Proposed Rule2023-01924
Public Hearing for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
Primary source
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Published
January 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a virtual public hearing will be held for the proposed action titled, "Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter," which was signed on January 5, 2023. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, and Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Based on the EPA's reconsideration of the air quality criteria and the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM), the EPA proposes to revise the primary annual PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard by lowering the level. The Agency proposes to retain the current primary 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard and the primary 24-hour PM<INF>10</INF> standard. The Agency also proposes not to change the secondary 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard, secondary annual PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard, and secondary 24-hour PM<INF>10</INF> standard at this time. The EPA also proposes revisions to other key aspects related to the PM NAAQS, including revisions to the Air Quality Index (AQI) and monitoring requirements for the PM NAAQS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6215-6217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01924]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 50
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072; FRL-8635-05-OAR]
RIN 2060-AV52
Public Hearing for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
[[Page 6216]]
ACTION: Notification of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a
virtual public hearing will be held for the proposed action titled,
``Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Particulate Matter,'' which was signed on January 5, 2023. The hearing
will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, and Wednesday, February 22,
2023. Based on the EPA's reconsideration of the air quality criteria
and the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate
matter (PM), the EPA proposes to revise the primary annual
PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard by lowering the level. The Agency proposes to
retain the current primary 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard and the
primary 24-hour PM<INF>10</INF> standard. The Agency also proposes not
to change the secondary 24-hour PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard, secondary
annual PM<INF>2.5</INF> standard, and secondary 24-hour PM<INF>10</INF>
standard at this time. The EPA also proposes revisions to other key
aspects related to the PM NAAQS, including revisions to the Air Quality
Index (AQI) and monitoring requirements for the PM NAAQS.
DATES: Comments on the proposed action must be received on or before
March 28, 2023. Public Hearing: The EPA will hold a virtual public
hearing on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, and Wednesday, February 22,
2023. If the EPA receives a high volume of registrations for the public
hearing, we may continue the public hearing on February 23, 2023.
(Please refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional
information on the public hearings).
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2015-0072, by any of the following means:
<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> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4c589c5cac089d689e0cbc7cfc1d0e4c1d4c58ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="08692569666c257a254c676b636d7c486d7869266f677e">[email protected]</span></a>. Include the Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072 in the subject line of the message.
<bullet> Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket
Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
<bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only):
EPA 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 rulemaking. 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 and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
Virtual Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held via virtual
platform on February 21, 2023, and February 22, 2023, and will convene
at 11 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and conclude at 7 p.m. ET each day. On
each hearing day, the EPA may close a session 15 minutes after the last
pre-registered speaker has testified if there are no additional
speakers. The EPA will announce further details at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm">https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm</a>. If the
EPA receives a high volume of registrations for the public hearing, we
may continue the public hearing on February 23, 2023. Refer to the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information or questions about the
public hearing, please contact the public hearing team at 919-541-0505
or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ace4e9e5e8dcd9cec0c5cfc4c9cddec5c2cbecc9dccd82cbc3da"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c8808d818cb8bdaaa4a1aba0ada9baa1a6af88adb8a9e6afa7be">[email protected]</span></a>.
For information or questions regarding the reconsideration of the
PM NAAQS, please contact Dr. Lars Perlmutt, Health and Environmental
Impacts Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code C539-04, Research Triangle
Park, NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541-3037; fax: (919) 541-5315; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f68693849a9b838282d89a978485b6938697d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="433326312f2e3637376d2f223130032633226d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA is reconsidering the PM NAAQS
because the available scientific evidence and technical information
indicate that the current standards may not be adequate to protect
public health and welfare, as required by section 109 (42 U.S.C. 7409)
of the Clean Air Act. The proposed action for which the EPA is holding
a public hearing was signed on January 5, 2023, and is available at
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-standards-federal-register-notices-current-review">https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-standards-federal-register-notices-current-review</a>. The public hearing will provide
interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments
concerning the EPA's proposed decisions in the reconsideration of the
PM NAAQS. Written statements and supporting information submitted
during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as
any oral comments and supporting information presented at the public
hearing.
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 electronically any information that 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 submission. The written
submission is considered the official submission and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider submissions or submission content 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>.
Participating in Virtual Public Hearings: The public hearing will
be held via virtual platform on February 21, 2023, and February 22,
2023, and will convene at 11 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and conclude at 7
p.m. ET each day. On each hearing day, the EPA may close a session 15
minutes after the last pre-registered speaker has testified if there
are no additional speakers. The EPA will announce further details at
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm">https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm</a>. If the EPA receives a high volume of registrations
for the public hearing, we may continue the public hearing on February
23, 2023.
The EPA will begin pre-registering speakers for the hearing upon
publication of this document in the Federal Register. To register to
speak at the virtual hearing, please follow the directions at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm">https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm</a> or contact the public hearing team at 919-541-0505 or by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#79313c303d090c1b15101a111c180b10171e391c0918571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="571f121e132722353b3e343f3236253e39301732273679303821">[email protected]</span></a>. The last day to pre-register to speak at the
hearing will be February 16, 2023. Prior to the hearing, the EPA will
post a general agenda for the hearing that will list the pre-registered
speakers in approximate order at: https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/
national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-
[[Page 6217]]
pm. The EPA will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely as
possible on the day of the hearing; however, please plan for the
hearings to run either ahead of schedule or behind schedule. Each
commenter will have 5 minutes to provide oral testimony. The EPA
encourages commenters to provide the EPA with a copy of their oral
testimony by submitting the text of your oral testimony as written
comments to the rulemaking docket. The EPA may ask clarifying questions
during the oral presentations but will not respond to the presenters at
that time. Written statements and supporting information during the
comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments
and supporting information presented at the public hearing. Please note
that any updates made to any aspect of the hearing is posted online at
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm">https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm</a>. While the EPA expects the hearing to go forward as
set forth above, please monitor our website or contact the public
hearing team at 919-541-0505 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c242925281c190e00050f04090d1e05020b2c091c0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="347c717d70444156585d575c5155465d5a53745144551a535b42">[email protected]</span></a> to determine
if there are any updates. The EPA does not intend to publish a document
in the Federal Register announcing updates.
If you require the services of a translator or special
accommodations such as audio description, please pre-register for the
hearing with the public hearing team and describe your needs by
February 7, 2023. The EPA may not be able to arrange accommodations
without advance notice.
How can I get copies of the proposed action and other related
information? The EPA has established a docket under Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2015-0072 (available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>). The EPA
has also made available information related to the proposed action on
the following website: <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>.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2023-01924 Filed 1-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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