NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Proposed State Implementation Plan Revision Second Maintenance Plan for the Harrisburg/York Nonattainment Area for the 2006 Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard; Public Hearing
[54 Pa.B. 6197]
[Saturday, September 28, 2024]The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) is seeking public comment on a proposed second maintenance plan for the current Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle-York, PA maintenance area (Harrisburg/York Area) under the 2006 annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). This second maintenance plan, when finalized, will be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) demonstrating the Harrisburg/York Area's continued and future compliance with the 2006 PM2.5 standard for a second 10-year period. The Harrisburg/York Area consists of Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and York Counties. This second maintenance plan demonstrates the Harrisburg/York Area will continue to maintain compliance with the standard for an additional 10-year period as required under section 175A(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. § 7505a(b)). This second maintenance plan SIP revision, when final, will also establish new motor vehicle emission budgets for transportation conformity purposes in the Harrisburg/York Area.
Particulate matter includes both solid and liquid particles suspended in the air. Fine particle pollution or PM2.5 describes particulate matter that is less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. PM2.5 concentrations above the Federal health-based standard pose a serious human health threat.
On November 13, 2009, the EPA published final 2006 annual PM2.5 NAAQS nonattainment designations at 74 FR 58688 (November 13, 2009), which became effective on December 14, 2009. The Harrisburg/York Area was one of seven areas in this Commonwealth designated by the EPA as moderate nonattainment for the 2006 PM2.5 standard. The EPA approved the Department's Harrisburg/York Area redesignation request with the original 10-year maintenance plan on December 8, 2014 (See 79 FR 72552 (December 8, 2014)). This 10-year maintenance plan extends until December 2024. On August 24, 2016, the EPA published a final rule addressing the SIP requirements for all existing and future PM2.5 standards at 81 FR 58010 (August 24, 2016). This EPA final rule also vacated the 1997 PM2.5 standard and the need for states to do a second 10-year maintenance plan for the 1997 standard. This second maintenance plan will be submitted as a revision to the Commonwealth SIP and addresses ongoing compliance with the 2006 annual PM2.5 NAAQS.
The Harrisburg/York Area has been a PM2.5 maintenance area since December 2014. As required by the CAA, when finalized and approved, the second maintenance plan will demonstrate continued maintenance of the 2006 PM2.5 standard for an additional 10-year period. Continued maintenance is based upon declining actual monitored design values and lower projected PM2.5 emissions and PM2.5 precursors over the second 10-year maintenance period relative to the 2007 attainment year emissions. Ongoing maintenance of the PM2.5 NAAQS is achieved only after considering growth in population and vehicle miles traveled. After demonstrating the significant improvements in air quality in the Harrisburg/York Area for the second maintenance period, along with the actual compliance shown by existing monitoring data, and after consideration of any public comments, the Harrisburg/York Area second maintenance plan will be finalized and submitted to the EPA for review and approval. The proposed SIP revision is available on the Department's web site at http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment.
The Department will provide the opportunity for a public hearing to receive comments on the proposal on October 30, 2024, at 1 p.m. at the Department's Central Office, RCSOB, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA.
Persons wishing to present testimony should contact Hannah Waddington at P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105, (717) 787-9702, hwaddingto@pa.gov no less than 24 hours in advance of the public hearing to reserve a time. Witnesses will be limited to 10 minutes and should provide two written copies of their comments.
If by 12 p.m. on Monday, October 28, 2024, no person has expressed an interest in testifying at the hearing, the hearing will be cancelled. The Department will provide public notice on the Bureau of Air Quality webpage at http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Air/BAQ/Pages/default.aspx if the hearing is cancelled. Persons may also contact the Department to find out if the hearing is cancelled by contacting Hannah Waddington at (717) 787-9702 or hwaddingto@pa.gov.
Persons with a disability who wish to attend a hearing and require an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to participate in the proceeding should contact Hannah Waddington at hwaddingto@pa.gov or (717) 787-7677. TDD users may contact the Pennsylvania Hamilton Relay Service at (800) 654-5984 to discuss how the Department can best accommodate their needs.
The Department must receive comments no later than November 1, 2024. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's eComment system at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment or by e-mail to ecomment@pa.gov. Written comments may be submitted to the Policy Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063. Use ''Harrisburg/York Area PM2.5'' as the subject line in written communication.
JESSICA SHIRLEY,
Acting Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1390. Filed for public inspection September 27, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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