NTC EPA HAS ESTABLISHED A NEW TOLL FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER

NTC EPA HAS ESTABLISHED A NEW TOLL FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER

FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1996 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a new toll-free telephone number and electronic mail addresses to accept public comment on its recent proposal to strengthen air quality standards for ground-level ozone (smog) and particulates (soot). Public comments received by phone and E-Mail will have the same legal standing as written public comments and testimony at public hearings. The toll-free phone number is: 1-888-TELL-EPA (1-888-835-5372). (Note: This is not 1-800 but "1-888.")

The number will receive public comments 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except Christmas, New Years Day and Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday (Jan. 20). Callers should listen to the instructions and leave a message (up to two minutes) that will be recorded, transcribed and included in the official docket.

Under the Clean Air Act, Congress directs EPA to review major air standards every five years to ensure they reflect current science and are fully protective of public health.

EPA has also set up five E-Mail boxes, by subject:

1. General Comments: "general.comments@epamail.epa.gov"
2. Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards Only: "o3naaqs.comments@epamail.epa.gov"
3. Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards Only: "pmnaaqs.comments@epamail.epa.gov"
4. Interim Implementation Policy Only: "iip.comments@epamail.epa.gov"
5. Particulate Matter Monitoring Regulations Only: "monitors.comments@epamail.epa.gov". EPA seeks public comment from community members, small businesses, industry, state and local government, parents, physicians, people with asthma and other citizens.

E-Mail comments should be in ASCII text; encrypted e-mail messages cannot be read. A user-friendly link to these E-Mail addresses from the EPA Internet Home Page will be added soon (EPA's Home Page address is: "http://www.epa.gov"). All E-Mail comments must be identified by the appropriate docket number listed below.

Comments must include name, address and affiliation (such as company, organization or private citizen) on the toll-free number or E-Mail. All comments are open to the public for review. Companies should never include Confidential Business Information (CBI) in phone or E-Mail messages to EPA. 

Public comments can also be submitted in writing (in duplicate) to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Air Docket (6102)

Attn: Docket # (as identified below) Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20460

Please identify written public comments with the specific docket numbers:
1. Ozone NAAQS Proposal: Docket Number A-95-58
2. Particulate Matter NAAQS Proposal: Docket Number A-95-54
3. Interim Implementation Policy: Docket Number A-95-38
4. Particulate Matter Monitoring Proposal: Docket Number A-96-51. EPA will also accept comments and data on disks in WordPerfect 5.1 file format or ASCII file format. Citizens can review all the comments EPA is receiving by going to the Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center at EPA Waterside Mall Headquarters, Room M-1500, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, D.C., between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays. The Docket is located on the street level of Waterside Mall. No more than 266 pages of public comments may be photocopied for free, with a 15 cent charge per page beyond that limit.

For further information, contact Jan Kleeman at 919-541-3450 or Tom Curnan at 919-541-5559 for e-mail information; for the 1-888 telephone number contact Pat Vaughan at 919-541-4912.

R-164# # #