2024 Proposed Amendments to the Fairbanks PM2.5 Serious SIP
Portions of the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) have been designated as a Serious nonattainment area for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Due to the area failing to meet federal air quality standards by December 2019, an amendment to the Serious State Implementation Plan is required. The proposed regulations and draft amendments to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) have been developed to meet the EPA requirements to show that the plan can meet a five percent annual reduction in emissions of direct PM2.5 or PM2.5 plan precursor in the FNSB nonattainment area.
On September 24, 2021, the EPA approved parts of the Serious SIP submissions in the Federal Register (86 FR 52997). However, on January 10, 2023, they published the proposed partial disapproval of the SIP in the Federal Register (88 FR 1454). On December 5, 2023, the EPA published the final partial disapproval of the FNSB 24-hour PM2.5 Serious SIP and 189(d) Plan in the Federal Register (88 FR 84626). Following the final disapproval, ADEC is required to submit revised regulations and amended/revised Serious SIP to address the EPA’s identified deficiencies. The proposed revisions for the Serious SIP 2024 Amendments have been developed. The paragraph below provides the public review timeline.
The public review period will last 41 days and include two hearings in Fairbanks on September 26, 2024. The review period will end on October 7, 2024, 11:59 p.m. DEC will consider all comments received during the comment period when finalizing and adopting the final regulations and SIP amendments. The adopted and proposed regulations and SIP amendments will become effective 30 days after the final regulations are signed and filed by the Lt. Governor's Office.
Proposed Regulation and SIP Amendment Documents
- Public Notice, notice published 08/27/2024
- Public Notices Cancelling Public Hearings: U.S. Army Garrison - Ft. Wainwright (10/15/24); Aurora Energy, LLC - Chena Power Plant (10/15/24); GVEA - Zehnder Facility (10/15/24); GVEA - North Pole Power Plant (10/15/24); UAF - UAF Campus (10/18/24); Doyon Utilities, LLC - Fort Wainwright (Privatized Emission Units) (10/18/24)
- Proposed Regulation Amendments, notice published 08/27/2024
- Public Notice Version of the 2024 Proposed Amendments to the Fairbanks PM2.5 Serious SIP Webpage containing all documents
- Volume III: Appendices to Volume II, Section II, notice published 08/27/2024
- Comments Received During the Public Comment Period (comments will be added as they are submitted) web page (page will be developed upon receipt of comments)
- Questions and Answers web page (updated 09/13/2024)
- Project page
Adopted Regulation and SIP Amendment Documents, documents to come
- 18 AAC 50, as amended through XX/xx/202x
- Filed Regulations eff. XX/xx/202x
- Filing Certification Memo XX/xx/202x
- Final Adoption Order XX/xx/202x
- State Implementation (SIP) final documents (webpage)
- Volume III: Appendices to Volume II, Section II XX/xx/202x
- Response To Comments XX/xx/202x
Help Documents
Public Hearings
Two formal public hearing are scheduled at the time and location below during the public comment period.
| Date | Time | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/26/2024 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. |
Exhibit Hall, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska | Public Hearing |
| 09/26/2024 | 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | Exhibit Hall, Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska | Public Hearing |
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