ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

Notice of Public Comment Period for State Implementation Plan (SIP) Submittals for

the Chicago and Metro-East Ozone Nonattainment Areas 

and the Chicago PM2.5 Nonattainment Area

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Bureau of Air is accepting public 

comments on proposed revisions of the Maintenance Plans related to the 1997 8-hour ozone and 

PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the associated draft motor vehicle 

emissions budgets. The Maintenance Plans contain the State’s plans for maintaining the 8-hour 

ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS for at least 10 years after the U.S. EPA redesignates the areas to 

attainment. 

The Illinois EPA will accept written comments on the revisions to the Maintenance Plans. The 

written comments must be postmarked by August 8, 2011, unless a Public Hearing is requested. 

Comments and requests for hearing should be mailed to: 

Dean Studer, Hearing Officer 

Illinois EPA 

1021 North Grand Avenue, East 

P.O. Box 19276 

Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276 

telephone number: 217/558-8280 or TDD: 217/782-9143. 

If a timely request for a Public Hearing is received by August 11, 2011, a hearing will be held on 

August 18, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. in the Sangamo Room at the Illinois EPA’s Headquarters at 1021 

N. Grand Ave. East, Springfield, Illinois, and the written public comment period will be 

extended to September 16, 2011. 

The Public Hearing will be cancelled unless a written request for a Public Hearing is 

received by the Illinois EPA by U.S. Mail, carrier mail, or hand delivered by August 11, 

2011. Verification or cancellation of the Public Hearing will be posted on August 12, 2011 on 

Illinois EPA’s website at: http://www.epa.state.il.us/public-notices/. 

Copies of these draft SIP submittals may be viewed by the public during regular business hours 

(Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m, except for State holidays) at the Illinois EPA’s 

Headquarters at 1021 North Grand Avenue East, Springfield, Illinois, as well as on Illinois 

EPA’s website at http://www.epa.state.il.us. No walk-in requests for copies of this material will 

be accommodated, unless advance notice is provided. Requests and public inquiries, including 

verification or cancellation of the Public Hearing, should be directed to Dean Studer, the Illinois 

EPA’s Hearing Officer, at the address and phone number listed above. 

If a hearing request is received, the hearing will be held in accordance with the provisions of the 

Illinois EPA’s “Procedures for Informational and Quasi-Legislative Public Hearings,” set forth at 

35 Ill. Adm. Code 164. Any questions about the hearing procedures, requests for copies of the 
hearing rules, or requests for special need interpreters should be directed to the Hearing Officer 

at the address above. Requests for special needs interpreters must be made by August 11, 2011. 

Illinois EPA is proposing to revise the Maintenance Plans to extend the maintenance period until 

2025, and to establish new motor vehicle emissions budgets for the years 2008 and 2025 for the 

nonattainment areas. When final, the Illinois EPA will submit the revised Maintenance Plans 

and the motor vehicle emissions budgets to the U.S. EPA as SIP revisions to meet the 

requirements of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA). The hearing will satisfy the requirements of 

Section 110(l) of the CAA (42. U.S.C. 7401(l) (public notice for SIP submittals)). 

On May 26, 2010, the Illinois EPA submitted a Maintenance Plan for the Metro-East 

nonattainment area to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and 

requested that U.S. EPA redesignate the Metro-East nonattainment area to attainment of the 1997 

8-hour ozone NAAQS. Similarly, on July 23, 2009, the Illinois EPA submitted a Maintenance 

Plan for the Chicago nonattainment area to the U.S. EPA and requested that U.S. EPA 

redesignate the Chicago nonattainment area to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS. 

Finally, on October 15, 2010, the Illinois EPA submitted a Maintenance Plan for the Chicago 

nonattainment area to the U.S. EPA and requested that U.S. EPA redesignate the Chicago 

nonattainment area to attainment of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. U.S. EPA is expected to act on the 

redesignation requests concurrently with its final actions on the revised Maintenance Plans.