DEQ briefs lawmakers on Oregon air permitting: notice‑and‑go, plant‑wide limits and Clean Air Oregon

The House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee heard an overview Thursday from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality of the state's air quality permitting programs, including ACDP (Air Contaminant Discharge Permits), the federal Title V program, and the state’s Clean Air Oregon air‑toxics process.

Leah Feldon, director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, opened the briefing and said the agency would summarize “the air quality permit development process” and explain the three permitting programs that DEQ implements.

The presentation framed Oregon permitting against the federal Clean Air Act and U.S. EPA national ambient air quality standards, or NAAQS. “At a high level, through the Federal Clean Air Act, the US EPA set standards that states must meet for 6 criteria air pollutants,” said Ali Mirzakalili, DEQ’s Air Quality Division administrator. He said ozone and fine particles are Oregon’s greatest challenges relative to the NAAQS.

DEQ described permitting as a multi‑phase process that commonly includes a pre‑application consultation, application completeness review, technical evaluation, public notice and comment, final permit issuance and post‑issuance compliance. The agency emphasized that local land‑use decisions are separate from DEQ’s role of setting operating…