Alaska DEC proposes letting some construction start before air permits are issued

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed letting companies begin building certain parts of a facility before the state issues its air quality permit. The department says the change would help with construction seasons on the North Slope.

Under the draft regulation, a company would first have to file a complete permit application and notify the department 30 days before temporary construction begins. A company official would have to sign a statement accepting liability for any construction the final permit does not approve and waiving any liability to the state. The company would also have to make any changes the final permit requires.

No equipment that emits pollution could start operating until its permit is issued. The department could order work stopped if it found the project would interfere with national air quality standards or the state air quality plan.

The flexibility would not cover some projects. In an area designated nonattainment for a pollutant, meaning it does not meet federal standards for that pollutant, it would not apply to sources that emit that pollutant or the pollutants that form it. The Fairbanks and North Pole urban areas are nonattainment areas for fine particulate pollution, PM2.5.

The change is part of a larger air quality package. It also updates the federal standards the state adopts, including new ones for crude oil and natural gas facilities, and revises several standard permit conditions. One revision would remove a 10-ton-per-year threshold, making all assessable emissions subject to fees. The package also revises the Anchorage carbon monoxide plan.

Written comments are due by 11:59 pm Dec. 11, according to the public notice. A telephone hearing is tentatively set for noon Dec. 1. It will be held only if someone asks for it by 5 pm Nov. 23.