Notice2021-22067
Release of the Draft Policy Assessment for the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
October 8, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
On or about October 8, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make available for public comment a draft document titled, Policy Assessment for Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, External Review Draft (Draft PA). This draft document was prepared as a part of the current reconsideration of the 2020 final decision on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (PM). When final, the PA is intended to "bridge the gap" between the scientific and technical information assessed in the 2019 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (2019 ISA) and Supplement to the 2019 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (ISA Supplement) and the judgments required of the Administrator in determining whether to retain or revise the existing PM NAAQS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56263-56264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22067]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072; FRL-8635-03-OAR]
Release of the Draft Policy Assessment for the Particulate Matter
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: On or about October 8, 2021, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) will make available for public comment a draft document
titled, Policy Assessment for Reconsideration of the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, External Review Draft
(Draft PA). This draft document was prepared as a part of the current
reconsideration of the 2020 final decision on the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (PM). When final, the
PA is intended to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific and
technical information assessed in the 2019 Integrated Science
Assessment for Particulate Matter (2019 ISA) and Supplement to the 2019
Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (ISA Supplement)
and the judgments required of the Administrator in determining whether
to retain or revise the existing PM NAAQS.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 14, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2015-0072, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet> Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
<bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only):
EPA
[[Page 56264]]
Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
No. for this notice. Comments received may be posted without change to
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. This document will
be available on the EPA's website at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-air-quality-standards">https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-air-quality-standards</a>. The document will be
accessible under ``Policy Assessments'' from the current review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Lars Perlmutt, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C539-04), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number:
919-541-3037, fax number: 919-541-5315; or email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f78792859b9a828383d99b968584b7928796d9909881"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3444514658594140401a58554647745144551a535b42">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-
0072, at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (our preferred method), or the
other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket.The EPA may
publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to
EPA's docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> any information you
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
Due to public health concerns, the EPA Docket Center and Reading
Room are open to the public by appointment only. Our Docket Center
staff continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone,
and webform. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled
appointment only. For further information and updates on EPA Docket
Center services, please visit us online at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
II. Information About the Document
Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the
establishment and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 directs the
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then
issue ``air quality criteria'' for those pollutants. The air quality
criteria are 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
such pollutant in the ambient air . . .'' (CAA section 108(a)(2)).
Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA is then to establish primary
(health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for each pollutant
for which the EPA has issued air quality criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of
the Act requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of
existing air quality criteria. Revised air quality criteria are to
reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the
pollutant on public health and welfare. Under the same provision, the
EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the
NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.
The Act additionally requires appointment of an independent
scientific review committee that is to periodically review the existing
air quality criteria and NAAQS and to recommend any new standards and
revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate (CAA
section 109(d)(2)(A)-(B)). Since the early 1980s, the requirement for
an independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
In December 2020, the EPA announced its final decision to retain
the primary and secondary PM<INF>2.5</INF> and PM<INF>10</INF>
standards, without revision (85 FR 82684, December 18, 2020).\1\ On
June 10, 2021, the Agency announced its decision to reconsider the 2020
p.m. NAAQS final action.\2\ In its announcement of the reconsideration
of the PM NAAQS, the Agency explained that, in support of the
reconsideration, it would develop an ISA Supplement and an updated PA.
A draft of the ISA Supplement was released in September 2021, for
public comment and review by the CASAC. The PA, when final, serves to
``bridge the gap'' between the scientific and technical information in
the 2019 ISA and ISA Supplement and any air quality, exposure and risk
analyses available in the reconsideration, and the judgments required
of the Administrator in determining whether to retain or revise the
existing PM NAAQS. The draft PA builds upon the information presented
in the 2019 ISA, the ISA Supplement, and the 2020 PA. The draft PA
document will be available on or about October 8, 2021, on the EPA's
website at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-air-quality-standards">https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-air-quality-standards</a>. The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the
CASAC by means of a review of this draft document at an upcoming public
meeting of the CASAC. Information about this public meeting, including
the dates and location, will be published as a separate notice in the
Federal Register. Following the CASAC meeting, the EPA will consider
comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing revisions
to this document.
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\1\ Other welfare effects of PM, such as ecological effects, are
being considered in the separate, on-going review of the secondary
NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur. Accordingly, the
public welfare protection provided by the secondary PM standards
against ecological effects such as those related to deposition of
nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds in vulnerable ecosystems
is being considered in that separate review.
\2\ The press release for this announcement is available at:
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-reexamine-health-standards-harmful-soot-previous-administration-left-unchanged">https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-reexamine-health-standards-harmful-soot-previous-administration-left-unchanged</a>.
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The draft document briefly described above does not represent and
should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint,
or determination. The EPA will consider any public comments submitted
in response to this notice when revising the document.
Dated: October 5, 2021.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2021-22067 Filed 10-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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