Statement of the Air and Radiation Management Administration 

Department of the Environment 

for the Public Hearing 

Relating to Proposed new Regulations .01 - .12 under a new chapter, COMAR 26.11.31 

Quality Assurance Requirements for Continuous Opacity Monitors (COMs) 

held on February 15, 2011 

Baltimore, MD 

My name is Deborah Rabin. I am the Regulations Coordinator for the Air and Radiation 

Management Administration, Department of the Environment. 

This public hearing is being held pursuant to the requirements of 40 CFR Section SI.I 02 

and Sections 2-30I et. seq. of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. It is also 

being held in conformance with the State Administrative Procedures Act under the State 

Government Article, beginning at Section I 0-I 0 I. 

Notice of this hearing appeared in the: 

Maryland Register on January I4, 20I1; 

MDE's website from January 11, 2011 through February 16, 2011; 

Baltimore Sun on January I4, 201I; 

Washington Post on January 13, 201I; and the 

St. Mary's Enterprise on January 14, 2011. 

Copies of these notices were submitted for the record. 

Copies of this proposed action and supporting documents were made available for review 

by the State Clearinghouse and are also submitted at this time into the hearing record. Copies 

were also made available for public inspection at the Air and Radiation Management 

Administration offices in Baltimore, Cumberland, and Salisbury, and at all local health 

departments or local air quality control offices. 

The purpose oftoday's hearing is to give the public an opportunity to comment on 

proposed new Regulations .01 - .12 under a new chapter, COMAR 26.11.31 Quality Assurance 

Requirements for Continuous Opacity Monitors (COMs). 

Summary 

The purpose of this action is to: 

(1) Repeal the current regulations under CO MAR 26.11.3 I to reflect the repeal of the 

Small Business Pollution Compliance Loan Fund effective October 1, 2009 (House Bill 1416); 

and 

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(2} Codify the quality assurance (QA} and quality control (QC) procedures for continuous opacity 

monitors (COMs). The procedures are currently contained in the Department's Technical 

Memorandum 90~0 1 (TM). 

This action will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval 

as part of Maryland's State Implementation Plan. 

Background: 

TM 90~0 1 was adopted in 1991 when continuous emissions monitoring requirements were first 

promulgated by the State. Those regulations were approved as part of the Department's 

continuous emission monitoring program by the EPA on February 28, 1996. It is now necessary 

to promulgate a regulation codifying the QA and QC procedures found in the TM because the 

Department proposes to terminate its use. Specifically, the QA and QC procedures for COMs 

which are currently applied through use of the TM will be incorporated in this new chapter, 

COMAR 26.11 .31 . 

These proposed regulations incorporate by reference the current federal performance and design 

specification requirements for the operation of opacity monitoring systems. To the extent that the 

EPA adopts revised requirements in the future, the Department will review those federal 

procedures and consider amendment of its regulations to adopt and incorporate any federal QA 

and QC procedures. 

Sources Affected and Location: 

This action affects any source required to install and operate COMs, including fuel burning 

equipment with a heat input capacity of 100 million Btu per hour, cement plants and municipal 

waste combustors. These sources currently utilize the proposed QA and QC procedures, as found 

in Part II of TM 90~0 I. 

Consideration of Comments 

The Department will consider all comments before making a decision to adopt these new 

regulations. 

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