Final Rules - Air Quality Division
Summary:
ADEQ amended A.A.C. Title 18, Chapter 2, Articles 1, 3, 6, 7, and 15 to improve consistency in language between state and federal regulations. In addition, ADEQ amended A.A.C. Title 18, Chapter 2, Article 8 to eliminate requirements no longer necessary for the operation of state government due to preemption of ADEQ's statutory authority to regulate air emissions from certain mobile sources. These amendments fulfilled a Five Year Rule Review commitment to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council.
Documents:
- Notice of Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Proposed Expedited Rulemaking | View >
- Notice of Rulemaking | View >
Additional Information:
Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) Study Session and Council Meeting Agendas, Meeting Documents, including PDF copies of materials provided to GRRC for rulemakings, and Minutes | Visit GRRC Page >
Effective Date: Jul. 3, 2024
Summary
On Aug. 15, 2022, ADEQ submitted a final plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Regional Haze Rule, which requires each state to submit periodic state implementation plan (SIP) revisions addressing regional haze visibility impairment for each mandatory federal class I area (Class I Area) within the state and for each Class I Area outside the state that may be affected by emissions from the state.
Class I areas include certain national parks, national wilderness areas, and national monuments that are granted special air quality protections under the Clean Air Act.
To meet commitments in this 2022 plan, ADEQ adopted rules containing enforceable emissions limits for certain nonpoint/area sources of PM10 (dust) and contributing to visibility impairment in Class I Areas, including appropriate monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting provisions.
The Arizona Secretary of State published these final rules on July 28, 2023, at R18-2-D1301-D1303.
Documents
- Notice of Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Docket Opening (second) | View >
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | View >
- Notice of Final Rulemaking | View >
- Governor’s Regulatory Review Council Study Session | June 27, 2023 | View Details >
- Governor’s Regulatory Review Council Meeting | July 5, 2023 | View Details >
Additional Information
- Regional Haze SIP Planning | View >
Effective Date: Sept. 10, 2023
Summary:
ADEQ amended the forest and range management burn rules under A.A.C. Title 18, Chapter 2, Article 15 which regulates prescribed burns and allows for smoke management across the State. In completing this process ADEQ not only improved and modernized the forest and range management burn rules without creating additional regulatory burden, but aided in reducing the major threat of wildfires in Arizona. The Notice of Final Rulemaking was submitted to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council for approval on April 6, 2023. The Council approved the rulemaking on Jun 6, 2023.
Documents:
- Notice of Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Comment Period & Public Hearing | View >
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | View >
- Notice of Final Rulemaking | View >
Additional Information:
Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) Study Session and Council Meeting Agendas, Meeting Documents, including PDF copies of materials provided to GRRC for rulemakings, and Minutes | Visit GRRC Page >
Effective Date: Aug. 29, 2023
Summary
ADEQ amended Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) Title 18, Chapter 2, Articles 1 and 4, to address deficiencies found by the EPA in ADEQ’s new source review (NSR) rules, including inter-precursor trading (IPT) rules that are now disallowed.
The purpose of this rulemaking addressed two issues related to the NSR program:
First, ADEQ amended the definition of municipal incinerators to conform ADEQ’s rules to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and EPA's correction of its rules that changed the definition of a “major emitting facility” with regard to municipal incinerators | 86 Federal Register 37,918 (July 19, 2021) >
Second, ADEQ amended A.A.C. Title 18, Chapter 2, Article 4, R18-2-404(a), to remove the sentence authorizing ozone IPT as required by Sierra Club v. EPA, 985 F.3d 1055 (D.C. Cir., 2021) | View >
These rule amendments are required by federal law and therefore, do not increase regulatory burden beyond what is required by the Clean Air Act. If ADEQ does not address this requirement, EPA is required to issue a finding of failure to submit or a disapproval for those elements of the 2015 ozone State Implementation Plan revisions. If the deficiencies remain uncorrected, EPA must impose sanctions, including 2-for-1 offsets, the loss of highway funds and a federal implementation plan.
