Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meeting

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6474-9]

Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee

Meeting

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463,

notice is hereby given that the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee

of the USEPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on the dates and

times noted below. All times noted are Eastern Time. All meetings are

open to the public, however, seating is limited and available on a

first come basis. Important Notice: Documents that are the subject of

SAB reviews are normally available from the originating EPA office and

are not available from the SAB Office--information concerning

availability of documents from the relevant Program Office is included

below.

1--CASAC Diesel Review Panel

The Diesel Review Panel of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory

Committee (CASAC) of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on

Wednesday, December 1, 1999 at the Hawthorne Suites, 300 Meredith Drive

Durham, NC 27713, tel. (919) 361-1234. The meeting will begin at 8:30

am and end no later than 5:00 pm.

Purpose of the Meeting

The CASAC Diesel Review Panel will review the Agency's draft Health

Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Emissions. This continues the

CASAC review of this document that last took place on May 5-6, 1998.

Please see the CASAC report of that meeting (EPA-SAB-CASAC-99-001,

October 7, 1999, Review of the Diesel Health Assessment Document,

available on the SAB Website [www.epa.gov/sab] or from the SAB staff at

(202) 564-4533). The principal purpose of this meeting is for the

Committee to determine if the Agency has responded to previous concerns

of the Committee and if the document is an adequate portrayal of the

current state of knowledge on diesel emissions.

Availability of Review Materials

The draft Health Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Emissions

(EPA/600/8-90/057D, November 1999), will be available as follows: an

electronic version of the draft assessment will be made available via

the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) web site at

http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies will be

available from NCEA's Technical Information Staff (phone: 202-564-3261;

fax: 202-565-0050).

The Agency will be accepting comments on the draft assessment as

part of a limited public review and comment period. Comments must be in

writing and must be postmarked by December 17, 1999. There will be no

separate Federal Register notice announcing this public review and

comment period. Comments should be mailed to: Diesel Comments, NCEA-W/

TIS (8623D), USEPA, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Please submit

one unbound original, to include an index of any attachments, and two

copies. If sent via overnight delivery, please use the following

address: 808 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006. Note that the

Agency is accepting comments that specifically relate to the technical

aspects of the draft document. All technical comments will become part

of the official record. For that reason, commenters should not provide

any information that is not suitable for public inspection, such as

personal medical information, home address, confidential business

information, or any information protected by copyright. Comments that

address policy or other issues or do not specifically provide technical

comments on the draft will not be included in the record. Due to

limited resources, acknowledgments will not be sent.

2--CASAC Particulate Matter Review Panel

The Particulate Matter Review Panel of the Clean Air Scientific

Advisory Committee (CASAC) of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) will

meet on Thursday, December 2, 1999 at the Hawthorne Suites, 300

Meredith Drive Durham, NC 27713, tel. (919) 361-1234. The meeting will

begin at 8:30 am and end no later than 5:00 pm.

Purpose of the Meeting

(a) The CASAC PM Review Panel will review an external review draft

of the EPA air quality criteria document for particulate matter (PM)

now being revised by EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment

(NCEA) for

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use in supporting the next periodic review of the National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM required under Clean Air Act Sections

108 and 109. The CASAC review will focus on aspects of the

organization, structure and presentation of the draft document. A full

technical peer review will take place at a meeting planned for summer

2000. (b) The CASAC PM Review Panel will also review a draft

development plan for the PM NAAQS Review prepared by EPA's Office of

Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS). The purpose of the

development plan is to provide an overview of the issues that EPA

expects to address during the development plan of the Staff Paper and

Risk Assessment, and a general framework for the analyses needed to

help inform EPA's efforts. Comments received from the CASAC and the

public will be considered in the preparation of the Office of Air

Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) Staff Paper and Risk Assessment.

The first draft of the OAQPS Staff Paper is to be released to the

public in Summer 2000, for review by CASAC in a meeting that is planned

in that time frame.

Availability of Review Materials

(a) The U.S. EPA recently announced (64 Federal Register 57884,

October 27, 1999) the availability for public comment of the First

External Review Draft of the document Air Quality Criteria for

Particulate Matter, which assesses the latest available scientific

information on the effects of airborne particulate matter (PM) on human

health and welfare. To obtain a copy of that First External Review

Draft of Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (EPA 600/P-99/

002a-c), contact Ms. Diane Ray at the National Center for Environmental

Assessment--RTP Office (MD-52), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone 919-541-3637; facsimile:

919-541-1818; e-mail: [email protected]. Please provide the title and

the EPA number for the document, as well as your name and address. The

document will be dispensed in CD ROM format unless the requestor

requires a paper copy. Internet users may download a copy from the

homepage for EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA).

