Department of Environmental Quality
Air Pollution Control Board
Meeting:
Clean Air Interstate Rule - Reopening of Comment Period on 9 VAC 5-140-1061, 1062, 2061, 2062, 3061 and, 3062 under Section 2.2-4007 of the Administrative Process Act
| Meeting Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date / Time | 6/18/2007 9:00 am | ||
| Location | Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, First Floor Conference Room, Richmond, VA | ||
| Board Website | http://www.deq.virginia.gov | ||
| Agenda document | agency has not posted | ||
| Minutes document | agency has not posted | ||
| Disability Friendly? Yes Deaf interpreter available upon request? No | |||
| Purpose of the meeting Notice is hereby given in accordance with § 2.2-4007 K of the Code of Virginia that the State Air Pollution Control Board is suspending the effective date of certain provisions of its regulation entitled: Regulation for Emissions Trading, specifically the provisions concerning nonattainment area requirements (9 VAC 5-140-1061, 9 VAC 5-140-1062, 9 VAC 5-140-2061, 9 VAC 5-140-2062, 9 VAC 5-140-3061, and 9 VAC 5-140-3062) and seeking comment on the changes made to these provisions from publication of the proposed regulation to publication of the final regulation. Background and Notice of Reopening: In 22:22 VA.R. 3074-3080 July 10, 2006, the board published for public comment a proposal to amend its regulations concerning emissions trading. In response to that request, comments were submitted that resulted in several changes being made to the original proposal. Additional changes were made to the original proposal based on legislation enacted by the 2006 General Assembly. On December 6, 2006, the board adopted final amendments to its regulations concerning emission trading, which were to become effective date on April 18, 2007. The final regulation amendments as adopted were published in the Virginia Register in 23:14 VA.R. 2291-2292, 2331-2333, and 2370-2371 March 19, 2007. Pursuant to § 2.2-4007 K of the Code of Virginia, at least 25 persons requested an opportunity to submit oral and written comments on specific changes to the proposal. Because of the substantive nature of these additional changes and the requests from petitioners, the board is now reopening the nonattainment area requirements of the proposal (Revision E05) for public comment on those changes to the final regulation and suspending the effective date of nonattainment area requirements (9 VAC 5-140-1061, 9 VAC 5-140-1062, 9 VAC 5-140-2061, 9 VAC 5-140-2062, 9 VAC 5-140-3061, and 9 VAC 5-140-3062) of the regulation. THE BOARD IS RECEIVING COMMENT ONLY ON THE CHANGES THE BOARD MADE TO THE NONATTAINMENT AREA REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROPOSED REGULATION TO MAKE IT FINAL. THESE CHANGES ARE SHOWN IN BRACKETS IN THE FINAL VERSION OF 9 VAC 5-140-1061, 9 VAC 5-140-1062, 9 VAC 5-140-2061, 9 VAC 5-140-2062, 9 VAC 5-140-3061, and 9 VAC 5-140-3062 OF THE REGULATION PUBLISHED IN THE VIRGINIA REGISTER ON MARCH 19, 2007. ONLY COMMENTS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE WILL BE CONSIDERED IN MAKING THE DECISION ON THE FINAL REGULATION. COMMENTS MADE IN RESPONSE TO THE ORIGINAL NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT ISSUED ON JULY 10, 2006 WILL NOT BE RECONSIDERED IN MAKING THE DECISION ON THE FINAL REGULATION. Summary of Changes to Original Proposed Regulation: A number of changes have been made to the original proposal; they are enumerated below. The changes are derived from (i) changes to the Code of Virginia as a result of the 2006 Acts of Assembly (Chapters 867 and 920) subsequent to the close of the public comment period on the original proposal, (ii) comments made by EPA during the public comment period on the original proposal and during subsequent discussions and negotiations, (iii) clarifications and other improvements noted by Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff during subsequent reviews. 1. 9 VAC 5-140-1061 and 9 VAC 5-140-1062 (9 VAC 5-140, Part II - NOX Annual Trading Program) a. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-1060 H were reformatted as 9 VAC 5-140-1061. b. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-1061 related to compliance in nonattainment areas were revised to establish an independent annual emissions cap equivalent to the number of allowances issued to the affected unit under the CAIR program. Compliance must be demonstrated on an annual basis for the preceding control period, based on a comparison of (i) the total NOX emissions (expressed in tons) from each unit and (ii) the annual emissions cap for the unit. c. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-1061 that would have allowed for a waiver from the prohibition on trading allowances to demonstrate compliance in nonattainment areas were removed. d. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-1062 were added to allow the compliance demonstration to be made in the aggregate for all units at a single source or facility. 2. 9 VAC 5-140-2061 and 9 VAC 5-140-2062 (9 VAC 5-140, Part III - NOX Ozone Season Trading Program) a. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-2060 H were reformatted as 9 VAC 5-140-2061. b. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-2061 related to compliance in nonattainment areas were revised to establish an independent ozone season emissions cap equivalent to the number of allowances issued to the affected unit under the CAIR program. Compliance must be demonstrated on an annual basis for the preceding control period, based on a comparison of (i) the total NOX emissions (expressed in tons) from each unit and (ii) the ozone season emissions cap for the unit. c. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-2061 that would have allowed for a waiver from the prohibition on trading allowances to demonstrate compliance in nonattainment areas were removed. d. The provisions of 9 VAC 5-140-2062 were added to allow the compliance demonstration to be made in the aggregate for all units at a single source or facility. 3. 9 VAC 5-140-3061, and 9 VAC 5-140-3062 (9 VAC 5-140, Part IV - SO2 Annual Trading Program) Provisions have been added to address compliance in nonattainment areas similar to those for the NOX trading programs (Parts II and III). Request for Comments: Along with suspending the effective date of the provisions of the regulatory action (Revision E05) concerning the nonattainment area requirements, the purpose of this notice is to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on changes made to the nonattainment area requirements of the proposal. The 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 June 18, 2007. 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 meeting. 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. Public Meeting: A public meeting will be held by DEQ to accept public testimony on changes made to the proposal. The date, time and location of the meeting are shown below: June 18, 2007 09:00 a.m. - Public Meeting First Floor Conference Room, Department of Environmental Quality, 629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia Contact: The DEQ contact for public comments, document requests and additional information is: Mary E. Major, Environmental Program Manager, Office of Air Regulatory Development, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218, phone: (804) 698-4423, fax: (804) 698-4510, email: memajor@deq.virginia.gov Statutory Authority: § 10.1 1308, § 10.1 1327 and § 10.1 1328 A 5 of the Code of Virginia. To Review Regulation Documents: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the Town Hall web site (www.townhall.virginia.gov) and the DEQ Air Public Notices for Regulations web site (http://www.deq.virginia.gov/air/permitting/regnotes.htm). The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ contact named above. 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 DEQ Central Office, 8th Floor, 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, Virginia, Ph: (804) 698-4070 | |||
| Meeting Scope |
Public hearing to receive comment on a proposed stage
General business of the board
X
Discuss particular regulations / chapters
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The agency plans to discuss the following regulations at this meeting:
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| Contact Information | |
|---|---|
| Name / Title: | Mary E. Major |
| Address: |
P.O.Box 1105 Richmond, 23218 |
| Email Address: | memajor@deq.virginia.gov |
| Telephone: | (804)698-4423 FAX: (804)698-4510 |