Notice2024-08753
Workshop To Inform Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Primary source
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Published
April 24, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment (CPHEA) within U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development is announcing a workshop entitled "Workshop to Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform EPA's Integrated Plan for the Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards". This workshop is being organized by CPHEA and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards within U.S. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. This will be a four-day virtual workshop and will be open to the public through a public event registration website.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31200-31201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08753]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[ORD-2023-0435; FRL-11881-01-ORD]
Workshop To Inform Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of workshop.
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SUMMARY: The Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment
(CPHEA) within U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development is
announcing a workshop entitled ``Workshop to Discuss Policy-Relevant
Science to Inform EPA's Integrated Plan for the Review of the Ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards''. This workshop is being
organized by CPHEA and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
within U.S. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. This will be a four-day
virtual workshop and will be open to the public through a public event
registration website.
DATES: The workshop will be held on May 13 through May 16, 2024. Start
and end times will vary each day and range from 9:50 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
EST. Registrants will have access to the workshop agenda once they
register.
ADDRESSES: This is a virtual workshop. An EPA contractor, ICF
International, is providing logistical support for the workshop. To
register, please visit the website: <a href="https://EPA-ozone-NAAQS-workshop.eventbrite.com">https://EPA-ozone-NAAQS-workshop.eventbrite.com</a>. Interested parties can listen and ask
questions via a virtual webinar. The pre-registration deadline is
Friday, May 10, 2024. Please direct questions regarding workshop
registration or logistics to Joshua Cleland at (401) 854-8675, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#22484d514a57430c414e474e434c46624b41440c414d4f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f35302c372a3e713c333a333e313b1f363c39713c3032">[email protected]</span></a>. For specific questions regarding technical
aspects of the workshop see For Further Information Contact section in
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact
Qingyu Meng (919-541-2563 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a070f040d441b0304131f2a0f1a0b440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e333b3039702f3730272b1e3b2e3f70393128">[email protected]</span></a>) or Jeff Herrick (919-
541-7745 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f9919c8b8b909a92d7939c9f9fb99c8998d79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="325a5740405b51591c58575454725742531c555d44">[email protected]</span></a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs the Administrator
to identify and to list certain air pollutants and then to issue ``air
quality criteria'' for those pollutants. These 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. . . .'' Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA
is then to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for
each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of
the CAA additionally 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
and welfare. EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate,
revise the NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.
Photochemical oxidants, including ozone, are one of six
``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has established NAAQS, and ozone
is the current indicator for that NAAQS. In its periodic review of the
air quality criteria for these pollutants, EPA reviews the currently
available science and prepares an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA).
The evidence assessed and conclusions presented in the ISA directly
inform the technical and policy assessments. Collectively, the ISA and
any technical and policy assessments developed from the scientific and
technical bases for the Administrator's decisions on the adequacy of
existing NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible alternative
standards.
On August 25, 2023, EPA released the Call for Information on the
Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical
Oxidants to announce the development of the Ozone ISA (88 FR 58264).
The Notice of Workshop also seeks information from the public regarding
the design and scope of the review of the air quality criteria to
ensure that this review addresses key policy-relevant issues and
considers the new science relevant to informing our understanding of
these issues. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), part
of EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) whose review and advisory
functions are mandated by section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, is
charged with independent scientific review of the air quality criteria
among other responsibilities. In conjunction with the
[[Page 31201]]
CASAC review, the public will have an opportunity to review and comment
on the draft ozone ISA. As the process proceeds, in conjunction with
CASAC review, the public will have opportunities to review and comment
on drafts of other technical and policy assessments that are developed.
These opportunities will also be announced in the Federal Register.
As part of this review of the ozone NAAQS, EPA intends to sponsor a
four-day workshop from May 13 through May 16, 2024, to provide the
opportunity for internal and external experts to highlight significant
new and emerging research on ozone and related photochemical oxidants.
Experts will be asked to discuss how new evidence can best be used to
build upon the analyses and scientific evidence that supported
decisions made in the last review of the ozone NAAQS and to make
recommendations to the Agency regarding the design and scope of the
review for the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based)
ozone standards to ensure that it addresses key policy-relevant issues
and considers the new and emerging science that is relevant to
informing EPA's understanding of these issues. EPA intends that
workshop discussions will build upon four prior publications by the
Agency:
1. Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards:
Final Decision (85 FR 87256, December 31, 2020). The preamble to the
final rule included detailed discussions of policy-relevant issues
central to the last review.
2. Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related
Photochemical Oxidants--Final Report. (EPA/600/R-20/012, April 2020).
The 2020 Ozone ISA, completed by CPHEA, included consideration of
studies published through January 1, 2018.
3. The final Policy Assessment for the Review of the Ozone National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (EPA-452/R-20-001, May 2020). This
document presents an evaluation, for consideration by the EPA
Administrator, of the policy implications of the currently available
scientific information, assessed in the ISA, any quantitative air
quality, exposure, or risk analyses based on the ISA findings, and
related limitations and uncertainties.
4. The draft document titled, Policy Assessment for the
Reconsideration of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards,
External Review Draft Version 2 (EPA-452/P-23-002, March 2023). This
draft document was prepared as a part of the reconsideration of the
2020 final decision on the ozone NAAQS, which has been incorporated
into this review.
Workshop participants are encouraged to review these documents
thoroughly before the meeting, as they provide important background
information on the scientific findings and analytical approaches
considered in the previous review, as well as insights into the key
policy-relevant questions from that review. Participants may also want
to review related documents including:
1. Technical memos considered by the CASAC Ozone Panel as part of
the reconsideration of the 2020 decision (available on the CASAC
website under ``meeting materials'' at <a href="https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/r/sab_apex/casac/meeting?p19_id=976&clear=19&session=15138357514835">https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/r/sab_apex/casac/meeting?p19_id=976&clear=19&session=15138357514835</a>).
2. Letter from Elizabeth A. Sheppard, Chair, Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee, to Administrator Michael S. Regan. Re: CASAC Review
of the EPA's Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Ozone and Related
Photochemical Oxidants (Final Report--April 2020). November 22, 2022.
EPA-CASAC-23-001. Available at: <a href="https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=105:18:8476900499267:::RP,18:P18_ID:2614">https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=105:18:8476900499267:::RP,18:P18_ID:2614</a>.
3. Letter from Elizabeth A. Sheppard, Chair, Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee, to Administrator Michael S. Regan. Re: CASAC Review
of the EPA's Policy Assessment (PA) for the Reconsideration of the
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (External Review Draft
Version 2) (June 9, 2023) (EPA-CASAC-23-002). Available at <a href="https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=113:18:7093179574667:::RP,18:P18_ID:2636#meeting">https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=113:18:7093179574667:::RP,18:P18_ID:2636#meeting</a>.
Following the workshop, EPA will develop a workshop proceedings
document and a three-volume Integrated Review Plan (IRP) for the review
of the ozone NAAQS. Volume 1 will provide background on the ozone
NAAQS. Volume 2 is the planning document for the review and the ISA,
and will outline the schedule, process, and approaches for evaluating
the relevant scientific information and addressing the key policy-
relevant issues to be considered in this review. Lastly, Volume 3 is
the planning document for technical air quality, exposure, and risk
analyses. CASAC will be asked to consult with the Agency on Volumes 2
and 3, and the public will also have the opportunity to comment. The
IRP, with input received from the CASAC and the public, will provide
the framework to guide the review and development of the draft ISA and
policy assessments.
Wayne Cascio,
Director, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2024-08753 Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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