The URL is http://www.epa.gov/ncea/. Anyone who wishes to comment on

the draft document, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, must

submit the comments in writing by no later than January 14, 2000. Send

the written comments to the Project Manager for Particulate Matter,

National Center for Environmental Assessment--RTP Office (MD-52), U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

As stated in the October 27, 1999 FR Notice, the EPA is aware that

a substantial number of new scientific studies on PM are underway that

will likely be completed and accepted for publication in time to be

included in the final criteria document. To this end, the Agency

encourages timely completion and submission of these studies for

publication. Because the potential importance of many of these

additional studies cannot be assessed in the present draft, the Agency

is requesting that the CASAC's and the public's comments on this

external review draft focus particularly on the aspects of

organization, structure, and presentation in the document, although

comments on provisional conclusions and specific details are, of

course, welcome. Following the CASAC meeting, the EPA plans to

incorporate revisions to the document in response to public comments

and CASAC review of the first external review draft, and then to

release a second external review draft for public comment and CASAC

review in midyear 2000. For reasons discussed above, the second draft

may address a number of studies not completed in time for assessment in

the first draft. Accordingly, the EPA urges that interested parties be

prepared to review the second draft on that basis. Findings and

conclusions from the Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter will

be used as key inputs to the preparation during 2000 of a draft EPA

staff paper on airborne particles, as discussed in the draft PM NAAQS

Review Development Plan.

(b) Copies of the draft PM NAAQS Review Development Plan will be

made available at the December 2, 1999 CASAC meeting. The public can

also contact Ms. Mary Ross of OAQPS at 919-541-5170 or

[email protected] for information or a copy of the draft document, in

advance of the December 2 meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THE MEETINGS: Members of the public

desiring additional information about either meeting should contact Mr.

Robert Flaak, Designated Federal Officer, Clean Air Scientific Advisory

Committee, Science Advisory Board (1400A), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20460 (FedEx address: USEPA, SAB, Suite 6450, Ariel Rios

Building, North Lobby, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC

20004); telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4546; fax at (202) 501-0582;

or via e-mail at [email protected]. The draft agendas will be

available approximately two weeks prior to the meetings on the SAB

website (http://www.epa.gov/sab) or from Ms. Diana Pozun at (202) 564-

4544; FAX: (202) 501-0582; or e-mail at: [email protected].

Members of the public who wish to make a brief oral presentation at

either meeting must contact Mr. Flaak in writing (by letter, fax, or e-

mail--see previously stated information) no later than 12 noon Eastern

Time, Wednesday, November 24, 1999 in order to be included on the

Agenda. For the PM review meeting on December 2nd, we request that

public comments on the First External Review Draft of the document Air

Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter focus particularly on the

aspects of organization, structure, and presentation in the document.

The technical issues will be peer reviewed in detail at a later meeting

planned for summer 2000.

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

The Science Advisory Board expects that public statements presented

at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted oral or

written statements. In general, each individual or group making an oral

presentation will be limited to a total time of ten minutes. Written

comments (at least 35 copies) received in the SAB Staff Office

sufficiently prior to a meeting date (usually one week before the

meeting), may be mailed to the relevant SAB committee or subcommittee;

comments received too close to the meeting date will normally be

provided to the committee at its meeting, or mailed soon after receipt

by the Agency. Written comments may be provided to the relevant

committee or subcommittee up until the time of the meeting.

Additional information concerning the Science Advisory Board, its

structure, function, and composition, may be found on the SAB Website

(http://www.epa.gov/sab) and in the Annual Report of the Staff Director

which is available from the SAB Publications Staff at (202) 564-4533 or

via fax at (202) 501-0256.

Meeting Access

Individuals requiring special accommodation at this meeting,

including wheelchair access, should contact Mr. Flaak at least five

business days prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can

be made.

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Dated: November 9, 1999.

Donald G. Barnes,

Staff Director, Science Advisory Board.

[FR Doc. 99-29769 Filed 11-12-99; 8:45 am]

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