Final Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur, and Particulate Matter-Ecological Criteria
| Published date | 19 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 66327 |
| Record Number | 2020-23100 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
66327
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 202 / Monday, October 19, 2020 / Notices
by Virgil G. Hobbs III, Administrator,
Southeastern Power Administration,
pursuant to delegated authority from the
Secretary of Energy. That document,
with the original signature and date, is
maintained by DOE. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with
requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the
document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of
the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters
the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on October 14,
2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020–23113 Filed 10–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–ORD–2013–0620 and EPA–HQ–
OAR–2014–0128; FRL–10015–76–76–ORD]
Final Integrated Science Assessment
for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of
Sulfur, and Particulate Matter—
Ecological Criteria
AGENCY
: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION
: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY
: The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is announcing the
availability of a final document titled,
‘‘Final Integrated Science Assessment
for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur,
and Particulate Matter—Ecological
Criteria’’ (EPA/600/R–20/278). The
document was prepared by the Center
for Public Health and Environmental
Assessment (CPHEA) within EPA’s
Office of Research and Development
(ORD) as part of the review of the
secondary (welfare-based) national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
for oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur,
and particulate matter. This ISA
represents an update of the 2008
Integrated Science Assessment for
Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur—
Ecological Criteria (EPA/600/R–08/
082F) and the 2009 Integrated Science
Assessment for Particulate Matter (EPA/
600/AR–08/139F). The ISA, in
conjunction with additional technical
and policy assessments, provides the
basis for EPA’s decisions on the
adequacy of the current NAAQS and the
appropriateness of possible alternative
standards.
DATES
: The document will be available
on or about October 16, 2020.
ADDRESSES
: The ‘‘Final Integrated
Science Assessment for Oxides of
Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur, and
Particulate Matter—Ecological Criteria’’
will be available primarily via the
internet on EPA’s Integrated Science
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen,
Oxides of Sulfur, and Particulate Matter
page at https://www.epa.gov/isa/
integrated-science-assessment-isa-
oxides-nitrogen-oxides-sulfur-and-
particulate-matter or the public docket
at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket
ID: [EPA–HQ–ORD–2013–0620 and
EPA–HQ–OAR–2014–0128]. A limited
number of CD–ROM copies will be
available. Contact Ms. Marieka Boyd by
phone: 919–541–0031; or email:
boyd.marieka@epa.gov to request a CD–
ROM, and please provide your name,
your mailing address, and the document
title, ‘‘Final Integrated Science
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen,
Oxides of Sulfur, and Particulate
Matter—Ecological Criteria’’ to facilitate
processing of your request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
: For
technical information, contact Tara
Greaver; phone: 919–541–2435; or
email: Greaver.Tara@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Information About the Document
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act
directs the Administrator to identify
certain air pollutants, emissions of
which, among other things, ‘‘cause or
contribute to air pollution which may
reasonably be anticipated to endanger
public health or welfare’’; and to issue
air quality criteria for them. 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 [a] pollutant in the ambient
air. . .’’. Under section 109 of the Act,
EPA is then to establish NAAQS for
each pollutant for which EPA has issued
criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of the Act
subsequently 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 or
welfare. EPA is also required to review
and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS,
based on the revised air quality criteria
(for more information on the NAAQS
review process, see https://
www.epa.gov/naaqs).
EPA has established NAAQS for six
criteria pollutants. Presently the EPA is
reviewing the secondary air quality
criteria and NAAQS for oxides of
nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and
particulate matter. Periodically, EPA
reviews the scientific basis for these
standards by preparing an Integrated
Science Assessment (ISA) (formerly
called an Air Quality Criteria
Document). The ISA provides the
scientific basis for EPA’s decisions, in
conjunction with additional technical
and policy assessments, on the
adequacy of the current NAAQS and the
appropriateness of possible alternative
standards. The Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee (CASAC), an
independent science advisory
committee whose review and advisory
functions are mandated by Section
109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, is
charged (among other things) with
independent scientific review of the
EPA’s air quality criteria.
On August 21, 2013 (78 FR 53452),
EPA formally initiated its current
review of the air quality criteria for the
ecological effects of oxides of nitrogen
and oxides of sulfur, and the associated
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS,
requesting the submission of recent
scientific information on specified
topics. Similarly, on December 3, 2014
(79 FR 71764), EPA formally initiated its
current review of the air quality criteria
for the particulate matter NAAQS. EPA
conducted two workshops—the first on
March 4–6, 2014, for oxides of nitrogen
and oxides of sulfur (79 FR 8644,
February 13, 2014), and the second on
February 11, 2015 (79 FR 71764,
December 3, 2014), for particulate
matter—to gather input from invited
scientific experts, both internal and
external to EPA, as well as from the
public, regarding key science and policy
issues relevant to the review of the these
secondary NAAQS. Teleconference
workshops with invited scientific
experts, both internal and external to
EPA, were held on August 25–27, 2015
(80 FR 48316, August 12, 2015), and
June 13, 2016 (81 FR 89262, May 11,
2016), to discuss initial draft materials
prepared in the development of the draft
ISA.
