EMAIL TO LEGISLATORS
From: GARTENBAUM Andrea
Sent:
To: SEN Dembrow; REP Holvey
Subject: DEQ proposes rulemaking to adopt Carbon Monoxide and Particulate Matter (PM10) Limited Maintenance Plans for Grants Pass - Notification required under ORS 183.335(15)
Dear Senator Dembrow and Representative Holvey:
DEQ is seeking comments on the adoption of two Limited Maintenance Plans for the Grants Pass area - one for Particulate Matter 10 microns and smaller (PM10), and one for Carbon Monoxide (CO). DEQ is proposing to adopt these plans into the Oregon Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan, as a revision to OAR 340-200-0040.
• These plans are the second maintenance plans, and are designed to maintain compliance with the PM10 and CO National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the next 10 years. If approved by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC), DEQ would submit these plans to the US Environmental Protection Agency for approval and as a revision to the State Implementation Plan, as the Clean Air Act requires.
• Because CO and PM10 pollution levels have been very low and the area is unlikely to exceed health standards in the future, the area qualifies and DEQ proposes limited maintenance plans that streamline requirements and eliminate costly computer modeling requirements for transportation conformity analysis.
• In the mid to late 1980s, Grants Pass exceeded the 8-hour CO standard and the 24-hour PM10 standard. The area was designated as a nonattainment area for CO in 1985 and for PM10 in 1990. In response, EQC adopted attainment plans with CO and PM10 control measures to reduce pollution levels within the urban growth boundary to meet the federal standards. This resulted in significant improvement in air quality and Grants Pass was reclassified to attainment for CO in 2000 and PM10 in 2002. EQC adopted the first maintenance plans for Grants Pass at that time. These plans expire in 2015.
• EPA requires Oregon to establish second maintenance plans for the Grants Pass area to ensure compliance with the standards for the next 10 years, through 2025. EPA provides an option for states to adopt simplified plans, called limited maintenance plans, for low-risk areas like Grants Pass. Over the last 25 years, Grants Pass’s CO and PM10 levels have steadily declined and the area is unlikely to exceed these standards again.
Click here to view the rulemaking documents. DEQ will hold a public hearing on this proposal on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 6 p.m., at the Grants Pass City Council Chambers, 101 NW ‘A’ Street, Grants Pass, OR. The public comment period on the proposed rules runs through 5 p.m., Monday, January 26, 2015. DEQ plans to take the final proposal including any modifications made in response to public comments to the EQC for decision at the March 2015 meeting.
Sincerely,
Andrea Gartenbaum
Operations Division Rules Coordinator
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
503-229-5946