Consider and take appropriate action on comments for submission to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding proposed revisions to Minor New Source Review Program Air Permitting Public Participation Requirements for State Implementation Plans. (Commissioners Shea & Howard)

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

<strong data-pasted="true">Minor New Source Review Air Permits.</strong><br>Minor NSR permits are those issued for stationary sources subject to the Clean Air Act that do not require higher levels of environmental review. In Texas, these permits are commonly issued to concrete batch plants and rock crushers, and they are increasingly being used for data centers.<br><strong> </strong><br><strong>Proposed EPA Rule Change.</strong><br>The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the public participation regulatory requirements for sources subject to the Clean Air Act New Source Review programs approved into State Implementation Plans. Specifically, the EPA is proposing to recognize in regulation that State and local air quality regulatory authorities determine, pursuant to the Clean Air Act, whether, when, and to what extent public participation in minor NSR programs is necessary to ensure the National Ambient Air Quality Standards are achieved.<br><br>Currently, the federal government sets minimum rules for state and local agencies to notify the public about minor NSR projects and provide opportunities for public comment. These requirements include a minimum 30-day public comment period.<br><br><strong>If the Proposed Rule Change is Finalized.</strong><br>If finalized, the changes effected by this rulemaking would provide State and local air agencies with greater discretion to identify the required level of public participation that is appropriate in their minor NSR programs. In Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) would decide whether to require public notice, comment periods, or hearings for these permits.<br><br>Any changes to the public participation process the TCEQ seeks to make would have to go through Texas’s rulemaking process, which includes public notice and comment requirements. TCEQ could:<br><ol start="1" type="1"><li>Leave the current public notice and comment requirements unchanged.</li><li>Decide that only certain types of minor NSR permits require public notice, such as:</li></ol><ul style="list-style-type: disc;margin-left: 0.5in;"><li>Projects above a certain emissions threshold.</li><li>Projects located near homes or schools.</li><li>Projects involving certain pollutants.</li></ul><ol start="3" type="1"><li>Make process changes, such as:</li></ol><ul style="list-style-type: disc;margin-left: 0.5in;"><li>Shorten the comment period.</li><li>Change how notices are provided (for example, relying more on online posting).</li><li>Simplify the response-to-comments process.</li></ul>