Division of Air Quality Air Non-Point and Mobile Sources

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. A single human hair is almost 30 times larger in diameter than the largest fine particle, PM2.5. PM2.5 is a product of combustion, primarily caused by burning fuels. Examples of PM2.5 sources include power plants, vehicles, wood burning stoves, and wildland fires. Further information may be found at: Particulate Matter.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough faces a challenging air quality problem due to periodic extreme cold weather and the wood smoke that’s produced when people burn wood to heat their homes.

• The pollutant is known as fine particulate matter (or “PM2.5”). There are National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Environmental Protection Agency for PM2.5. These include the primary and secondary standards. It is important to remember that primary standard is meant to protect against short-term health effects from these sorts of air pollution spikes. The area where levels periodically exceed the standard is known as a “nonattainment area.”
• The high levels of air pollution create a public health risk for the residents of Fairbanks North Star Borough, and a strong air quality plan is essential for reducing public exposure to these high levels of air pollution as soon as possible.

In 2023 EPA partially disapproved DEC’s submissions of the Fairbanks Serious State Implementation Plan (SIP) Plan and the 5% Plan. The current proposal addresses disapproved aspects of and identified deficiencies in the two previous plans so that Alaska and Fairbanks can submit a plan to EPA that will be fully approvable.

First and foremost this is a public health issue, and an approvable SIP represents a realistic plan to ensure cleaner healthier air for the community. There are also regulatory and economic penalties at stake if EPA does not fully approve DEC’s SIP by January 2026. Those penalties include: 1) Highway sanctions will be imposed, withholding approximately $50 million in highway funds per year to the nonattainment area; 2) a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) will be implemented which means that EPA will adopt and implement air quality regulations for the nonattainment area; and 3) a conformity freeze which went into effect January 24, 2024, will continue, severely hindering the ability to complete road construction projects.

Yes the monitors are showing an improvement in air quality. In fact, the levels appear to show approximately 50% improvement. Unfortunately, the State of Alaska failed to attain the 24-hour PM_2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) by the applicable date, December 31, 2019. Consequently, subject to the Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 189(d), the State is required to submit a revised Serious area attainment plan that demonstrates that each year the area will achieve at least a 5 percent reduction in emissions of direct PM_2.5 or a 5 percent reduction in emissions of a PM_2.5 plan precursor based on the most recent emissions inventory for the Fairbanks North Star Borough nonattainment area. Alaska’s plan was disapproved in December 2023 and these amendments will resolve the issues leading towards an approvable SIP and cleaner air for the communities of North Pole and Fairbanks.

Contingency measures are actions that DEC would implement in case existing controls and proposed controls are not sufficient to improve air quality. DEC is proposing the following measures that would be triggered if existing controls are not improving air quality: 1. Lowering the alert levels at which burn bans are triggered; 2. Increasing the compliance rate for the curtailment program; and 3. Increasing the compliance rate for the date certain removal of uncertified wood-fired heating devices.

DEC is fighting for communities’ ability to continue to use wood-fired heating devices, but 60-80% of the air pollution in North Pole is from woodstoves. While we need to solve the air pollution issues, DEC is confident that the existing regulations on woodstoves are sufficient to clean the air and is not proposing any new or additional restrictions on wood-fired heating devices at this time.

EPA wants DEC to impose $100,000,000 in SO₂ controls on Fairbanks area stationary sources such as electric generating units/power plants. The SO₂ precursor analysis conducted by DEC and included in this proposal shows that the Fairbanks PM_2.5 air quality issues are not caused by the stationary sources and imposing EPA’s preferred controls on them will not resolve the problem. DEC wants to continue to work to identify solutions that will actually clean the air in Fairbanks without meaningless and ineffective expenditures.

No. DEC has successfully fended off EPA’s attempt to impose a ULSD mandate by showing that while sulfur is a contributing factor in the air quality issues in Fairbanks that it is not economically feasible to mandate ULSD for home heating purposes.