Agency
Department of Environmental Quality
Board
Department of Environmental Quality
Meeting:
Public Hearing – Air Quality Plan

 
Meeting Details
Date / Time 9/18/2026  1:00 pm
Type Physical Location Only 
Location DEQ Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA 22193 
Board Website http://www.deq.virginia.gov 
Agenda document agency has not posted
Purpose of the meeting
Public Hearing and Notice – Air Quality Plan   Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comments and announcing a public hearing on a proposed plan to maintain compliance with the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Northern Virginia 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area.  The Commonwealth intends to submit the plan as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP) in accordance with the requirements of § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act.  The SIP is the plan developed by the Commonwealth to fulfill its responsibilities under the Act to attain and maintain the ambient air quality standards promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Act.   Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comments on the overall plan and on the issue of whether the plan enables the Northern Virginia 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area, which is part of the Washington DC-MD-VA 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area, to maintain compliance with the 2015 ozone NAAQS until at least 2038.   Public comment period:  August 24, 2026, to September 24, 2026.   Public hearing: A public hearing will be conducted at the Northern Regional Office in conference room 1 at 1:00 pm on Friday, September 18, 2026.  The Northern Regional Office is located at 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA 22193.   Description of proposal: The proposal consists of:   1.  An air quality maintenance plan in support of a concurrent request to redesignate the Northern Virginia 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area (Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Stafford; Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park) to attainment: The purpose of the plan is to ensure that emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) do not exceed the 2022 attainment year levels through 2038, enabling the area to continue meeting the 2015 ozone NAAQS.  The plan contains control measures that are currently in place and will be continued to maintain emissions at or below the 2022 levels.  These measures include, but are not limited to, federal control programs for on-road and non-road engines; formulation limitations on various consumer, commercial, and industrial products; and controls on industrial sources.  The plan includes information concerning emissions estimates, growth assumptions, emission factors, and reduction assumptions.   2.  Motor vehicle emission budgets for the years 2022, 2032, and 2038:  The purpose of the motor vehicle emissions budgets is to ensure that transportation emissions conform to the requirements of the proposed plan for maintaining compliance with the 2015 ozone NAAQS (transportation conformity).   3.  Contingency measures:  The plan contains a program of contingency measures to be implemented if the air quality monitoring stations in the area record a violation of the 2015 ozone NAAQS or if emissions in the area increase above the 2022 levels.   The proposed ozone redesignation request and maintenance plan were prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC), which consists of elected officials from the affected localities and representatives of state transportation and air quality planning agencies.   The maintenance plan will be submitted as a SIP revision in conjunction with a request to EPA from the Commonwealth to redesignate the Northern Virginia 2015 ozone NAAQS nonattainment area as attainment/maintenance.  DEQ is accepting comments on both the redesignation request and maintenance plan, but the redesignation request will not be submitted as part of the SIP revision.   Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102).  The proposed maintenance plan and supporting technical documents will be submitted as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia SIP under § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act in accordance with 40 CFR 51.104.   How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by email and postal mail.  To be considered, comments must include the full name, address, and telephone number of the person commenting and be received by DEQ no later than the last day of the comment period.  Both oral and written comments are accepted at the public hearing.  DEQ prefers that comments be provided in writing, along with any supporting documents or exhibits.  Comments on the redesignation request and maintenance plan must be submitted to Doris A. McLeod, Air Quality Planner, Division of Air – Data Analysis and Planning, Department of Environmental Quality, 1111 East Main Street, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218 (phone 804-659-1990, email doris.mcleod@deq.virginia.gov).  All materials received are part of the public record.   To review the proposal: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices web site (https://www.deq.virginia.gov/news-info/shortcuts/public-notices/air).  The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named above.  The public may review the documents between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm of each business day until the close of the public comment period at the following DEQ locations: 1) Central Office, 1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Richmond, VA, 23219, 804-698-4000 and 2) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA, 22193, 703-583-3800.
Meeting Scope
 
Public hearing to receive comment on a proposed stage
X
General business of the board
 
Discuss particular regulations / chapters

Contact Information
Name / Title: Doris A. McLeod  / Air Quality Planner
Address: 1111 East Main Street
P.O. Box 1105
Richmond, 23218
Email Address: doris.mcleod@deq.virginia.gov
Telephone: (804)659-1990    FAX: ()-    TDD: ()-   
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, such as sign language interpreters and/or real-time captioning services, are available upon request. Please send accommodation requests to the meeting contact as early as possible but no later than seven business days before the date of the meeting.