Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comments and announcing a public hearing on a proposed plan to implement reasonably available control technology (RACT) in support of the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area.  The Commonwealth intends to submit the plan 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 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 and on the issue of whether the plan meets RACT requirements for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area in support of the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

Public comment period:  October 16, 2017 to November 15, 2017

Public hearing: A public hearing will be conducted at the Northern Regional Office in conference room 1, at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 13, 2017.  The Northern Regional Office is located at 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA 22193.  A map and directions maybe found at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Locations/NorthernRegionalOffice.aspx.

Description of proposal: The proposal consists of the following.

1. An analysis of the regulatory underpinnings of RACT for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area, which consists of the counties of Stafford, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

2. Certification of the implementation of the control technique guidelines (CTGs) and alternative control techniques (ACTs) within Virginia’s SIP for the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area.

3. Negative declaration for the 2016 CTG for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry in the Northern Virginia Emissions Control Area.

4.  Recertification of certain RACT analyses previously submitted in Virginia’s SIP, where review of available data show that no additional controls are necessary.

5.  A commitment to submit as SIP revisions source specific RACT determinations for those facilities where recertification of previous RACT requirements was not appropriate.

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102).  The proposed RACT implementation document 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 on the RACT implementation document 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.virginia.gov/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.