Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Air Quality Title V Amendment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pinal County air quality staff propose removing emergency affirmative‑defense provisions from Title V permits to comply with federal rules
Summary
Air quality program manager presented a draft rule amendment to remove emergency affirmative‑defense language from the county operating permits program, citing a federal requirement and a court decision; staff said the provision has not been used and that the change will be submitted to ADEQ and EPA for approval.
Rupesh Patel, planning manager for Pinal County’s air quality program, presented a proposed rulemaking to remove emergency affirmative‑defense provisions from the county’s Title V (operating permit) program, saying the change is required for continued federal approval.
Patel told the Board the emergency affirmative‑defense language was originally part of the 1992 Title V regulations to allow permittees to demonstrate that an unforeseeable emergency (for example wildfire or extreme wind events) caused equipment malfunctions and excess emissions and that reasonable steps were taken to minimize emissions. He said a 2014 U.S. Court of Appeals decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA led the EPA to vacate those provisions, and EPA later finalized regulatory changes in 2023 requiring local permitting authorities to remove the affirmative‑defense language to maintain a federally approved program.
Nut graf: Removing the affirmative‑defense provision aligns Pinal County’s rules with federal requirements; staff said other existing mechanisms — a district rule addressing malfunctions, the district hearing board variance process and an open settlement/enforcement program — remain available to address unforeseen exceedances and malfunctions.
Patel said the district is proposing to remove text from “chapter 3, article 1, section 81” and “chapter 8, article 1, section 27” and that, based on staff assessment, the change would have a negligible impact on permitted sources. He said the emergency‑defense provisions had not been used since the county adopted the rules in 1990 and that facilities can still apply for variances or work through enforcement/settlement processes that consider actions taken before, during and after an event.
On outreach, Patel said the department published a 30‑day public notice beginning March 17, sent notices to Title V and non‑Title V permit holders, and held a stakeholder meeting earlier in the week; he said no stakeholders attended the meeting and staff had received no written comments as of the work session. Patel said the program expects to hold a formal public hearing in April (date presented in staff materials) and to schedule the amendment as a consent item on the board’s May 28 regular meeting; following board action staff will forward the change to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for inclusion in the State Implementation Plan and then submit it to EPA for approval. Staff also said they had received an extension of the federal deadline to August 1 to complete the amendment.
Ending: Supervisors asked what would happen if the county did not adopt the change; Patel said removal is a federal requirement if the county wishes to maintain a federally approved Title V program and associated eligibility for related federal processes and funding. No formal board action was taken at the work session; staff recommended the board consider adopting the amendments at a future meeting after the public hearing.
