Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comments and announcing a public hearing on a proposed 2011 base year inventory for precursors to the pollutant ozone, which are are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_X), and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the Metropolitan Washington, DC-MD-VA 2008 Ozone Nonattainment Area.  The Commonwealth intends to submit the inventory as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan (SIP) in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act.  The SIP is the plan developed by the Commonwealth in order to fulfill its responsibilities under the Act to attain and maintain the ambient air quality standards promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comments on the overall 2011 inventory for the Northern Virginia portion of the Metropolitan Washington, DC-MD-VA 2008 Ozone Nonattainment Area, which consists of the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. 

Public comment period: March 24 to April 23, 2014.

Public hearing: A public hearing will be conducted in Conference Room 2, DEQ Northern Region Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, Virginia, at 10:00 am on April 22, 2014.  A map and directions maybe found at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Locations/NorthernRegionalOffice.aspx.

Description of proposal: The proposed 2011 base year inventory 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 proposal consists of a comprehensive inventory of actual emissions from all sources of relevant pollutants for the base year 2011.  This inventory, once finalized, will be the basis for any future planning exercises that have as a goal compliance with the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102).  The proposed inventory and supporting technical documents 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.

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 no later than the last day of the comment period.  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.  Comments must be submitted to the contact person below.  All materials received are part of the public record.

To review the proposal: 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 above.  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 and 2) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA, 703-583-3800.Enter your notice text here.