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1 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
January 12, 2017
EPA-SAB-17-003
The Honorable Gina McCarthy
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Subject: Science Advisory Board (SAB) Consideration of EPA Planned Actions in the Spring
2016 Unified (Regulatory) Agenda and their Supporting Science
Dear Administrator McCarthy:
As part of its statutory duties, the EPA Science Advisory Board recently concluded discussions about
possible review of the science supporting major EPA planned actions associated with the Spring 2016
Unified (Regulatory) Agenda and Regulatory Plan. The EPA Office of Policy provided notice of the
release of this information on May 18, 2016. The SAB discussed whether to review the science
supporting any of the planned regulatory actions in that agenda in order to provide advice and comment
on the adequacy of the science, as authorized by section (c) of the Environmental Research,
Development and Demonstration Authorization Act, during a public meeting held on November 30,
2016.
The SAB focused its attention on eight major planned actions identified by the EPA Office of Policy but
not yet proposed as of the date the Regulatory Agenda was published in the Federal Register. The SAB
convened a Work Group to review the planned actions, conduct fact-finding and develop
recommendations for further consideration by the chartered SAB. At the public meeting, the SAB
discussed the Work Group's findings and decided that it will not undertake review of the science
supporting any actions in the semi-annual regulatory agenda at this time. The list of actions considered
is enclosed.
Two actions in the Spring 2016 Regulatory Agenda, PolychlorinatedBiphenyls (PCBs) Reassessment of
Use Authorizations for PCBs in Small Capacitors (RIN: 2070-AK12) and Trichloroethylene (TCE)
Rulemaking under TSCA Section 6(a); Vapor Degreasing (RIN: 2070-AK11), propose parts of actions
considered by the SAB in previous reviews of the semi-annual regulatory agendas (Spring 2013 and
Spring 2015, respectively). While the rationale for narrowing the rulemakings is not clear, the SAB
notes that no new issues are addressed in the current actions.

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Four actions in the regulatory agenda are National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAPs) undergoing Risk and Technology Reviews (RTR). Within eight years of initial
promulgation of NESHAPs for an industrial source, EPA must assess the technology and residual risk to
determine whether additional standards are needed to provide an ample margin of safety to protect
public health and prevent adverse environmental effects considering costs, energy, safety and other
relevant factors. Each RTR analysis follows a consistent risk characterization approach using an
enhanced and evolving methodology that has undergone consultations, advisories and peer reviews by
the SAB (in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2010). The four new RTRs are based on screening methodologies for
risk characterization that have evolved since 2010 based on new scientific knowledge or methodologies.
The EPA is planning an SAB review in 2017 of Screening Methodologies to Support Risk and
Technology Reviews (RTR): A Case Study Analysis.
While the SAB finds that these four new RTR actions do not merit further scientific review, the SAB
notes that there are many different sectors that use the RTR methodology. These different sectors
incorporate and use data and information that are appropriate to that sector. The agency may benefit
from SAB advice when novel science or new technologies are part of a planned RTR for specific
sectors, and the SAB encourages the agency to provide as much sector-specific information as available
to assist the Board in conducting the screening review of future regulatory agendas. The SAB also notes
that the planned 2017 screening methodology review may provide recommendations for changes in the
RTR methodology and encourages the agency to incorporate those recommendations into future RTRs
and those not yet final.
The two remaining actions reviewed by the SAB are administrative and contain no new science. The
first, Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment
Area Classifications and State Implementation Plan Requirements, provides updates to the existing
implementing regulations for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
reviewed the scientific and technical information supporting the NAAQS. The second action, the Clean
Energy Incentive Program (CEIP) Design and Implementation, provides details on project eligibility,
flexibility to choose one or more existing definitions of low-income community, and how CEIP
incentives could be made available to eligible renewable energy projects.
The SAB appreciates the information provided by the EPA Office of Policy and the EPA program
offices describing the planned actions. The Work Group recommendations, written information provided
by the agency and the results of fact-finding discussions with EPA staff are available on the SAB
website.1
1 Materials regarding major planned EPA actions in the Spring 2016 Regulatory Agenda are available at:
https://vosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf7/B96699B3E1506C19852580600070EE2B/$File/Spring+2016+Reg+Rev+Mem
o.pdf

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On behalf of the SAB, I thank you for the opportunity to support EPA through consideration of the
science supporting actions in the agency's regulatory agenda.
Sincerely,
/Signed/
Dr. Peter S. Thorne, Chair
Science Advisory Board
Enclosures
(1)	Summary of Proposed Actions Considered
(2)	Roster of SAB Members

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NOTICE
This report has been written as part of the activities of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), a public
advisory group providing extramural scientific information and advice to the Administrator and other
officials of the Environmental Protection Agency. The SAB is structured to provide balanced, expert
assessment of scientific matters related to problems facing the Agency. This report has not been reviewed
for approval by the Agency and, hence, the contents of this report do not necessarily represent the views
and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor of other agencies in the Executive Branch of the
Federal government, nor does mention of trade names of commercial products constitute a
recommendation for use. Reports of the SAB are posted on the EPA Web site at http ://www. epa. gov/sab.

