Release of the Policy Assessment for the Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur and Particulate Matter-External Review Draft, 34852-34853 [2023-11391]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34852-34853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11391]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0128; FRL-5788-03-OAR]


Release of the Policy Assessment for the Review of the Secondary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides 
of Sulfur and Particulate Matter--External Review Draft

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about May 31, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) will make available for public comment the draft document, Draft 
Policy Assessment for the Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur and 
Particulate Matter--External Review Draft (PA). This draft document was 
prepared as a part of the current review of the Secondary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of 
Sulfur and Particulate Matter. When final, the PA serves to ``bridge 
the gap'' between the currently available scientific and technical 
information and the judgments required of the Administrator in 
determining whether to retain or revise the existing secondary 
NO2, SO2 and PM NAAQS. The secondary NAAQS for 
oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur and particulate matter are set to 
protect the public welfare from known or anticipated effects of these 
pollutants in the ambient air.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before July 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2014-0128, 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 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 draft document 
described here will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-air-quality-standards. The documents will be accessible under 
``Policy Assessments'' for the current review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Tennant, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, (Mail Code

[[Page 34853]]

C504-06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, 
NC 27711; telephone number: 919-541-4072; or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-
0128, 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), 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 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets 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 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).
    In characterizing effects related to atmospheric deposition of 
oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur and their transformation 
products, this review also recognizes the contribution of PM through 
deposition to eutrophication-related effects, acidification-related 
effects, and other such welfare effects, as well to the direct and 
other indirect effects on vegetation, soils, and biota. Addressing the 
pollutants together enables us to take a comprehensive look at the 
nature and interactions of the pollutants, which is important for 
ensuring that all scientific information relevant to ecological effects 
is thoroughly evaluated. This approach also addresses the CASAC's 
comments on the draft Integrated Review Plan (IRP) for this review, as 
well as the CASAC's comments on the draft IRP for the PM NAAQS review. 
In particular, the CASAC expressed concern that PM deposition-related 
effects were not adequately covered in the PM review; and they also 
encouraged the EPA to include all reduced nitrogen compounds, including 
ammonia and ammonium, to properly evaluate ecological impacts from 
nitrogen deposition in the secondary standards review for oxides of 
nitrogen and oxides of sulfur (Diez Roux and Fernandez, 2016; Diez 
Roux, 2016). Additional welfare effects associated with PM, such as 
visibility impairment, climate effects and materials damage, and the 
health effects of PM (including particulate transformation products of 
oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur) are considered as part of the 
separate review of the NAAQS for PM.
    In March 2017, EPA released the first external review draft of the 
Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of 
Sulfur, and Particulate Matter Ecological Criteria, which was then 
discussed at a CASAC meeting May 24-25, 2017. Comments from the CASAC 
(Diez Roux, 2017) and the public were considered in preparing the 
second external review draft (June 2018), which was then discussed at a 
CASAC meeting September 5-6, 2018, and April 27, 2020. CASAC provided a 
final letter on the second draft ISA in May 2020 (Cox, 2020), and in 
October 2020, EPA released the final ISA for NOX, 
SOX, and PM ecological criteria (U.S. EPA, 2020).
    This draft PA serves to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific 
and technical information in the 2020 ISA and any air quality, 
exposure, and risk analyses available in this review, and the judgments 
required of the Administrator in determining whether to retain or 
revise the existing secondary ambient air quality standards for 
NO2, SO2 and PM. The draft PA document will be 
available on or about May 31, 2023, on EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-air-quality-standards. The EPA is soliciting advice and 
recommendations from the CASAC by means of a review of this draft 
document in an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC. Information about 
this public meeting, including the dates and location, was published as 
a separate notice in the Federal Register on March 23, 2023 (88 FR 
17572). Following the CASAC meeting, the EPA will consider comments 
received from the CASAC and the public in preparing the final PA.
    The Draft PA will be available primarily via the internet at: 
https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-air-quality-standards. The document will be accessible under 
``Policy Assessments'' from the current review. The draft document 
briefly described above does not represent and should not be construed 
to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination.

Erika Sasser,
Director, Health and Environmental Impacts Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-11391 Filed 5-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P