North Carolina Department Of Environmental Quality Public Notice
Purpose
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), hereby gives notice regarding its pre-hearing draft of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for Supplement Ill to the Revised Maintenance Plan for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, North Carolina 2008 8-Hour Ozone Marginal Nonattainment Area.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated the area attainment of the 2008 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) effective August 27, 2015 (80 FR 44873). Transportation conformity in the maintenance area ensures that federal transportation actions do not interfere with maintaining compliance with the 2008 ozone NAAQS. As such, the level of emissions estimated for Transportation Improvement Programs and Metropolitan Transportation Plans must not exceed the motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) as defined in the maintenance plan. Historically, the DAQ has allocated no more than 50% of the total safety margin to the MVEBs for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) to ensure on-going attainment of the NAAQS.
In this submittal, North Carolina is proposing to increase the amount of the total safety margin allocated to the 2026 MVEBs from 9.4% to 21.4% for NOx and from 37.4% to 49.7% for VOC. The proposed revisions to the 2026 MVEBs will accommodate updates to the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulation (MOVES) model (released January 2021) used to calculate onroad and nonroad emissions of NOx and VOCs. In addition, the Charlotte Gastonia- Salisbury area is currently attaining the 2008 and 2015 8-hour ozone NAAQS based on ambient monitoring data collected through October 31, 2022.
Therefore, the DAQ concludes that the proposed revisions to the MVEBs will not interfere with any applicable requirement concerning the attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. Persons wishing to submit comments or request a public hearing are invited to do so.
Comment Procedures
Any person wishing to comment may submit a written statement for inclusion in the record of proceedings regarding the pre-hearing draft of the Supplement Ill to the Revised Maintenance Plan for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, North Carolina 2008 8-Hour Ozone Marginal Nonattainment Area. Written comments should be submitted electronically or postmarked no later than Monday, December 12, 2022.
Request for a Public Hearing
Requests for a public hearing must be in writing and include a statement supporting the need for such a hearing, an indication of your interest in the subject, and a brief summary of the information intended to be offered. A public hearing will be scheduled if requested. A separate notice will be announced for the hearing including the date, time, location, and other details. Written requests for a public hearing should be postmarked or submitted electronically no later than Monday, December 12, 2022.
Information
Copies of the pre-hearing draft of the Supplement Ill to the Revised Maintenance Plan for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, North Carolina 2008 8-Hour Ozone Marginal Nonattainment Area may be downloaded from the DAQ website at https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/air-quality/air-quality-planning/state-implementation-plans-sips/charlottegastoniasalisbury-nc-2008-8-hour-ozone-area
Comments or requests for a public hearing can be submitted to: dag.publiccomment@.ncdenr.gov (Please type "MVEB Revision" in the subject line)
Alternatively, comments or requests for a public hearing can be mailed or faxed to:
Randy Strait
NC Division of Air Quality
1641 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1641
Fax: (919) 715-0718
Based on the current guidance to minimize the spread of COVID-19, all DAQ office locations are limiting public access to appointments only. As such, the Pre-Hearing Draft of the demonstration may only be reviewed in person after making an appointment at the following DAQ offices:
Raleigh Central Office
Planning Section
(919) 707-8403
Mooresville Regional Office
(704) 663-1699