Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Published date10 March 2022
Record Number2022-05085
SectionNotices
CourtEnvironmental Protection Agency
Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 13732-13733]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2022-05085]
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                ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                [EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0312; FRL-7887-02-OAR]
                Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the
                Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards
                AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
                ACTION: Notice of availability.
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                SUMMARY: On or about March 4, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency
                (EPA) is making available to the public, Volumes 1 and 2 of the
                Integrated Review Plan for the Lead National Ambient Air Quality
                Standards (IRP). The national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for
                lead (Pb) are set to protect the public health and the public welfare
                from Pb in ambient air. Volume 1 of the IRP contains contextual
                background material and the anticipated schedule for the current review
                of the air quality criteria and NAAQS for Pb. Volume 2 identifies
                policy-relevant issues in the review and describes key considerations
                in 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 the Clean Air Act, section 108(a).
                DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 4, 2022.
                ADDRESSES: You may send comments on Volume 2 of the IRP, identified by
                Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0312, by any of the following methods:
                 Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/
                (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting
                comments.
                 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.
                 Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only):
                EPA Start Printed Page 56264 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 notice. Comments received may be posted without change to
                https://www.regulations.gov, 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 https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/lead-pb-air-quality-standards. The documents will be
                accessible under ``Planning Documents'' from the current review.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Deirdre L. Murphy, Office of Air
                Quality Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental
                Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number:
                919-541-0729, fax number: 919-541-027; or email:
                [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                I. General Information
                Written Comments
                 Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-
                0312, at https://www.regulations.gov (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 https://www.regulations.gov 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
                 Due to public health concerns, the EPA Docket Center and Reading
                Room are open to the public by appointment only. Our Docket Center
                staff continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone,
                and webform. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled
                appointment only. For further information and updates on EPA Docket
                Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
                II. Information About the Documents
                 Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the
                [[Page 13733]]
                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 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 requirement for
                an independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the
                Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
                 Presently the EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS
                for Pb.\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 at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/lead-pb-air-quality-standards, accessible under
                ``Planning Documents'' from the current review.
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                 \1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on
                July 7, 2020 (85 FR 40641).
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                 The IRP for the current review of the lead 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 standards for Pb 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 science assessment (ISA). Comments are solicited from the
                public on Volume 2, which will also be the subject of a consultation
                with the CASAC, to be announced in a separate Federal Register notice.
                This volume identifies policy-relevant issues in the review and
                describes key considerations in 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. 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 at that time.
                 Comments on Volume 2 of the IRP should be submitted to the docket,
                as described above, by April 4, 2022. A separate Federal Register
                notice will provide details about the CASAC consultation meeting and
                the process for participation in the CASAC consultation on Volume 2.
                The EPA will consider the consultation comments from the CASAC and
                public comments on the IRP, Volume 2, in preparation of the Pb ISA.
                Volume 1 of the IRP, also being made available, provides background or
                contextual and historical material for this NAAQS review. These
                documents do not represent and should not be construed to represent any
                final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination.
                Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
                Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
                [FR Doc. 2022-05085 Filed 3-9-22; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
                

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