These science and policy issues were
incorporated into EPA’s ‘‘Draft
Integrated Review Plan for the
Secondary National Ambient Air
Quality Standard for Oxides of Nitrogen
and Oxides of Sulfur’’ as well as the
‘‘Integrated Review Plan for the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Particulate Matter.’’ The Draft Integrated
Review Plan (IRP) for oxides of nitrogen
and oxides of sulfur was available for
public comment (80 FR 69220, Monday,
November 9, 2015) and discussion by
the CASAC via publicly accessible
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66328
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 202 / Monday, October 19, 2020 / Notices
teleconference consultation (80 FR
65223, February 10, 2016). The Draft
IRP for particulate matter was available
for public comment (81 FR 2297, April
19, 2016) and discussion by the CASAC
via publicly accessible teleconference
consultation (81 FR 13362, March 14,
2016) prior to release of the final
document (81 FR 87933, December 6,
2016). The ‘‘First External Review Draft
Integrated Science Assessment for
Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur,
and Particulate Matter—Ecological
Criteria’’ was available for public
comment (82 FR 15703, March 30, 2017)
and discussed by CASAC and the public
at meetings on May 24–25, 2017 (82 FR
15701, March 30, 2017).
The ‘‘Second External Review Draft
Integrated Science Assessment for
Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur,
and Particulate Matter—Ecological
Criteria’’ was available for public
comment (83 FR 29786, June 26, 2018)
and discussed by CASAC and the public
at meetings on September 5–6, 2018 (83
FR 31755, July 9, 2018), and April 27,
2020 (85 FR 16093, March 20, 2020).
Subsequently, CASAC provided a letter
of their review on May 5, 2020, to the
EPA Administrator, which can be
viewed at: https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
sabproduct.nsf/LookupWebReports
LastMonthCASAC/66330096471849
EE85258561006CC856/$File/EPA-
CASAC-20-004.pdf. The Administrator
responded to the CASAC’s letter on the
Second External Review Draft on June
15, 2020, and the letter is available at:
https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
sabproduct.nsf/0/66330096471849
EE85258561006CC856/$File/EPA-
CASAC-20-004.Response.pdf. EPA has
considered comments by the CASAC
and by the public in preparing this final
ISA.
Dated: October 13, 2020.
Vanessa Holt,
Acting Director, Center for Public Health and
Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2020–23100 Filed 10–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[CERCLA–10–2020–0141; FRL–10015–33–
Region 10]
Proposed CERCLA Prospective
Purchaser Agreement; TriStar North
Inc. Former Kaiser Smelter Site, Mead,
Washington
AGENCY
: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION
: Notice; request for public
comment.
SUMMARY
: In accordance with of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act, as amended (‘‘CERCLA’’), notice is
hereby given of a proposed prospective
purchaser agreement concerning the
Former Kaiser Smelter Site, Mead,
Washington, with the following settling
party: TriStar North, Inc. The agreement
requires the settling party to provide full
cooperation with the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) cleanup
activities, provide access to the
property, and exercise appropriate care
with regard to existing contamination,
in addition to making a payment of
$50,000 to EPA. For thirty (30) days
following the date of publication of this
document, the Agency will receive
written comments relating to the
agreement. The Agency will consider all
comments and may modify or withdraw
its consent to the agreement if
comments received disclose facts or
considerations which indicate that the
agreement is inappropriate, improper, or
inadequate. The Agency’s response to
any comments received will be available
electronically for public inspection at
https://www.regulations.gov.
DATES
: Comments must be submitted on
or before November 18, 2020.
ADDRESSES
: The proposed agreement is
available electronically for public
inspection at https://semspub.epa.gov/
src/collection/10/SC39959. Submit your
comments, identified by EPA Docket
No. CERCLA–10–2020–0141, by one of
the following methods:
•https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow on-line instructions for
submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed
from Regulations.gov. 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. 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
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
•Email: Brooks Stanfield, Federal
On-SceneCoordinator, at
stanfield.brooks@epa.gov.
•Written comments submitted by
mail are temporarily suspended, and no
hand deliveries will be accepted. We
encourage the public to submit
comments via https://
www.regulations.gov.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
EPA Docket No. CERCLA–10–2020–
0141. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through https://
www.regulations.gov or email. The
https://www.regulations.gov website is
an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which
means EPA will not know your identity
or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an email comment directly
to EPA without going through https://
www.regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the https://
semspub.epa.gov/src/collections/10/AR/
WAN001020091 index. Although listed
in the index, some information is not
publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material,
will be publicly available only in the
hard copy. Publicly available docket
materials are available electronically in
https://semspub.epa.gov/src/
collections/10/AR/WAN001020091.
EPA is temporarily suspending its
Docket Center and Regional Records
Centers for public visitors to reduce the
risk of transmitting COVID–19. In
addition, many site information
repositories are closed, and information
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