Notice of Request for Comments on
Alaska's 2024 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 2024 Wildland Fire Season in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska available for public review and comment. In the summer of 2024, the Fairbanks North Star Borough's 24-hour average PM2.5 nonattainment area experienced high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) 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 PM2.5 & PM10 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, September 16, 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

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 Kristin Mabry kristin.mabry@alaska.gov or 907-334-0884; Alaska Relay Service/TTY/TDD 1-800-770-8973; or 711 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided