Notice2024-30507
Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants
Primary source
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Published
December 20, 2024
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
On or about December 20, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making available to the public Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (IRP). The national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) from photochemical oxidants are set to protect public health and public welfare from these pollutants in ambient air. Volume 1 of the IRP contains contextual background material for the current review of the air quality criteria and the NAAQS. Volume 2 identifies policy-relevant issues in the review and describes key considerations in the EPA's development of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA). The ISA provides the scientific basis for the EPA's decisions, in conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, for the review of the NAAQS, as described in sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 245 (Friday, December 20, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104151-104152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30507]
[[Page 104151]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0460; FRL-11946-03-OAR]
Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Related
Photochemical Oxidants
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.
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SUMMARY: On or about December 20, 2024, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is making available to the public Volumes 1 and 2 of the
Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (IRP). The national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) from photochemical oxidants are
set to protect public health and public welfare from these pollutants
in ambient air. Volume 1 of the IRP contains contextual background
material for the current review of the air quality criteria and the
NAAQS. Volume 2 identifies policy-relevant issues in the review and
describes key considerations in the EPA's development of the Integrated
Science Assessment (ISA). The ISA provides the scientific basis for the
EPA's decisions, in conjunction with additional technical and policy
assessments, for the review of the NAAQS, as described in sections 108
and 109 of the Clean Air Act.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 21, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments on Volume 2 of the IRP, identified by
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0460, 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: EPA Docket Center, WJC West
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
The Docket Center's hours of operation 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. The two volumes
described here will be available on the EPA's website at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards">https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards</a>. The documents will be
accessible under ``Planning Documents'' for the current review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary Hutson, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, P.O. Box 12055, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 919-541-0715; or email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c1a9b4b5b2aeafefaca0b3b881a4b1a0efa6aeb7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fa928f8e899594d4979b8883ba9f8a9bd49d958c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
Written Comments
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-
0460, 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 Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business
Information (PBI), 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 a 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). Please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a> for additional submission methods; the
full EPA public comment policy; information about CBI, PBI, or
multimedia submissions; and general guidance on making effective
comments.
II. Information About the Documents
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 the 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 Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) has fulfilled the requirement for
an independent scientific review committee.
Presently, the EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS
for O<INF>3</INF> and related photochemical oxidants.\1\ The documents
announced in this notice have been developed as part of the integrated
review plan (IRP) which is developed in the planning phase for the
review. The documents have been prepared jointly by the EPA's Center
for Public Health and Environmental Assessment within the Office of
Research and Development and the Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards within the Office of Air and Radiation. These documents will
be available on the EPA's website: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards">https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards</a>, accessible under ``Planning Documents'' for the
current review.
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\1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on
August 21, 2023 (88 FR 58264).
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The IRP for the current review of the O<INF>3</INF> NAAQS will be
comprised of three volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 are the subject of this
notice. Volume 1 provides background information on the air quality
criteria and O<INF>3</INF> NAAQS and may serve as a reference by the
public and the CASAC in their consideration of the subsequent two
volumes. Volume 2 addresses the general approach for the review and
planning for the integrated
[[Page 104152]]
science assessment (ISA). Comments are solicited from the public on
Volume 2, which will also be the subject of a consultation with the
CASAC Ozone Panel, to be announced in a separate Federal Register
notice. This volume identifies policy-relevant issues in the review and
describes key considerations in the EPA's development of the ISA.
Volume 3, which is not yet completed, is the planning document for
quantitative analyses to be considered in the policy assessment (PA),
including exposure and risk analyses, as warranted. In order that
consideration of the availability of new evidence in the review can
inform these plans, the development and public availability of Volume 3
will generally coincide with that of the draft ISA, and it will be the
subject of a consultation with the CASAC Ozone Panel at that time.
These documents do not represent and should not be construed to
represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination.
As described above, comments on Volume 2 of the IRP should be
submitted to the docket by January 21, 2025. A separate Federal
Register notice will provide details about the CASAC Ozone Panel
consultation meeting and the process for public participation in the
consultation. The EPA will consider the consultation comments and
public comments on the IRP, Volume 2, in preparation of the ISA for
O<INF>3</INF> and related photochemical oxidants. Volume 1 of the IRP,
also being made available, provides background or contextual and
historical material for this NAAQS review.
Erika N. Sasser,
Director, Health and Environmental Impacts Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-30507 Filed 12-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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