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Public Notice - Air Quality Plan Revision (Regulation Revision B23)

  • Date: -  

Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP is a 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). The Commonwealth intends to submit the regulation amendments to EPA as a revision to the plan in accordance with the requirements of § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act.

Provisions affected: The regulation of the board affected by this action is 9VAC5-40 (Existing Stationary Sources), Regulation Revision B23.

Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comment on the issue of whether the regulation amendments should be submitted as a revision to the plan. 

Public comment period: September 23 to October 23, 2024. 

Public hearing: A public hearing may 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 included in this plan has been adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board in accordance with the Code of Virginia; DEQ is accepting comment only on the issue cited above under "purpose of notice" and not on the content of the regulation amendments. 

Description of proposal: Virginia state agencies are required to review regulations periodically in order to determine whether they are still needed. A public review of 9VAC5-40 (Existing Stationary Sources) including a review of the Department's Comprehensive Environmental Data System database showed that there are no longer any facilities within the state subject to Article 11, Emission Standards for Petroleum Refinery Operations or Article 26, Emission Standards for Large Appliance Coating Application Systems. 

Article 11 was promulgated in 1972 in order to control emissions of criteria pollutants particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as hydrogen sulfide. Article 26 was also promulgated in 1972 in order to control emissions of VOCs. These regulations were adopted by EPA as revisions to the Virginia SIP in Subpart VV of 40 CFR Part 52, and are thus federally enforceable. 

While many of the legacy 9VAC5-40 regulations still apply to affected facilities and continue to be an important underpinning to the SIP, there are no longer any petroleum refineries or large appliance coating application systems located within the state, and Articles 11 and 26 no longer serve any purpose. Even if there were still affected sources in the state, EPA's regulations have become much more protective of public health and welfare since the state regulations were originally promulgated in 1972. For example, Article 11 limits sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions to a concentration of 2,000 parts per million by volume (ppmv). The currently effective federal standard limits SO2 emissions to 50 ppmv (7-day rolling average) and 25 ppmv (365-day rolling average). Any new petroleum refining or large appliance coating facilities locating in Virginia will now be subject to federal New Source Performance Standards, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Source Categories, and a suite of other permitting requirements implemented since 1972. 

A number of general provisions and state-specific requirements are cross-referenced in each rule, but these were intended for the convenience of the affected facilities, and not individual state requirements in and of themselves. It was also verified that there are no cross references to these rules or their internal sections elsewhere in the regulations of the board, and therefore no need to amend any other regulations. 

The regulations were repealed by the State Air Pollution Control Board on September 13, 2023 under the authority of § 10.1-1308 of the Code of Virginia. Because the regulations have been repealed, they may be removed from Subpart VV. 

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102) and not any provision of state law. 

How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by email 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 materials received are part of the public record. 

To review documents: The proposal and any supporting documents may 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, 2) Southwest Regional Office, 355-A Deadmore St, Abingdon VA, 540-676-4800, 3) Blue Ridge Regional Office, 3901 Russell Dr, Salem VA, 540-562-6700, 4) Valley Regional Office, 4411 Early Rd, Harrisonburg VA, 540-574-7800, 5) Piedmont Regional Office, 4949-A Cox Rd, Glen Allen VA, 804-527-5020, 6) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Ct, Woodbridge VA, 703-583-3800, and 7) Tidewater Regional Office, 5636 Southern Blvd, Virginia Beach VA, 757-518-2000. 

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
E-mail: karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov

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Public Notification Mailing List for Major Sources of Air Pollution

DEQ, as required by law and regulation, maintains a mailing list of persons who wish to be notified of the public comment period for certain types of air permits:

  • Permits for major sources of air pollution including Title V permits
  • Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits
  • Non-attainment New Source Review Permits
  • Acid Rain Permits

These permits are subject to a mandatory public comment period prior to issuance. Any person who would like to be notified of these permit actions can complete and submit Form PPN to be added to the DEQ notification mailing list.

Individuals added to the list will receive the same public notice published in the newspaper, posted on the DEQ website and sent to EPA. Public comment periods are for a minimum of 30 days and a hearing may or may not be held at the end of the comment period depending on the type of permit and the comments received during the comment period. Contact Maya Whitaker with any questions. 

How to comment and/or request a public hearing for permits:

DEQ accepts comments and requests for public hearing by hand-delivery, e-mail, or postal mail. All comments and requests must be in writing and be received by DEQ during the comment period. Submittals must include the names, mailing addresses and telephone numbers of the commenter/requester and of all persons represented by the commenter/requester.

A request for public hearing must also include:

  1. The reason why a public hearing is requested.
  2. A brief, informal statement regarding the nature and extent of the interest of the requester or of those represented by the requestor, including how and to what extent such interest would be directly and adversely affected by the permit.
  3. Specific references, where possible, to terms and conditions of the permit with suggested revisions.

A public hearing may be held, including another comment period, if public response is significant, based on individual requests for public hearing, and there are substantial, disputed issues relevant to the permit or regulatory action.