News from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

For more information contact: Arturo Garcia-Costas; 718-482-7287

Public Hearing to Be Held for Proposal on Air Pollutant

DEC On Thursday To Accept Comments On Plan for Reducing Fine Particulate Matter in the Region

ALBANY, NY (07/09/2008)(readMedia)-- As part of its strategy to meet the annual federal standard for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) proposes to revise the State Implementation Plan (SIP) designed to address this important air quality issue. New York's plan will help improve air quality by reducing the emissions of a known pollutant released by motor vehicles, power plants and other sources and that can cause harmful health effects such as respiratory illnesses.

Under the Federal Clean Air Act, EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and lead. Because of the significant role that particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size (PM 2.5) plays in triggering asthma attacks, attaining the PM 2.5 standard represents an important public health issue in New York City.

EPA designates as "nonattainment areas" those parts of the country where the concentration of these pollutants exceeds the NAAQS for any of these pollutants. To meet these standards, states are required to adopt SIPs for all nonattainment areas and continue to monitor air quality as a means of evaluating the effectiveness of the plan.

The New York City Metropolitan Area (NYMA) has been designated a non-attainment area for PM 2.5. The NYMA nonattainment area include the five boroughs of New York City, plus Orange, Rockland, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, as well as portions of New Jersey and Connecticut. EPA is requiring New York to meet the PM 2.5 standard by 2010 and New York's plan demonstrates it will achieve that goal.

NYSDEC will be holding a public hearing on the proposed revision to the SIP for PM 2.5 on Thursday, July 10 at 2 p.m. at the Region 2 Annex office located at 11-15 47th Avenue, Long Island City, New York.

Two other issues, the handling of ambient monitoring data collected during the time large forest fires occurred in eastern Canada during the July 6-9, 2002, and an assessment of the adequacy of the SIP to meet infrastructure requirements under Section 110 of the Clean Air Act, are also subjects of this hearing and comment opportunity.

In addition to any comments submitted verbally or in writing during the hearing, interested members of the public may submit written comments by July 17, 2008 to:

Diana Rivenburgh

NYSDEC

Division of Air Resources

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233

Tel: (518) 402-8396

Email: airsips@gw.dec.state.ny.us

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