82 FR 11356 - Release of Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document for the Review of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Sulfur Oxides

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 34 (February 22, 2017)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a periodic review of the air quality criteria and the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Sulfur Oxides (SO<INF>X</INF>). On or about February 16, 2017, the EPA will make available for public review the document titled Review of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Sulfur Oxides: Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document (REA Planning Document). This plan presents considerations and the proposed approach for conducting quantitative analyses of sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) exposures and health risks in this NAAQS review. This planning document is intended to facilitate consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and public comment on plans for such quantitative analyses.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11356-11357]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03432]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0566; FRL-9959-22-OAR]


Release of Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document for the 
Review of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Sulfur 
Oxides

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a 
periodic review of the air quality criteria and the primary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Sulfur Oxides 
(SOX). On or about February 16, 2017, the EPA will make 
available for public review the document titled Review of the Primary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Sulfur Oxides: Risk and 
Exposure Assessment Planning Document (REA Planning Document). This 
plan presents considerations and the proposed approach for conducting 
quantitative analyses of sulfur dioxide (SO2) exposures and 
health risks in this NAAQS review. This planning document is intended 
to facilitate consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC) and public comment on plans for such quantitative 
analyses.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before April 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2013-0566, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit electronically 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

[[Page 11357]]

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. The REA Planning 
Document will be available primarily via the Internet at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/sulfur-dioxide-so2-primary-standards-planning-documents-current-review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nicole Hagan, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-3153; fax number: 919-541-5315; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
http://regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the notice by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
     Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a CFR part or 
section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternative and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumption and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. 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. 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 his ``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 . . .'' (42 U.S.C. 7408(a)(1)(A)-(C)). 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(a)(2)). Under section 109 (42 U.S.C. 7409), the EPA establishes 
primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for 
pollutants for which air quality criteria are issued. Section 109(d) 
requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air 
quality criteria. The revised air quality criteria reflect advances in 
scientific knowledge on the effects of the pollutant on public health 
or welfare. The EPA is also required to periodically review and revise 
the NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised 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 
the existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate . . . .'' 
Since the early 1980s, this independent review function has been 
performed by the CASAC.
    Presently, the EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and 
primary NAAQS for SOx.\1\ The EPA's overall plan for this 
review is presented in the Integrated Review Plan for the Primary NAAQS 
for Sulfur Dioxide (IRP).\2\ The REA Planning Document considers the 
degree to which important uncertainties identified in quantitative 
analyses from previous reviews have been addressed by newly available 
scientific evidence, tools, or information, including those in the 
second draft Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides--Health 
Criteria (ISA).\3\ Based on these considerations, the document reaches 
preliminary conclusions on the extent to which updated quantitative 
analyses of exposures or health risks are warranted in the current 
review. For updated analyses that are supported, this planning document 
presents anticipated approaches to conducting such analyses. This 
document will be available on or about February 16, 2017, on the EPA's 
Technology Transfer Network Web site at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/sulfur-dioxide-so2-primary-standards-planning-documents-current-review.
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    \1\ The indicator for the current standard is SO2.
    \2\ The IRP (EPA-452/R-14-007, October 2014) is available at 
https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/sulfur-dioxide-so2-primary-standards-planning-documents-current-review.
    \3\ The second draft ISA was made available to both CASAC and 
the public in December 2016 (81 FR 89097) and is available at: 
https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/sulfur-dioxide-so2-primary-standards-integrated-science-assessments-current-review.
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    The REA Planning Document has been made available for consultation 
with the CASAC at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC. A separate 
Federal Register notice will provide details about this meeting and the 
process for participation. The EPA will also consider public comments 
on the REA Planning Document that are submitted to the docket, as 
described above.

    Dated: February 13, 2017.
Stephen Page,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2017-03432 Filed 2-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P