Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comments on a proposed plan to implement reasonably available control technology (RACT) in support of the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Northern Virginia Emissions Control 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 in order 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 meets RACT requirements for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area in support of the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

Public comment period: February 17 to March 19, 2020

Public hearing: A public hearing will be conducted if a request is made in writing to the contact listed below. In order to be considered, the request must include the full name, address and telephone number of the person requesting the hearing and be received by DEQ by the last day of the comment period. Notice of the date, time, and location of any requested public hearing will be announced in a separate notice, and another 30-day comment period will be conducted.

Description of proposal: The proposal, which is a supplement to a plan revision previously submitted on December 12, 2017, consists of the following.

1. An analysis of the regulatory underpinnings of RACT for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area, which consists of the counties of Stafford, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

2. Certification of the implementation of the control technique guidelines (CTGs) and alternative control techniques (ACTs) within Virginia’s SIP for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area.

3. Negative declaration for the 2016 CTG for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry in the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area.

4. Recertification of certain RACT analyses previously submitted in Virginia’s SIP, where review of available data show that no additional controls are necessary.

5. Permit conditions for certain facilities ensuring that RACT requirements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS will be contained in Virginia's SIP.

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102). The proposed RACT implementation document 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, fax, and postal mail. In order 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. DEQ prefers that comments be provided in writing, along with any supporting documents or exhibits. Comments must be submitted to the contact person below.

To review the proposal: The proposal is available on the DEQ Air Public Notices for Plans web site: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Air/PublicNotices/airplansandprograms.aspx. The proposal may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below. The public may review the proposal between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm of each business day until the close of the comment period at the following DEQ locations: 1) Main Street Office, Suite 1400, 1111 E. Main St, Richmond VA, 804-698-4070 and 2) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge VA, 703-583-3800.