U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Contracts Management Division (MD-33), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

A -- OPERATION OF CLEAN AIR STATUS AND TRENDS NETWORK POC Vickie Presnell, Contracting Officer, (919 541-3002 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the contracting officer via e-mail, presnell.vickie@epamail.epa.gov. Public Meeting Notice. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously announced in the Federal Register, Vol 62, No. 40, page 9189, February 27, 1997, notice of a public meeting for a constituted peer review panel entitled: Peer Review CASTNet. This panel will review and analyze the EPA draft report, Examination of CASTNet: Data, Results, Costs, and Implications and the accompanying Recommendations on Changes to Operational Monitoring in CASTNet and Directions for Future Atmospheric Deposition Monitoring Research. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 1997, at the Holiday Inn Arlington at Ballston, 4610 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and adjourn by 5 p.m. and is open to the public. Any member of the public who would like to comment on the draft report should contact Dr. Robert E. Menzer, Office of Research and Development (8701), USEPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone 202-260-5779, Email: menzer.robert@epamail.epa.gov, for a copy of the report. Written comments should be submitted to Dr. Menzer. Members of the public who choose to make brief comments on the report at the meeting should also contact Dr. Menzer. In 1986, EPA's Office of Research and Development began to operate the National Dry Deposition Network (NDDN), consisting of 39 monitoring sites designed to assess the status and trends in dry deposition of sulfur and nitrogen species, primarily in the high deposition regions in the eastern U.S. Following passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, the NDDN was expanded and renamed the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet). As of 1996, there are 51 operational sites in the network. Each site collects weekly filter pack samples which are analyzed for SOx, NOx, and sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium ions, as well as collecting micrometeorological and other environmental data. Beginning in FY 1998, EPA is proposing to transfer operation of CASTNet from the Office of Research and Development (ORD) to the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). The transition from a research-oriented effort to an operational monitoring program presents an opportunity to make changes in the current network operations and to assess alternative directions for future acid deposition research. Two competitive requests for proposals (RFPs) for operation of CASNET are planned for issuance later this year. The Recommendations on Changes to Operational Monitoring in CASTNet and Directions for Future Atmospheric Deposition Monitoring Research makes such recommendations to OAR and ORD, based on policy questions provided by OAR and informed by the analyses in the accompanying draft report. The other purpose of the peer review is to solicit from the peer reviewers advice on the reasonableness of the various proposed modifications to the CASTNet and proposed future research directions, given the current state of data analysis and interpretation. Specific questions about any of the details of the two RFPs will be not be entertained. The proposed RFPs are not yet available and requests for the RFPs will not be accepted at this time. A separate synopsis will be published in the Commerce Busness Daily for each RFP prior to the issuance of the RFP. (0076)

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