Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Environmental Quality
Board
Air Pollution Control Board

General Notice
General Notice - State Implementation Plan Revision - Emission Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds from Petroleum Liquid Storage and Transfer Operations
Date Posted: 8/3/2015
Expiration Date: 9/23/2015
Submitted to Registrar for publication: YES
30 Day Comment Forum closed. Began on 8/24/2015 and ended 9/23/2015

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) under the Act. The Commonwealth intends to submit the regulation to EPA as a revision to the SIP in accordance with the requirements of § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act.

Regulations affected: Article 37, Emission Standards for Volatile Organic Compounds from Petroleum Liquid Storage and Transfer Operations, of Part II of 9VAC5-40 (Existing Stationary Sources), Revision C14.

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

Public comment period: August 24 to September 23, 2015.

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: Because the amendments have been adopted and are exempt from administrative procedures for the adoption of regulations, 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: Section 182 (b)(3) of the federal Clean Air Act required the implementation of Stage II vapor recovery in ozone nonattainment and maintenance areas, including northern Virginia and Richmond.  Since then, in accordance with § 202(a)(6) of the Act, EPA has determined that onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) is in widespread use throughout the motor vehicle fleet, thus obviating the need to maintain Stage II vapor recovery programs (see 77 FR 28772).  The department has examined whether Stage II is still necessary for ozone control purposes and has determined that Stage II is no longer needed.  Removing this control requirement will not interfere with maintenance of any ozone standard.  Therefore, on November 12, 2013 and March 18, 2014, the department submitted revisions to the state implementation plan (SIP) that satisfy all requirements of the federal Clean Air Act and EPA guidance regarding the removal of Stage II requirements from the northern Virginia and Richmond area attainment and maintenance plans.  Virginia's specific Stage II requirements are found in Article 37 of 9VAC5-40, and have been amended accordingly.

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.  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 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 by the last day of the comment period. All materials received are part of the public record.

To review regulation documents: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices for Plans web site: http://www.deq.state.va.us/Programs/Air/PublicNotices/airplansandprograms.aspx. 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) Main Street Office, 8th Floor, 629 E Main St, Richmond VA, 804-698-4070, 2) 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.


Contact Information
Name / Title: Karen G. Sabasteanski 
Address: 629 East Main Street
P.O. Box 1105
Richmond, 23218
Email Address: karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov
Telephone: (804)698-4426    FAX: (804)698-4510    TDD: ()-