Public Input Sought on Air Quality Permit Reviews for Pristine Areas
RALEIGH -- Citizens concerned about air pollution or the siting of new industries near national parks and wilderness areas in North Carolina are encouraged to attend one of two public meetings on new proposed procedures for reviewing air quality permits. The meetings will be held:
- Tuesday, October 6, at 7 p.m., in Room 302 of the Owens Conference Center, University Heights, University of North Carolina at Asheville.
- Thursday, October 8, at 7 p.m., in the Ground Floor Hearing Room at the Archdale Building, 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh.
The state Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has scheduled the meetings to get public input on a proposed Permitting Procedures Document for Class I Areas; the DAQ will accept written comments on the document until October 30. In North Carolina, Class I Areas include the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, several wilderness areas in Western North Carolina, and the Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde County.
“North Carolina is committed to improving air quality and visibility in the most pristine natural areas of the mountains and the coast. We need to hear from the public on the best ways to accomplish these goals,” said Bill Holman, assistant secretary for environmental protection with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, all national parks and wilderness areas exceeding 5,000 acres were designated as Class I Areas. The act states that federal land managers in the U.S. Department of Interior “have an affirmative responsibility to protect the air quality related values” of Class I Areas and to consider “whether a proposed source or modification would have an adverse impact on such values.”
State environmental officials have been working with federal land managers to develop a procedure for reviewing air quality permits for large industries which emit air pollutants that could affect Class I Areas in North Carolina and nearby states. At the meetings in Asheville and Raleigh, DENR officials will describe and seek public comment on three proposals for dealing with such permits:
- North Carolina could agree to sign an existing agreement between the state of Tennessee and federal land managers, which will expire on December 31 unless signed by other states.
- North Carolina could sign the Tennessee document, with modifications proposed by the DAQ that would let the state tailor the permit review analysis to North Carolina’s airshed.
- The state could decline to sign either document, deferring to pending rule-making by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The permitting document would require large new industries to conduct sophisticated computer modeling to determine whether their emissions would affect air quality in national parks and wilderness areas. In return, industries would benefit from having a more consistent permit review process. Some industries, however, are concerned that the review process could limit their ability to site facilities near Class I Areas.
Copies of the proposed permit review procedures are available for public review and can be obtained by calling the DAQ’s Asheville Regional Office at (828) 251-6208 or the DAQ’s Raleigh Headquarters at (919) 715-7408. Copies also can be reviewed at the DAQ’s web site at http://daq.state.nc.us/.
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Date Posted: 9/10/98
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