Proposed Implementation Guidance for the Revised Ozone and Particulate Matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Regional Haze Program

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6149-9]

Proposed Implementation Guidance for the Revised Ozone and

Particulate Matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

and Regional Haze Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notification is hereby given that the EPA has issued proposed

guidance for public review and comment on implementation of the Clean

Air Act requirements for the revised 8-hour ozone (62 FR 38856, July

18, 1997) and PM (62 FR 38652, July 18, 1997) NAAQS. On July 16, 1997

(62 FR 38421, July 18, 1997), President Clinton issued a directive to

EPA Administrator Browner on implementation of the revised standards

for ozone and PM. In that directive, the President laid out a plan on

how these new standards are to be implemented. The guidance reflects

the Presidential Directive.

DATES: Comments are due on or before September 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted (in duplicate, if possible) to:

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center (6101), Attention:

Docket No. A-95-38, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street

SW, Room M-1500, Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202) 260-7548,

between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying. Comments and

data may also be submitted electronically by following the instructions

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION of this document. No confidential

business information (CBI) should be submitted through e-mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions and comments on

the ozone portion of this guidance, contact Mr. Christopher Stoneman,

U.S. EPA, MD-15, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-

0823; for specific questions and comments on the PM portion of this

guidance, contact Mr. Larry Wallace, U.S. EPA, MD-15, Research Triangle

Park NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0906.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this guidance is to set forth

EPA's current views on the issues identified above. These issues will

be addressed in future rulemakings as appropriate, e.g., actions

approving or disapproving SIP submittals. In those

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rulemakings, EPA plans to propose to take a particular action based in

whole or in part on its views of the relevant issues, and the public

will have an opportunity to comment on EPA's interpretations during the

rulemakings. When EPA issues final rules based on its views at that

time, those views will be binding on the States, the public, and EPA as

a matter of law.

Electronic Availability--A World Wide Web (WWW) site has been

developed for overview information on the NAAQS and the ozone, PM, and

regional haze implementation process. The Uniform Resource Location

(URL) for the home page of the web site is http://ttnwww.rtpnc.epa.gov/

implement. The draft implementation guidance can be accessed through

this web site in a table entitled ``Major Action Items to Reinvent

Ozone and PM NAAQS and Regional Haze Implementation.'' The URL for the

table is http://ttnwww.rtpnc.epa.gov/implement/actions.htm. For

assistance with these web sites, the TTN Helpline is (919) 541-5384.

For those persons without electronic capability, a copy of the draft

implementation guidance may be obtained from Ms. Tricia Crabtree, U.S.

EPA, MD-15, Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, Research

Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-5688).

The official record for this draft guidance, as well as the public

version, has been established under docket number A-95-38 (including

comments and data submitted electronically as described below). A

public version of this record, including printed, paper versions of

electronic comments, which does not include any information claimed as

CBI, is available for inspection from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The official record is located at the

address in ADDRESSES at the beginning of this document. Electronic

comments can be sent directly to EPA at: A-and-R-

D[email protected]. Electronic comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of

encryption. Comments and data will also be accepted on disks in

WordPerfect in 5.1 file format or ASCII file format. All comments and

data in electronic form must be identified by the docket number A-95-

38. Electronic comments on this proposed guidance may be filed online

at many Federal Depository Libraries.

Dated: August 14, 1998.

Henry Thomas,

Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

[FR Doc. 98-22532 Filed 8-21-98; 8:45 am]

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