[Federal Register: January 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 10)]
[Notices]
[Page 2490-2491]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ja08-61]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0015; FRL-8516-2]
Workshop To Discuss Policy-Relevant Science To Inform EPA's
Integrated Plan for the Review of the Primary Carbon Monoxide National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Workshop.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing that a workshop entitled ``Workshop to
Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform EPA's Integrated Plan for the
Review of the Primary Carbon Monoxide National Ambient Air Quality
Standards'' is being organized by EPA's National Center for
Environmental Assessment (NCEA), Office of Research and Development and
EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), Office of
Air and Radiation. The workshop will be held on January 28-29, 2008 in
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The workshop will be open to
attendance by interested public observers on a first-come, first-served
basis up to the limits of available space.
DATES: The workshop will be held on January 28 and 29, 2008.
ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at U.S. EPA, 109 T.W. Alexander
Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. An EPA contractor, E.H.
Pechan & Associates, Inc., is providing logistical support for the
workshop. For further information on the workshops, contact Ms. Barbara
Bauer, E.H. Pechan Conference Coordinator, 3622 Lyckan Parkway, Durham,
NC 27707, telephone: 919-493-3144 ext. 188; facsimile: 919-493-3182; e-
mail: barbara.bauer@pechan.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information,
registration, and logistics for the workshop should be directed to the
E.H. Pechan conference coordinator listed in ADDRESSES above or from
the following
[[Page 2491]]
Web site: http://projects.pechan.com/epa/coreview/.
Additional questions regarding the workshop should be directed to
Ms. Chris Trent, U.S. EPA, OAQPS, telephone: 919-541-5337; facsimile:
919-541-0237; e-mail: trent.chris@epa.gov or Dr. Tom Long, U.S. EPA,
NCEA, telephone: 919-541-1880; facsimile: 919-541-2985; e-mail:
long.tom@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Workshop
The Agency's last review of the carbon monoxide (CO) national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) was completed on August 1, 1994
with a final determination that no revision of the CO standard was
appropriate (59 FR 38906). This review of the CO NAAQS is consistent
with the Clean Air Act's requirement that the Agency periodically
review the latest scientific information and the standards. In
completing this review, the Agency will apply the Agency's new NAAQS
review process.\1\ This workshop is a key step in this new process. The
workshop will provide an opportunity for internal and external experts
to highlight significant new and emerging CO research, and to make
recommendations to the Agency regarding the design and scope of the
review for the primary (health-based) CO standard to ensure that it
addresses key policy-relevant issues and considers the new science
relevant to informing our understanding of these issues.\2\
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\1\ For more information on the NAAQS review process, please see
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/.
\2\ This workshop will not address a secondary welfare-based
standard as the CO NAAQS includes only a primary standard.
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We intend that workshop discussions will build upon three prior
publications or events:
1. National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide:
Final Rule (59 FR 38906, August 1, 1994). The preamble to the final
rule included detailed discussions of policy-relevant issues central to
the last review.
2. Air Quality Criteria for Carbon Monoxide (EPA 600/P-99/001F,
June 2000).\3\
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\3\ Please see http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_index.html
to obtain a copy of the 2000 Air Quality Criteria
Document, the notice of final rulemaking from 1994, and other
related documents.
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3. December 2006 workshop sponsored by NCEA, entitled
``Interpretation of Epidemiologic Studies of Multi-pollutant Exposure
and Health Effects.'' The workshop dealt with important issues relevant
to this review, such as the interpretation and understanding of
criteria air pollutant health effects analyses in population-level
epidemiologic studies, with a focus on multi-pollutant exposures (71 FR
67566, November 22, 2006).
Workshop participants are encouraged to review each of these
documents and/or supporting materials thoroughly before the meeting
begins, as they provide important insights into new scientific advances
and key policy-relevant questions.
Based in large part on the input received during this workshop, EPA
will develop a draft integrated CO NAAQS review plan that will outline
the schedule, process, and approaches for evaluating the relevant
scientific information and addressing the key policy-relevant issues to
be considered in this review. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC) will be asked to conduct a consultation with the
Agency on the draft integrated plan later this year, and the public
will have the opportunity to comment on it as well. The final
integrated plan will be used to frame each of the major elements of the
CO review under the new NAAQS process: an integrated science assessment
document, a risk/exposure assessment report, and a policy assessment to
be published as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR).
II. Workshop Information
Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers. Space
is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-
served basis.
Dated: January 8, 2008.
Jenny N. Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-543 Filed 1-14-08; 8:45 am]
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