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Summary of Proposed Actions Considered
Proposed actions in the Spring 2016 Unified (Regulatory) Agenda and Regulatory Plan
considered by the Science Advisory Board and whether to provide advice and comment
on the adequacy of the science supporting the action
RIN1
Planned Action Title
2060-AS82
Implementation of the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone:
Nonattainment Area Classifications and State Implementation Plan Requirements
2060-AS85
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Publicly Owned
Treatment Works Risk and Technology Review
2060-AS46
Risk and Technology Review for National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants From the Pulp and Paper Combustion Sources
2070-AK11
Trichloroethylene (TCE); Rulemaking Under TSCA Section 6(a); Vapor Degreasing
2070-AK12
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); Reassessment of Use Authorizations for PCBs in
Small Capacitors
2060-AS81
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Coke Ovens: Pushing,
Quenching, and Battery Stacks
2060-AS84
Clean Energy Incentive Program Design and Implementation
2060-AS92
Portland Cement Risk and Technology Review
^he Regulatory Identification Number provides a hyperlink to the Office of Management and Budget's webpage and
information on the planned action provided in the Unified Regulatory Agenda.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Science Advisory Board
BOARD
2016
CHAIR
Dr. Peter S. Thorne, Professor and Head, Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, College
of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
MEMBERS
Dr. Joseph Arvai, Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise and Director, Erb Institute, School
of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. Kiros T. Berhane, Professor, Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Sylvie M. Brouder, Professor and Wickersham Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Research,
Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Dr. Ingrid Burke, Director and Wyoming Excellence Chair, Haub School and Ruckelshaus Institute of
Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
Dr. Ana V. Diez Roux, Dean, School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Michael Dourson, Director, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment Center, Professor of
Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Dr. Joel J. Ducoste, Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering,
College of Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Dr. David A. Dzombak, Hamerschlag University Professor and Department Head, Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. Susan P. Felter, Research Fellow, Global Product Stewardship, Procter & Gamble, Mason, OH
Dr. R. William Field, Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, and Department
of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Dr. H. Christopher Frey, Glenn E. Futrell Distinguished University Professor, Department of Civil,
Construction and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC
Dr. Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund, Boston, MA

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Dr. Cynthia M. Harris, Director and Professor, Institute of Public Health, Florida A&M University,
Tallahassee, FL
Dr. Robert J. Johnston, Director of the George Perkins Marsh Institute and Professor, Department of
Economics, Clark University, Worcester, MA
Dr. Kimberly L. Jones, Professor and Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Howard University, Washington, DC
Dr. Catherine J. Karr, Associate Professor - Pediatrics and Environmental and Occupational Health
Sciences and Director - NW Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington,
Seattle, WA
Dr. Madhu Khanna, ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics, Department of
Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Dr. Francine Laden, Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Epidemiology,
Harvard School of Public Health, and Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's
Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Dr. Lois Lehman-McKeeman, Distinguished Research Fellow, Discovery Toxicology, Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Princeton, NJ
Dr. Robert E. Mace, Deputy Executive Administrator, Water Science & Conservation, Texas Water
Development Board, Austin, TX
Dr. Mary Sue Marty, Senior Toxicology Leader, Toxicology & Environmental Research, The Dow
Chemical Company, Midland, MI
Dr. Denise Mauzerall, Professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Dr. Kristina D. Mena, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental
Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, El Paso, TX
Dr. Surabi Menon, Director of Research, ClimateWorks Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Dr. James R. Mihelcic, Samuel L. and Julia M. Flom Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Dr. H. Keith Moo-Young, Chancellor, Office of Chancellor, Washington State University, Tri-Cities,
Richland, WA
Dr. Kari Nadeau, Naddisy Family Foundation Professor of Medicine, Director, FARE Center of
Excellence at Stanford University and, Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA

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Dr. James Opaluch, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Natural Resource
Economics, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
Dr. Thomas F. Parkerton, Senior Environmental Associate, Toxicology & Environmental Science
Division, ExxonMobil Biomedical Science, Houston, TX
Mr. Richard L. Poirot, Independent Consultant, Burlington, VT
Dr. Kenneth M. Portier, Vice President, Department of Statistics & Evaluation Center, American Cancer
Society, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Kenneth Ramos, Associate Vice-President of Precision Health Sciences and Professor of Medicine,
Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Dr. David B. Richardson, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Dr. Tara L. Sabo-Attwood, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Global
Health, College of Public Health and Health Professionals, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Dr. William Schlesinger, President Emeritus, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Dr. Gina Solomon, Deputy Secretary for Science and Health, Office of the Secretary, California
Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA
Dr. Daniel O. Stram, Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, Division of Biostatistics, University
of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Jay Turner, Associate Professor, Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering,
Campus Box 1180, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Dr. Edwin van Wijngaarden, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of
Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Dr. Jeanne M. VanBriesen, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie
Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. John Vena, Professor and Founding Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University
of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Dr. Elke Weber, Jerome A. Chazen Professor of International Business, Columbia Business School, New
York, NY
Dr. Charles Werth, Professor and Bettie Margaret Smith Chair in Environmental Health Engineering,
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

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Dr. Peter J. Wilcoxen, Professor, Public Administration and International Affairs, The Maxwell School,
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Dr. Robyn S. Wilson, Associate Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State
University, Columbus, OH
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Mr. Thomas Carpenter, Designated Federal Officer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC

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