National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Particulate Matter, Proposed Decision; Requirements for Designation of Reference and Equivalent Methods for PMINF2.5 and Ambient Air Quality Surveillance for Particulate Matter, Proposed Decision; Interim Implementation Policy on New or Revised Ozone and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Proposed Policy; and Implementation of New or Revised Ozone and PM NAAQS and Regional Haze Regulations, Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 50, 51, 53, and 58

[AD-FRL-5692-1]

National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Particulate

Matter, Proposed Decision; Requirements for Designation of Reference

and Equivalent Methods for PM2.5 and Ambient Air Quality

Surveillance for Particulate Matter, Proposed Decision; Interim

Implementation Policy on New or Revised Ozone and Particulate Matter

National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Proposed Policy; and

Implementation of New or Revised Ozone and PM NAAQS and Regional Haze

Regulations, Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Extension of public comment period and announcement of

availability of additional reports.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing the extension of the public comment

period on the proposed revisions to the national ambient air quality

standards (NAAQS) for ozone (O3) (61 FR 65716) and particulate

matter (PM) (61 FR 65638), and proposed requirements for designation of

reference and equivalent methods for PM2.5 and ambient air quality

surveillance for PM (61 FR 65780), all of which were published on

December 13, 1996. The period of time for submitting written statements

for the public hearing record for these proposals is also being

extended. This document also extends the public comment period for the

proposed interim implementation policy on new or revised O3 and PM

NAAQS (61 FR 65752), and the advance notice of proposed rulemaking

(ANPR) for implementation of new or revised O3 and PM NAAQS and

regional haze regulations (61 FR 65764), published on December 13,

1996.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 12, 1997.

Written statements for inclusion in the public hearing record must be

received on or before March 12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in duplicate if possible on the proposed

actions to: Office of Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center

(6102), Attention: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street

SW., Washington, DC 20460. In addition, please add the appropriate

docket number as follows: Proposed PM NAAQS, A-95-54; proposed O3

NAAQS, A-95-58; proposed requirements for designation of reference and

equivalent methods for PM2.5 and ambient air quality surveillance

for PM, A-96-51; and interim implementation policy on new or revised

O3 and PM NAAQS and the ANPR for implementation of new or revised

O3 and PM NAAQS and regional haze regulations, A-95-38. The

dockets may be inspected at the above address between 8:00 a.m. and

5:30 p.m. on weekdays, and a reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Part 50 notice on O3 NAAQS--Dr.

David McKee, Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division (MD-15),

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919)

541-5288.

Part 50 document on PM NAAQS--Ms. Patricia Koman, same address,

telephone (919) 541-5170.

Part 51 document on interim implementation policy on new or revised

O3 and PM NAAQS and the ANPR for implementation of new or revised

O3 and PM NAAQS and regional haze regulations--Ms. Sharon

Reinders, same address, telephone (919) 541-5284.

Parts 53 and 58 documents on requirements for designation of

reference and equivalent methods for PM2.5 and ambient air quality

surveillance for PM--Mr. Neil Frank, Monitoring and Quality Assurance

Group (MD-14), Emissions, Monitoring, and Analysis Division, Office of

Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-5560.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 10, 1997, the court order

entered in American Lung Association v. Browner, CIV-93-643-TUC-ACM (D.

Ariz., October 6, 1994), as modified, was further modified (1) by

changing the date specified for the close of the public comment period

in the review of the PM NAAQS to March 12, 1997, and (2) by changing

the date for publication of a final decision to July 19, 1997.

In the order making these modifications, the Court stated that no

further extensions will be granted. Because of the importance of

progressing the O3 and PM NAAQS reviews on the same schedule, EPA

is making corresponding changes to the schedule for the O3 NAAQS

review and associated requirements for designation of reference and

equivalent methods for monitoring PM2.5 and ambient air quality

surveillance for PM. In response to requests from the public, EPA is

also extending the public comment period on the proposal of the interim

implementation policy of new or revised O3 and PM NAAQS and the

advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the implementation of new or

revised O3 and PM NAAQS and regional haze regulations. Thus, EPA

is extending the public comment period on the 40 CFR parts 50, 51, 53,

and 58 proposals from February 18, 1997, to March 12, 1997.

Availability of Related Information

EPA has placed supplemental reports analyzing human exposure and

health risk associated with the proposed and several alternative

O3 standards and estimating health risks associated with the

proposed and alternative PM standards into the O3 and PM dockets,

respectively. The three documents are:

(1) January 1997 supplement to ``Estimation of Ozone Exposures

Experienced by Outdoor Children in Nine Urban Areas Using a

Probabilistic Version of NEM (April 1996),'' (2) A Probabilistic

Assessment of Health Risks Associated with Short-term Exposure to

Tropospheric Ozone: A Supplement, January 1997, and (3) December 1996

supplement to ``A Particulate Matter Risk Assessment for Philadelphia

and Los Angeles (Revised, November 1996).''

These supplemental reports are also available to the public through

the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) Technology

Transfer Network (TTN) Bulletin Board System (BBS) in the Clean Air Act

Amendments area, under Title I, Policy/Guidance Documents. To access

the bulletin board, a modem and communications software are necessary.

To dial up, set your communications software to 8 data bits, no parity

and one stop bit. Dial (919) 541-5742 and follow the on-screen

instructions to register for access. After registering, proceed to

choice `` Gateway to TTN Technical Areas'', then choose `` CAAA

BBS.'' From the main menu, choose `` Title I: Attain/Maint of

NAAQS,'' then `` Policy Guidance Documents.'' To access these

documents through the World Wide Web, click on ``TTN BBSWeb,'' then

proceed to the Gateway to TTN Technical areas, as above. If assistance

is needed in

[[Page 7744]]

accessing the system, call the help desk at (919) 541-5384 in Research

Triangle Park, NC.

Dated: February 13, 1997.

Richard Wilson,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 97-4330 Filed 2-18-97; 1:50 pm]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P