Fairbanks Air Quality Plan
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Proposed Air Quality Plan Approval
Summary
On January 8, 2025, the EPA Region 10 Regional Administrator signed a Federal Register notice proposing to fully approve Alaska’s plan to achieve the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality standard by the end of 2027.
This proposal is the culmination of months of intensive work by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and EPA to improve Alaska’s air quality plan following EPA’s 2023 rulemaking (88 FR 84626).
Key components of Alaska’s latest plan include:
- Projected attainment of federal air quality standards by 2027.
- Updated air quality modeling and analysis of particulate formation in the wintertime environment of Interior Alaska.
- Greater emphasis on home heating as the key emissions source category.
- Tighter regulations for home heating devices and particulate emissions for power plants.
- New energy audit requirement at time of home sale.
- New contingency measures to keep the area on a path to attainment.
The State of Alaska will continue to implement the control strategy intended to reach attainment by 2027. It is now the state’s responsibility to implement the plan and for the community to adhere to the plan to ensure wintertime air quality in Fairbanks is finally meeting federal standards.
The community’s continued participation in wood stove conversion programs and compliance with the burn bans are critical to the success of Alaska’s plan.
Read EPA's proposed approval in the Federal Register:
What does this mean for Clean Air Act sanctions and the transportation conformity freeze?
In a concurrent action, EPA is proposing that the State of Alaska has corrected the deficiencies that started the sanctions clocks. Therefore, it is no longer in the public interest to impose sanctions. The sanctions clock will be paused at this time and will be lifted after finalizing this rulemaking.
EPA will also begin the process to lift the transportation conformity freeze. After the public comment period closes, EPA will review all comments and finalize a transportation adequacy finding. Completing these steps will lift the transportation freeze.
Read EPA's interim final determination in the Federal Register:
How to comment
EPA has re-opened the comment period on its proposed approval of Alaska's air quality plan published on January 8, 2025.
Commenters requested more time to review the proposal and prepare comments. In response, EPA is providing an additional 30 days for the public to provide comment on all aspects of the proposed rule.
The January 8, 2025, notice of proposed rulemaking also started EPA's adequacy process for the motor vehicle emissions budgets and began the public comment period for that process. EPA is not reopening the public comment period for the adequacy process, and it intends to proceed with the adequacy process outside of this rulemaking.
Read EPA's notice to re-open the comment period in the Federal Register:
What happens next?
After considering and responding to comments, EPA will finalize the rulemaking in 2025. We will continue to support state and local officials to implement the nonattainment plan to ensure the area reaches attainment of PM2.5 air quality standards by the 2027 attainment date.
Background
- On October 17, 2006, EPA strengthened the 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS to 35 micrograms per cubic meter. On November 13, 2009, EPA designated a portion of the Fairbanks North Star Borough as nonattainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, requiring Alaska to prepare and submit an attainment plan to meet the NAAQS.
- Wood combustion for residential heating is the primary contributor to the nonattainment problem. Past and current control strategies have focused on reducing woodsmoke through implementation of a curtailment program and a transition to cleaner fuels.
- On May 10, 2017, EPA reclassified the Fairbanks nonattainment area from Moderate to Serious, requiring the state to submit a Serious area attainment plan.
- Alaska submitted the Serious area attainment plan on December 13, 2019. The existing attainment date for the area was December 31, 2019.
- On September 2, 2020, EPA issued a determination that the Fairbanks PM2.5 Nonattainment Area failed to attain by the Serious area attainment date and denied an extension of the Serious attainment date, triggering additional planning requirements for the Fairbanks PM2.5 Nonattainment Area under Clean Air Act section 189(d) (i.e., 5% Plan). Alaska submitted the 5% Plan on December 15, 2020.
- On September 24, 2021, EPA finalized approval of parts of the Fairbanks Serious Plan. The planning requirements addressed in that notice included the base year emissions inventory and the PM2.5 precursor demonstration. EPA also finalized approval of state-adopted heating device rule revisions as SIP-strengthening.
- On December 5, 2023, EPA issued a partial approval and partial disapproval on the remaining elements required for a Serious nonattainment area that failed to attain by the Serious area attainment date. EPA disapproved Alaska’s plan, in part, because it did not implement all required emission controls. EPA’s disapproval (effective January 4, 2024) resulted in triggering the sanction clocks and transportation conformity freeze: 2:1 offset NSR sanctions are effective in 18 months after disapproval (July 4, 2025); federal transportation sanctions and federal plan (FIP) obligations effective 24 months after disapproval (January 4, 2026).
- On December 4, 2024, Alaska submitted to EPA the Fairbanks PM2.5 SIP revisions intended to address the deficiencies identified in EPA’s December 5, 2023, rulemaking. EPA’s full approval of Alaska’s SIP revisions will lift the transportation conformity freeze and pause the sanctions clocks.
Additional information on the 2006 PM2.5 nonattainment areas is available on the EPA Green Book.
For more information on EPA's proposed rule, contact Matthew Jentgen (jentgen.matthew@epa.gov), 206-553-0340.