Notice of Public Comment Period - Proposed Regional Haze State Implementation Plan Progress Report

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to § 110 of the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S. Code § 7410(a)(1), the Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of Energy and Environment (Department), located at 1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor, Washington DC, is beginning a public comment period to provide interested parties an opportunity to comment on a State Implementation Plan (“SIP”) progress report that the District of Columbia (“the District”) is submitting to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”).

The District is currently required to submit its Regional Haze SIP progress report for the second planning period to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) at the midpoint of the 10 year period which covers 2018 to 2028. The SIP is required under § 169A of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S. Code § 7491). The goal of the Regional Haze Program is for Class I Federal Areas designated by the Federal Land Managers (“FLMs”) (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service) to achieve natural visibility conditions and for any state that has sources that are reasonably anticipated to contribute to visibility degradation in those Class I Federal Areas to submit a SIP to address those sources.

This proposed progress report was completed pursuant to the requirements of EPA’s Regional Haze Rule for the second planning period (86 Fed. Reg. 19793, August 30, 2019). As a member of the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union (“MANE-VU”), the District participated in a regional process to develop a long-term strategy to ensure that reasonable progress is made to eliminate visibility degradation by 2064. The District’s SIP describes specific plans to meet the region’s goals and implement the Regional Haze Rule.

The Department seeks public comments on the District’s proposed SIP progress report. Copies of the proposed report are available for public review in the attachments section below.

Parties wishing to provide comments on this report must submit their comments in writing within thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the District of Columbia Register to Mr. Joseph Jakuta by email at [email protected] or by mail or hand delivery to the following address:

DOEE Air Quality Division
ATTN: Joseph Jakuta
SUBJECT: District SIP Haze Progress Report
1200 First Street NE, Fifth Floor Washington, DC 20002

Interested parties may also request a public hearing to the same DOEE address or the same email within thirty (30) days after the publication of this Notice. If a request for a public hearing is received too late to hold a hearing during the public comment period, the comment period will be extended through publication of a subsequent notice.