public comments received will be provided to the CASAC review panel. A future Federal Register notice will inform the public of the exact date and time of that CASAC meeting.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at www.regulations.gov

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0051, by one of the following methods:

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: [e-mail].
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752.
• Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334, EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0051. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will be marked “late,” and may only be considered if time permits. It is EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided, unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov,, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/​epahome/​dockets.htm.

Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Publicly available docket materials are generally available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; however, certain materials, such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.

Dated: April 21, 2011.

Darrell A. Winner,

Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.