Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed plan to assure necessary authorities are contained in the state implementation plan to allow areas to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone and very fine particulate matter (PM2.5). 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 ambient air quality standards promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Act.
Purpose of notice: (i) Regulation Revision A08, Article 8 of 9VAC5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources), Permits for Major Stationary Sources and Major Modifications Locating in Prevention of Significant Deterioration Areas. DEQ is seeking comment on the issue of whether the regulation amendments should be submitted as revisions to the plan. (ii) Two § 110(a)(2) Infrastructure SIP submittals: CS, changes to state code § 10.1-1302 covering qualifications of members of the board; and DS, changes to previously submitted 8-hour ozone and PM2.5 § 110(a)(2) infrastructure SIP submittals regarding §§ 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) and 128 requirements for state boards necessitated by § 10.1-1302. DEQ is seeking comment on the issue of whether the plan demonstrates the Commonwealth’s compliance with federal Clean Air Act requirements related to general state plan infrastructure.
Public comment period: April 26 to May 27, 2010.
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 and address of the person requesting the hearing and be received by DEQ on 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 proposed revisions will consist of amendments to plan provisions concerning the following: (i) For Regulation Revision A08, revising the definitions of “major modification,” “major stationary source,” “regulated NSR pollutant” and “significant,” and the list of exempted facilities, to specify that nitrogen oxides (NOX) are a precursor of ozone in addition to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). (ii) For Infrastructure SIP submittals CS and DS, revising the plan as needed to demonstrate compliance with §§ 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) and 128 requirements regarding state boards.
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. It is planned to submit all provisions of the proposal as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia SIP.
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 testimony, exhibits and documents received are part of the public record. Please note this proposed plan is being concurrently reviewed by U. S. EPA.
To review proposal: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices for Plans web site (
http://www.deq.virginia.gov/air/permitting/planotes.html). The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below. 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) DEQ Main Street Office, 8th Floor, 629 E. Main St, Richmond VA, 804-698-4070) Southwest Regional Office, 355 Deadmore St, Abingdon VA, 540-676-4800, 3) Blue Ridge Regional Office, Roanoke Location, 3019 Peters Creek Rd, Roanoke VA, 540-562-6700, 4) Blue Ridge Regional Office, Lynchburg Location, 7705 Timberlake Rd, Lynchburg VA, 804-582-5120, 5) Valley Regional Office, 4411 Early Rd, Harrisonburg VA, 540-574-7800, 6) Piedmont Regional Office, 4949-A Cox Rd, Glen Allen VA, 804-527-5020, 7) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge VA, 703-583-3800, and 8) Tidewater Regional Office, 5636 Southern Blvd, Virginia Beach VA, 757-518-2000.
