Notice of Request for Comments on Alaska's 2022/2023 Exceptional Events Waiver Request for Wildland Fire Impacted Data

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), Air Monitoring and Quality Assurance Program is making Alaska’s Exceptional Events Waiver Request for PM2.5 Events During the 2023 and 2023 Wildland Fire Seasons in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska available for public review and comment. In the summers of 2022 and 2023, the Fairbanks North Star Borough's 24-hour average PM_2.5 nonattainment area experienced high levels of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) due to wildland fires. In response, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has drafted this document for an Exceptional Event Waiver Request (EEWR). This waiver seeks to omit the elevated PM_2.5 levels resulting from wildland fire emissions during regulatory assessments, in line with Section 319(b)(3)(B) of the Clean Air Act. The document is available at https://dec.alaska.gov/air/air-monitoring/guidance/exceptional-events/ and is submitted to fulfill the federal public review requirement. The EEWR will be available for public comment for 30 days. The deadline for comments is 11:59 pm Alaska time, January 20, 2025. All comments may be directed to Mark Smith at ADEC’s Air Quality Division office in Anchorage:

Mark Smith
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Air Quality
555 Cordova St. Anchorage AK 99501
mark.smith@alaska.gov
(907) 269-7676

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The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you are a person with a disability who may need an accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact ADA Coordinator Mike Kruzinski, mike.kruzinski@alaska.gov, 1-907-334-0884; Alaska Relay Service/TTY/TDD 1-800-770-8973; or 711 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.