Recent Study Proves EPA Control Measures in Fairbanks North Star are Costly and Unnecessary

For immediate release: July 24, 2023
Contact: Jason Olds, Division of Air Quality, 907-465-5109

Anchorage, AK — The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research & Development and the Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) project, is releasing modelling results for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) PM_2.5 Nonattainment Area. In light of this new information, DEC requests an additional year to develop a plan.

"The information from this new study cannot be ignored; therefore, our hands are no longer tied," said DEC Commissioner Jason Brune. "Hopefully this illustrates what we've been saying all along — EPA's proposed decision is nonsensical. Given the new science, we're asking that EPA give us a year to develop a revised SIP."

These results suggest that power plants within the Nonattainment Area contribute a negligible portion of the particulate matter through sulfur emissions, supporting the State's longstanding assertion that costly control measures, also known as Best Available Control Technology (BACT), would inappropriately and unnecessarily raise the cost of living even further for area residents.

"We have long begged for EPA to reevaluate additional BACT requirements," said Director of Air Jason Olds. "We hope that EPA will acknowledge the burden that these measures would put on Alaskan residents with little to no environmental benefit."

Background

On January 10, 2023, the EPA proposed to disapprove the Fairbanks Fine Particulate State Implementation Plan (SIP). At the heart of this proposed disapproval were incredibly costly control measures mandated by the EPA that showed no promise of improving the local air pollution issue. DEC's plan outlined that these control measures were too expensive, and yet with this proposed disapproval, EPA contends that these controls are affordable and required. To top it off, if not implemented, EPA threatened to penalize the community by withholding over $37 million in annual Federal Highway funding. DEC submitted comments to the EPA's Proposed Disapproval available at the Federal Docket EPA-R10-OAR-2022-0115-0001 on March 22, 2023. The EPA has yet to issue its final decision on the proposed disapproval of the State's plan.

The North Pole and Fairbanks areas have a serious air pollution issue regarding Fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5), caused primarily by residential wood smoke. The local communities, FNSB, and DEC have been making progress on this contentious issue for 14 years, reducing PM_2.5 air pollution by 55 percent, despite EPA's failure to oversee and certify wood stoves. These devices contribute 60 to 80 percent of the health-threatening pollution in the North Pole area that disproportionally impacts vulnerable populations.