Documents
- Notice of Proposed Expedited Rulemaking Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Proposed Expedited Rulemaking | View >
- Notice of Final Expedited Rulemaking | View >
Effective Date: May 4, 2022
Summary
On June 24, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the West Pinal County PM10 Nonattainment Area had not attained the PM10 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by the applicable Dec. 31, 2018, deadline. Because of this determination, West Pinal was automatically reclassified from “moderate” to “serious” and became subject to the requirements for serious PM10 nonattainment areas in Clean Air Act § 189(b).
Under § 189(b), Arizona must submit a state implementation plan (SIP) that, among other things, provides for the imposition of best available control measures (BACM) on all significant sources of PM10 in the West Pinal nonattainment areas, including agricultural operations. The amendments adopted in this rulemaking are designed to satisfy these Clean Air Act requirements with respect to agricultural operations subject to the Agricultural Best Management Practices (AgBMP) General Permit.
The AgBMP Committee, which is appointed by the Governor, has authority to adopt and amend AgBMP general permits by rule under ARS § 49-457(H), (L), and (P). Under Laws 2011, Chapter 214, Section 4, rulemakings by the AgBMP Committee are exempt from the Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 3, including the requirements to publish a Notice of Docket Opening, to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and to submit the final rulemaking to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council for approval.
Documents
- Notice of Final Exempt Rulemaking (filed with the Secretary of State: Nov. 5, 2021) | View >
Effective Date: Nov. 5, 2021
ADEQ accepted comments on the proposed rulemaking to amend Arizona Administrative Code (AAC) R18-2-327 Annual Emissions Inventory Questionnaire.
Summary
The purpose of this rulemaking was to amend the agency's annual emission inventory questionnaire regulation to reduce the reporting burden on Class II air quality permitted sources. ADEQ amended the reporting frequency from annually to at least once every three years and at the request of the Director.
In addition, ADEQ amended the agency's annual emission inventory questionnaire regulation to include federally required emission statement requirements for stationary sources located in ozone nonattainment areas that emit ozone precursors. This rulemaking action is required to secure full approval of Arizona’s ozone rules into the state implementation plan (SIP) and avoid sanctions under the federal Clean Air Act.
Documents
- Notice of Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | View >
- Notice of Comment Period and Public Hearing | View >
- Notice of Final Rulemaking | View >
Effective Date: Jan. 19, 2021
Additional Information
Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) Study Session and Council Meeting Agendas, Meeting Documents, including PDF copies of materials provided to GRRC for rulemakings, and Minutes | Visit GRRC Page >
Voice of the Customer and Design Principles | View >
Emission Inventory Reporting | Learn More >
ADEQ accepted comments on the proposed rulemaking for the addition of a significant emission rate for ammonia, as a precursor in the formation of secondary fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in PM2.5 nonattainment areas in the State.
Summary
ADEQ proposed a definition of "significant" that varies from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The definition of "significant" in the NPRM would have required minor sources of ammonia in PM2.5 nonattainment areas to obtain a Class II permit. The definition of "significant" in the Rulemaking clarifies the rule language so that only major sources of ammonia in PM2.5 nonattainment areas will be required to obtain a permit.
Additionally, based on public comments received during the NPRM’s comment period, ADEQ updated incorporations by reference of 40 C.F.R. Part 51, Appendix W (“Appendix W”), which governs modeling, to incorporate the most current version. Additional proposed technical corrections were made to existing Articles 3 and 4 to improve clarity and consistency.
The rule amendment was submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a revision the Arizona State Implementation Plan pursuant to Clean Air Act § 110 (42 U.S.C. § 7410).
Documents
- Current Rules | View >
- Notice of Docket Opening | View >
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | View >
- Arizona State Implementation Plan Revision: Determination of a Significant Emission Rate for Ammonia | View >
- Notice of Supplemental Proposed Rulemaking | View >
- SIP Revision: New Source Review -- Significant Emission Rate for Ammonia in PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas | View >
- Notice of Final Rulemaking | View >
Effective Date: Feb. 1, 2020
Additional Information
Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC) Study Session and Council Meeting Agendas, Meeting Documents, including PDF copies of materials provided to GRRC for rulemakings, and Minutes | Visit GRRC Page >