Statement of Scope
Department of
Natural Resources
Rule No.
:
|
Revising Chapters NR 404
and
4
84
.
(NRB Order
AM-07-15
)
|
Relating to
:
|
Incorporation of the national ambient air quality standards for fine particles (PM
2.5
) into the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
|
1
.
Detailed description of the objective of the
proposed
rule
:
Under the federal Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has responsibility for promulgating National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) which are designed to protect public health (primary standards) and public welfare (secondary standards). Under state law, if
the
EPA promulgates a NAAQS, the Department is required to promulgate a similar, but no more restrictive standard.
On January 15, 2013 t
he
EPA
published
revisions to the
NAAQS for
particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers, commonly referred to as PM
2.5
or fine particles
.
These revision
s
became effective
nationwide
on March 18, 2013.
T
he
EPA
revised the primary annual standard for PM
2.5
by lowering
it from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m
3
) to 12.0 µg/m
3
.
T
he secondary
annual standard
of
15.0 µg/
m
3
and the
primary
and secondary 24-hour
standard
s
of
35 µg/m
3
were retained unchanged
.
The EPA also made changes to
the data handling conventions for particulate matter and ambient air monitoring , reporting, and network design requirements consistent with the changes to the NAAQS.
In order to
meet its obligation under state law,
the Department is proposing to
promulgate
state
standards
for PM
2.5
and the relating supporting requirements
consistent with those
promulgated
by the
EPA
.
The
Department may
also propose
non-substantive corrections of a clean-up nature, such as
punctuation
,
grammar
and
spelling, and changes necessary to ensure consistency with administrative rule drafting guidance issued by the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Legislative Council.
Any such proposed changes would not affect Department policy.
2
.
Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives
:
The proposed rule changes are
compatible
with existing policy to maintain consistency between state rules and
EPA
regulations
and satisfy the Department’s statutory obligation to promulgate an ambient air quality standard similar but not more restrictive than a NAAQS promulgated by the EPA
. The proposed rules do not include any new policies
, and because the Department is required by statute to take the proposed action, no policy alternative is available.
3
.
Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule
(including
the
statutory citation and language):
Section
285.21 (1) (a)
, Wis. Stats., establishes that if an ambient air quality standard is promulgate
d
under section 109 of the federal
C
lean
A
ir
A
ct, the Department shall
promulage
a similar standard by rule which may not be more restrictive than the federal standard except as otherwise provided by statute.
The action taken by the EPA in promulgating the
revised
primary annual standard for PM
2.5
was done so under section 109 of the federal
C
lean
A
ir
A
ct (
42 U.S.C. 7409
).
4
.
Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule
:
The Department estimates that up to 300 hours of state employee time will be needed to complete the promulgation of the proposed rules.
5
.
D
escription of all entities that
may
be affected by the proposed rule
:
Sources that have the potential to directly emit fine particulate emissions, such as e
lectric power plants, industrial boilers, heating processes, furnaces
,
and reciprocating engines
,
might be affected by the proposed rule
.
Sources that undergo a major modification under the prevention of significant deterioration permit program (PSD) are required to consider emissions of pollutants that can lead to secondary formation of PM2.5. These
souces
may be affected by the proposed rule.
6
.
Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule
:
The intended result
of this proposed
rulemaking
is to ensure consistency between the state standards for PM
2.5
and the federal NAAQS for PM
2.5
promulgated
by the EPA.
7.
Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule:
The Department estimates that the economic impact of implementing the
revised primary annual
PM
2.5
NAAQS in Wisconsin through the Department’s existing air pollution controls rules will be moderate.
8
. Anticipated number, month and locations of public hearings:
If approve
d
to develop the proposed rules, t
he Department anticipates holding
one
public hearing in
Madison during
the
fall of 201
6
.
9.
Contact Person:
Yu-Lien Chu
Bureau of Air Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
AM/7
Madison, WI
53703
608.
266.2711
