Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed plan to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). 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 federal Clean Air Act to attain and maintain the NAAQS promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Act.

Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comment on the issue of whether a particular regulation amendment, which adds a new nonattainment area to the regulation listing nonattainment areas (Regulation Revision F22), should be submitted as a revision to the SIP.

Public comment period: June 19 to July 19, 2023.

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.

Public comment stage: The regulation amendment is exempt from the state administrative procedures for adoption of regulations by the provisions of § 2.2-4006 A 4 c of the Administrative Process Act because it is necessary to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act and does not differ materially from the pertinent U.S. EPA regulations. Because the amendment has already been adopted and is exempt from administrative procedures for the adoption of regulations, DEQ is accepting comment only on the issue cited above under "purpose of notice" and not on the content of the regulation amendment.

Description of proposal: On March 26, 2021 (86 FR 16055), EPA promulgated air quality designations for the 2010 primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA has determined that a portion of Giles County, Virginia is not meeting the SO2 NAAQS, and has designated it as a nonattainment area at 40 CFR 81.347. In order to implement the standard, Virginia\\'s list of nonattainment areas (9VAC5-20-204) was updated accordingly under Regulation Revision F22; more information is available from Town Hall: https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewStage.cfm?stageid=9857.

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102). The proposal 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 on the last day of the comment period. All faxes must have a cover page that lists the intended recipient. All materials received are part of the public record.

To review proposal: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices web site: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/permits/public-notices/air The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below. The public may schedule an appointment to 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) Main Street Office, 22nd Floor, 1111 E. Main St, Richmond VA, 804-698-4000, and 2) Blue Ridge Regional Office, 3901 Russell Dr, Salem VA, 540-562-6700.

Contact for public comments, document requests and additional information: Karen G. Sabasteanski, Policy Analyst, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond VA 23218 (phone 804-659-1973, fax 804-698-4178, email: karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov).