NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON AIR QUALITY CONTROL

IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation proposes to revise regulations on air quality and the Serious State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) nonattainment area. The proposed SIP chapter and appendices revisions are needed to meet federal requirements under the Clean Air Act.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) proposes to adopt a regulation change in Title 18, Chapter 50 of the Alaska Administrative Code to adopt revisions to the Serious State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and to amend or repeal and replace SIP sections and appendices, including the following: 

(1)  18 AAC 50.030 is proposed to be amended to adopt revisions to the State Air Quality Control Plan. Those revisions include:

1. revisions in Volume II, Section III.D.7:Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Serious State Implementation Plan (SIP):
   1. amending Section III.D.7.06: Emission Inventory, by amending subsection III.D.7.6.1.1, and adding subsection III.D.7.6.9.
   2. amending Section III.D.7.07: Control Strategies, by adding subsection III.D.7.7.13.
   3. amending Section III.D.7.08: Modeling, by adding subsection III.D.7.8.15.
   4. repealing and readopting Section III.D.7.09: Attainment Demonstration – 2024.
   5. repealing and readopting Section III.D.7.10: Reasonable Further Progress and Quantitative Milestones.
   6. repealing and replacing Section III.D.7.11: Contingency Measures.
   7. amending Section III.D.7.12: Emergency Episode Plan, by amending subsection III.D.7.12.2, and Tables 7.12-1, 7.12-5, 7.12-6.
   8. amending Section III.7.14: Conformity and Motor Vehicle Emission Budget.
2. amending Volume III Appendix to Volume II Section II to incorporate the proposed regulations after public review and comment. This appendix within the State Air Quality Control Plan contains the state’s air quality regulations.
3. amending Volume III Appendix to Volume II, Sections III.D.06 – III.D.12 and III.D.14 to incorporate supporting documentation for proposed amended sections of the FNSB PM2.5 SIP listed above.
4. writing, public noticing, and issuing Air Quality Permits to incorporate the best available control technologies (BACT) emission limits listed in FNSB PM2.5 SIP Section 7.7.13.8.2.1 and the corresponding monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting (MR&R) requirements listed in Volume III Appendix to Volume II, Section III.D.07 for the sources listed in FNSB PM2.5 SIP Sections 7.7.13.8.3 – 7.7.13.8.7.The issued permits are anticipated to be completed this fall and will be adopted as part of this amended SIP for submission to EPA for approval.

If adopted, ADEC will submit the applicable regulations and State Air Quality Control Plan revisions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inclusion in or removal from the approved State Implementation Plan (SIP).

Posting

The above list of proposed changes to the regulations only provides a summary of their subject matter. Copies of the proposed regulation changes are available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and at the 2024 Amendments to the Fairbanks PM2.5 Serious SIP link on:  https://dec.alaska.gov/air/anpms/sip/revisions/. Materials not feasible to post, such as those that are copyrighted, may be viewed at the ADEC offices at the following locations:  ADEC Anchorage Building, 555 Cordova St., Anchorage; ADEC Fairbanks Office Building, 610 University Avenue, Fairbanks; and ADEC Juneau Office, 333 Willoughby Ave., 8th Floor. To arrange to view the materials, contact Rebecca Smith at 907-465-5121 or rebecca.smith@alaska.gov

Comments

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting comments electronically on the Electronic Comment Submission page on our Air Online Services website at https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/Air/airtoolsweb/FormalComments.  If you are unable to submit comments via this site, you may submit written comments to Rebecca Smith, Division of Air Quality,  Department of Environmental Conservation, P.O. Box 111800, Juneau, Alaska 99811-1800; or by e-mail to dec.air.comment@alaska.gov. The comments must be received not later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 7, 2024. Comments received after this date will not be considered in final action on these rules and the air quality plan.

Hearings

DEC has scheduled two public hearings for these proposed regulations, to be held on Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall at Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska, and from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall at Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska.  Formal oral or written comments may be submitted at the hearings.  Prior to the start of the hearing, DEC may limit the time allotted for each person providing oral testimony, as reasonably necessary to conclude the hearing in the time provided.  The hearing may be extended for a reasonable amount of time to accommodate those present before 1:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m., respectively, who did not have an opportunity to comment prior to that time.

Questions

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to DEC by submitting questions electronically via the Electronic Comment Submission link on our Air Online Services website at https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/Air/airtoolsweb/FormalComments; by electronic mail to dec.air.comment@alaska.gov; or by mail to Rebecca Smith, Division of Air Quality, Department of Environmental Conservation, P.O. Box 111800, Juneau, Alaska 99811-1800. Questions may also be submitted verbally in testimony at the public hearing. The Department will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on http://dec.alaska.gov/air/anpms/sip/fbks-pm2-5-sip-qa-table-2024. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period, Friday, September 27, 2024. The Department may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after Friday, September 27, 2024, the cut-off date.

If you are a person with a disability who may need a special accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact Julia Schweminski at (907) 334-5994 or julia.schweminski@alaska.gov not later than Thursday, September 19, 2024, to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

After the public comment period ends, the ADEC will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. YOU SHOULD COMMENT DURING THE TIME ALLOWED IF YOUR INTERESTS COULD BE AFFECTED. Written comments received are public records and are subject to public inspection.

Statutory authority: AS 46.03.020; AS 46.14.020; AS 46.14.030; AS 46.14.140

Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 46.03.020; AS 46.14.020; AS 46.14.030; AS 46.14.140

Fiscal information:  The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.

ADEC, Division of Air Quality keeps a list of individuals and organizations interested in its regulations. Those on the list will automatically be sent a copy of all of the Division of Air Quality notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to or removed from the list, you may sign up on the Air Online Services (AOS) page at:  http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/Air/airtoolsweb/Home/Index/.  A myAlaska account is required to use the AOS system.