🌫️Vermont's Regional Haze SIP
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by Vermont on July 1, 2024, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule for the program's second implementation period. Vermont's SIP submission addresses the requirement that states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in mandatory Class I Federal areas. The SIP submission also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Clean Air Act.
Learn More🔥Proposed Regulation for Outdoor Burning in Lane County, Oregon
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to approve into the Oregon State Implementation Plan (SIP) the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) revised outdoor burning rule revisions submitted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) on July 1, 2024, in coordination with LRAPA. The revised rule, applicable in Lane County, Oregon, clarifies terminology, revises formatting, and expands the residential outdoor burning season to allow burning of woody yard trimmings on approved burn days within Lowell city limits from October 1 through June 15. ODEQ included in the submittal a technical demonstration that the requested expansion of the residential outdoor burning season will not interfere with attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS and other applicable Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements. The EPA is proposing to approve this rule because it meets the applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act.
Learn More🌫️Texas and Oklahoma Regional Haze Plans Assessment by EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve regional haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), dated March 20, 2014, and July 20, 2021, as satisfying applicable requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR). Additionally, the EPA is proposing to approve portions of the 2009 Texas Regional Haze SIP submission and portions of the 2010 Oklahoma Regional Haze SIP submission that relate to reasonable progress requirements for the first planning period from 2007 through 2018. Finally, the EPA is also withdrawing its 2023 proposed disapprovals regarding Texas's and Oklahoma's first planning period SIPs and its 2024 proposed action regarding Texas's second planning period SIP. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to sections 110 and 169A of the Act.
Learn More🌬️EPA Approves Texas Air Quality Permitting Updates for Emissions
Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving portions of a revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on July 9, 2021. The revision includes updates to the Texas Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) permitting programs to incorporate Federal New Source Review (NSR) regulations for Project Emissions Accounting (PEA).
Learn More🌫️EPA Approves Michigan's Sulfur Dioxide Compliance Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by Michigan on December 20, 2022, and supplemented on February 21, 2023, December 14, 2023, and April 2, 2024, which amends a SIP submission previously submitted to EPA on May 31, 2016, and June 30, 2016, for attaining the 2010 sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Detroit SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area. This action follows a prior action which found that Michigan had satisfied emission inventory and new source review (NSR) requirements for this area but had not met requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the elements that EPA is approving here. This action also follows the promulgation of the 2022 Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for the Detroit SO<INF>2</INF> nonattainment area.
Learn More🌫️South Dakota's Regional Haze Plan Approval and Business Impact
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) submission submitted by the State of South Dakota on July 29, 2022 (South Dakota's 2022 SIP submission), under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation period. South Dakota's 2022 SIP submission addresses the requirement that states revise their long-term strategies every implementation period to make reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in mandatory Class I Federal areas. South Dakota's 2022 SIP submission also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to the CAA.
Learn More🌬️EPA Approves Washington State SIP Revisions for Clean Air Compliance
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving Washington State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions to the Southwest Clean Air Agency (SWCAA) air quality regulations submitted by the State of Washington, through the Department of Ecology (Ecology) on June 22, 2023. The revisions were submitted in part to respond to the EPA's June 12, 2015 "SIP call" in which the EPA found a provision in the Washington SIP applicable in the area regulated by SWCAA to be substantially inadequate, providing affirmative defenses that operate to limit the jurisdiction of the Federal court in an enforcement action related to excess emissions during startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events. The EPA's approval of the SIP revisions to the substantially inadequate provision corrects the SWCAA deficiency identified in the 2015 SSM SIP call and the EPA's January 2022 finding of failure to submit. Washington withdrew some portions of the revisions submitted that were not identified in the 2015 SSM SIP call and therefore the EPA is not approving those withdrawn portions. The EPA proposed to approve this action on December 10, 2024, and received no comments.
Learn More🌬️EPA Approves Alabama Air Quality Regulation Changes
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Alabama, through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on December 20, 2023. The revision modifies the State's air quality regulations as incorporated into the SIP by changing the definition of "volatile organic compounds" (VOC) to be consistent with federal regulations. The revision also addresses typographical errors and increases clarity and consistency with EPA's definitions and Alabama's Legislative Services Agency requirements.
Learn More🌬️Colorado Air Quality Plan Approval for Ozone Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve state implementation plan (SIP) submittals under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that address contingency measures requirements for the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the Denver Metro/North Front Range (DMNFR) ozone nonattainment area. The requirements at issue relate to the area's previous Serious nonattainment classification. The EPA is proposing to find that the State has met the applicable CAA requirements for Serious area contingency measures and is proposing approval of the contingency measures SIP submittals, except that we are not taking action on one of the two identified contingency measures included in the submittals. In addition, the EPA is proposing to approve regulatory revisions that Colorado adopted to implement the submitted motor vehicle coating contingency measure. The EPA is taking this action pursuant to the CAA.
Learn More🌫️Proposed Sulfur Dioxide Regulations for Cabot Corporation in Louisiana
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve Louisiana's State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted to EPA on April 2, 2025, for the Evangeline Parish 2010 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO<INF>2</INF>) primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) nonattainment area. EPA is proposing approval of the following Clean Air Act (CAA) SIP elements: The attainment demonstration for the SO<INF>2</INF> NAAQS, which includes an Agreed Order on Consent (AOC) for the Cabot Corporation's Ville Platte Plant (Cabot) facility; the reasonable further progress (RFP) plan; the reasonably available control measures (RACM) and reasonably available control technology (RACT) demonstration; the emission inventories; and the contingency measures. The State has demonstrated that its current Nonattainment New Source Review (NNSR) program covers this NAAQS; therefore, no revision to the SIP is required for the NNSR element.
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