Bureau of Air Quality

General Announcements

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

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 the 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 12:00 PM on Monday, October 28, 2024, no person has expressed an interest in testifying at the hearing, the hearing will be canceled. 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 canceled. Persons may also contact the Department to find out if the hearing is canceled 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.

The document is located on the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

Suspension of Enforcement – Oil and Gas 1st Annual Report

The regulations for “Control of VOC Emissions from Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas Sources” were published as a final-form rulemaking at 52 Pa.B. 7587 on December 10, 2022 (25 Pa. Code §§ 129.121 – 129.130). The regulations for “Control of VOC Emissions from Conventional Oil and Natural Gas Sources” were also published on December 10, 2022, at 52 Pa.B. 7635 as an emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking (25 Pa. Code §§ 129.131-129.140).

Both regulations require annual reporting of specific compliance information. The initial annual report is due for Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas sources on December 10, 2023 addressing the time period of December 10, 2022 thru December 31, 2022. The initial annual report for Conventional Oil and Natural Gas sources is due December 2, 2023, addressing the time period of December 2, 2022, thru December 31, 2022.

The Department is providing this notice that it is suspending the enforcement of the initial annual report submission under 25 Pa. Code §§129.130(k)(1) for Unconventional and 129.140(k)(1) for Conventional until June 1, 2024, the date when the second report is due. That second report will cover the full 2023 calendar year.

Pennsylvania Bulletin

New Emissions Inventory Instructions have been released. Please review the new Instructions for Submitting Air Quality Emission Inventory Reports prior to submitting your emissions report to the Bureau of Air Quality.

Facilities are able to pay Air Quality Annual Operating Permit Maintenance Fees online through DEP’s Quick Pay system or the ePermitting application on Greenport. Please visit the Air Quality Fee Payment Instructions site for more information.

General Announcement for AQ Permit Holders
Effective January 16, 2021, all air quality applications, Permits, Requests for Determinations and initial Asbestos Notifications will be subject to new and/or increased fees. The Saturday, January 16, 2021 effective date is the result of a three-year regulatory process and will be finalized upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on that date. These fees were last updated in January 2005 and will address the long-term disparity between revenue and expenditures in DEP's Air Quality Program. Any air quality application, Requests for Determination or initial Asbestos Notification received on or after January 16, 2021, must be accompanied by the appropriate new or updated fee. The final rulemaking also includes an Annual Maintenance Fee (replacing the annual administrative fee) due each year for Natural Minor, Synthetic Minor and TV permitted facilities. This maintenance fee does not replace the annual TV emission fees due September 1 by most TV facilities. The Annual Maintenance Fees for calendar year 2021 are due on or before March 17, 2021, 60 days after the January 16, 2021, final rulemaking publication. Subsequent maintenance fees are due annually no later than December 31 for the next calendar year. The maintenance fees are $8,000 for TV Permitted Facilities, $4,000 for Synthetic Minor Permitted facilities and $2,000 for Natural Minor Permitted facilities. Information regarding the Annual Maintenance fee, including a transmittal fee form to be submitted with the fee, will be coming in separate website and email notifications in the near future. The new air quality regulations can be found on the Pennsylvania Bulletin website.

Proposals Open for Comment:

No proposals are open for comment.

Recent Department Comments to EPA or other Proposals:

Supplemental Comments on the Proposed Ruling (PDF)

Find the Information you Want

Look for these links in the menu to your right, or visit the Air Quality Functions page to find out what we do and who to talk to:

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Advisory Groups —: The Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee, Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee, and the Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting times and materials.
Automobiles —: The Clean Vehicles program, emissions inspection, diesel idling and retrofits, and general automobile emissions information.
Business Topics —: Asbestos, Continuous Emission Monitoring, Emission Inventory, Small Business Assistance, and Source Testing information.
General Information —: Information on the Bureau of Air Quality, other links, Open Burning, and ragweed pollen.
Monitoring Topics —: Acid Rain and Mercury in rain, the Air Quality Index, and ambient monitoring of pollutants in the air.
Permits —: Plan Approvals, Operating Permits, General Permits, Requests for Determination, Emission Reduction Credits, and the control of carbon emissions from power plants.
Pollutants —: The different types of pollutants, their standards in ambient air and as emissions, the amounts being emitted from sources and the transport of pollutants between regions.
Regulations and Clean Air Plans —: Revisions to the State Implementation Plan, attainment of standards around the state, existing and proposed regulations, and Control Techniques Guidelines.

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General Announcements

Proposals Open for Comment:

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Bureau of Air Quality