Public comment sought on updated state plan
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency (SRCAA) is updating the 1999 Municipal Waste Combustor (MWC) State Plan to include the current SRCAA municipal waste combustor regulations that adopted by reference the 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The public is invited to review and comment on the updated MWC State Plan.
Updating the plan is an administrative procedure to include current air quality regulations into the state plan that will become federally enforceable. The updated plan is not changing local, state or federal regulations.
Comments: Written comments will be accepted until the close of the public hearing on July 7, 2022. Written comments may be submitted by mail or email: SRCAA, Attention Margee Chambers, 1610 S. Technology Blvd., #101, Spokane, WA 99224 or PublicComment@spokanecleanair.org
Public Hearing: A public hearing will be held during SRCAA’s Board of Directors meeting, 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 7, 2022, at SRCAA’s office, 1610 S. Technology Blvd. #101, Spokane, WA 99224. Virtual / call-in details for the public hearing will be provided prior to the hearing at www.SpokaneCleanAir.org.
Additional Information on State Plans:
What is a state plan? The Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) requires pollutants controlled under the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to also be controlled at existing sources in the same source category. To do this, the EPA publishes emission guidelines for the existing sources to meet. Then states with designated facilities must adopt the emission guidelines into the state regulations.
The state plans show how states will carry out and enforce the emission guidelines. The plans also become federally enforceable upon EPA’s approval. The FCAA specifies what needs to be included in the plan, including:
- Demonstration of legal authority
- Agency rules adopting the emission guidelines
- Inventory of MWC facilities
- Emission limits
- Compliance schedules
- Testing, monitoring, reporting, record keeping
- Public comment period and hearing on the plan
- Annual state progress report to EPA
The FCAA allows state or local agencies to develop state plans.
Why is SRCAA updating the state plan? The WA Department of Ecology (Ecology) developed, and EPA approved, a MWC state plan in 1999. This plan is outdated with old federal regulations and old SRCAA regulations.
There is only one MWC in the state, the City of Spokane Waste to Energy Plant, which is in SRCAA’s jurisdiction. The MWC plan needs to be updated to include the 2007 SRCAA regulations that adopted by reference EPA’s 2006 updated federal regulation.
SRCAA has been working directly with EPA on this project. EPA completed a pre-review of the updated MWC plan, and EPA considers the updated plan approvable. Ecology is aware of the project and kept informed on the work SRCAA and EPA are doing.
