The Independent Regulatory Review Commission told the Department of Environmental Protection July 30, the regulations proposed to implement new RACT (Reasonablly Available Control Technology) requirements on sources of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions were not “viable” because of objections from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The IRRC comments said in part, “The extensive EPA comments provide a detailed explanation of their concerns with the proposed regulation, including supporting data. The EPA comments include strong warnings that the proposed regulation is not acceptable to them. The comments state that the EQB’s proposed limits are “too lax,” that lower emission limits are technologically feasible, and that the EQB needs to re-examine the proposed limits.

“Based on EPA’s comments, it does not appear that the proposed regulation will be viable as a SIP revision. We recommend that the EQB meet with the EPA to gain a thorough understanding of their concerns and how to successfully address them. In the final-form regulation submittal, the EQB should explain how the revised regulation addresses each issue raised in the EPA comments and constitutes a viable SIP revision.”

DEP published the regulation for comment in April and held three hearings in May.  The comment period closed June 30.

DEP now must review the comments it received, including from the IRRC, and respond to each one and make any recommended changes to the regulations.  The final regulation would then be returned to the EQB for action.  A final review by the IRRC would follow.

A copy of the IRRC comments is available online.

NewsClips:

IRRC Warns DEP Smog Controls Are Too Low

Air Quality Alerts Fall Far Below Normal This Year

8/11/2014