Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a proposed plan to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standard for PM_2.5 in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, which includes the northern Virginia jurisdictions of Loudoun County, Prince William County, Fairfax County, Arlington County, the City of Falls Church, the City of Alexandria, the City of Manassas, the City of Fairfax, and the City of Manassas Park.  If adopted, the Commonwealth intends to submit the plan or portion thereof as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP) in accordance with the requirements of §110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act.  The SIP is the 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.

Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comments on the overall plan, including (i) the attainment plan, (ii) the analysis of reasonably available control measures, (iii) the attainment demonstration, (iv) the contingency plans for failure to attain the air quality standard, (v) mobile source budgets, and (vi) the base year 2002 air pollutant emissions inventory.  The base year 2002 air pollutant emissions inventory has been prepared in response to the emission inventory requirements under §172(c) of the federal Clean Air Act in accordance with 40 CFR 51.915.

Public comment period: December 28, 2007, to January 30, 2008.

Public hearing: George Mason High School, 7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia (within walking distance of the West Falls Church Metro Station) at 7:00 p.m. on January 29, 2008.

Description of proposal: The proposed revision, “State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Annual Fine Particulate (PM_2.5) Standard and the 2002 Base Year Inventory for the Washington, DC-MD-VA Nonattainment Area,” was prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC), which consists of elected officials from the affected localities and representatives of state transportation and air quality planning agencies.  The plan is intended to show the progress being made to improve air quality in the Washington nonattainment area and the efforts underway to assure that all necessary steps are taken to reach the federal health standard for PM_2.5 by 2009.  MWAQC prepared the plan to comply with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and with federal implementation guidance.

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102).  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.  All provisions of the proposal are planned to be submitted as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia SIP.

How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by e-mail, facsimile transmission, and postal mail.  IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, WRITTEN COMMENTS MUST INCLUDE THE FULL NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THE PERSON COMMENTING AND BE RECEIVED BY DEQ BY 5:00 P.M. ON THE LAST DAY OF THE COMMENT PERIOD (JANUARY 30, 2008).  Due to problems with the quality of facsimile transmissions, commenters are encouraged to provide the signed original by postal mail within one week.  Both oral and written comments are accepted at the public hearing.  DEQ prefers that comments be provided in writing, along with any supporting documents or exhibits.  All testimony, exhibits, and documents received are part of the public record.  Please note this proposed plan is being concurrently reviewed by the U.S. EPA.

To review proposal: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices for Plans web site: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/air/permitting/planotes.html.  The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below.  The public may review the documents between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. of each business day until the close of the public comment period at the following locations: 1) DEQ Main Street Office, 8th Floor, 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, Virginia, 804-698-4070 and 2) DEQ Northern Virginia Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, Virginia, 703-583-3800.