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

 

Provisions affected: The regulations of the board affected by this action are Article 6 of 9VAC5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources), and 9VAC5-540 (Emergency Generator General Permit), Regulation Revision A25 concerning certain agricultural incinerators, and Regulation Revision B25 concerning certain military generators.

 

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

 

Public comment period: July 14 through August 13, 2025.

 

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: The regulations included in this plan have been adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board and the Department of Environmental Quality in accordance with the Code of Virginia; 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: Chapter 365 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly (SB 1495) requires the State Air Pollution Control Board to amend 9VAC5-80-1105 (Article 6 of 9VAC5-80) relating to permit exemptions for poultry or swine incinerators to include bovine incinerators; appropriate amendments to the list of exemptions were adopted by the State Air Pollution Control Board on April 17, 2025 under Regulation Revision A25.

 

Chapter 344 of the 2025 Virginia Acts of Assembly (SB 1407) requires that 9VAC5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources) and 9VAC5-540 (General Permit for Emergency Generators) shall allow any affected emergency generator to operate up to 50 hours per year for nonemergency purposes, including planned outages and switch gear and related electrical system testing, so as to be consistent with EPA's National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Stationary Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines pursuant to 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart ZZZZ and New Source Performance Standards pursuant to 40 CFR Part 60 Subparts IIII and JJJJ. An affected emergency generator is any emergency generator, whether or not located on a military installation as defined in § 15.2-2201 of the Code of Virginia, that has been certified to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by the U.S. Department of Defense or relevant branch of the U.S. Armed Forces as mission-critical and essential to the defense of the United States. The regulation amendments were adopted and approved accordingly by the Department of Environmental Quality on May 21, 2025 under Regulation Revision B25.

 

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.

 

How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by email 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 on the last day of the comment period. All materials received are part of the public record.

 

To review documents: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices web site: Air Public Notices | Virginia DEQ. The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below. The public may schedule an appointment to 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, 22nd Floor, 1111 E. Main St, Richmond VA, 804-698-4000, 2) Southwest Regional Office, 355-A Deadmore St, Abingdon VA, 540-676-4800, 3) Blue Ridge Regional Office, 3901 Russell Dr, Salem VA, 540-562-6700, 4) Valley Regional Office, 4411 Early Rd, Harrisonburg VA, 540-574-7800, 5) Piedmont Regional Office, 4949-A Cox Rd, Glen Allen VA, 804-527-5020, 6) Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Ct, Woodbridge VA, 703-583-3800, and 7) Tidewater Regional Office, 5636 Southern Blvd, Virginia Beach VA, 757-518-2000.

 

Contact for public comments, document requests and additional information: Karen G. Sabasteanski, Policy Analyst, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond VA 23218 (phone 804-659-1973, email karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov).