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1 OHIO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

 PUBLIC HEARING

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4 In Re: :

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5 Ozone Redesignation Request and :

Maintenance Plan :

6 Cleveland, Akron, Lorain :

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10 Transcript of proceedings before the

11 Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, taken at Ohio EPA 

12 Northeast Office, 2110 E. Aurora Road, Twinsburg, Ohio 

13 on Monday, June 27, 2016, commencing at 3:25 p.m.

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18 APPEARANCES:

19 Kristopher Weiss, Ohio EPA Public Interest Center

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1 P R O C E E D I N G S

2 MR. WEISS: My name is 

3 Kristopher Weiss. I am a public involvement 

4 coordinator in Ohio EPA's Public Interest Center 

5 and will preside over today's public hearing.

6 Thank you for taking time to attend 

7 this hearing before the Ohio Environmental 

8 Protection Agency. The purpose of the hearing 

9 today is to obtain comments from any interested 

10 person regarding plans to request U.S. EPA to 

11 officially revise the current air quality 

12 designation from nonattainment to attainment for 

13 the Cleveland-Akron-Lorain, Ohio 2008 eight-hour 

14 ozone standard nonattainment area. This area is 

15 comprised of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, 

16 Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties. 

17 Air quality monitoring data collected between 

18 2013 and 2015 in the region demonstrated 

19 attainment of the 2008 eight-hour ozone standard 

20 and there is evidence that the improvement in 

21 air quality is due to permanent, enforceable 

22 emission reductions. In addition, Ohio's 

23 proposed maintenance plan demonstrates existing 

24 requirements are sufficient to maintain the 

25 2008 eight-hour ozone standard in this area at 
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1 least ten years into the future. As part of an 

2 acceptable maintenance plan, Ohio EPA is 

3 required to develop a contingency plan to 

4 provide for additional emissions reductions if a 

5 violation of the NAAQS is monitored after the 

6 area has been redesignated. The contingency 

7 plan which Ohio EPA is proposing to U.S. EPA as 

8 part of this action contains additional 

9 reductions which could help alleviate any 

10 violations until a revised SIP could be 

11 developed. 

12 All interested persons are entitled to 

13 attend or be represented, and to present oral 

14 and/or written comments concerning the proposed 

15 action. All written and oral comments received 

16 as part of the official record will be 

17 considered by the director of Ohio EPA.

18 To be included in the official record, 

19 written comments must be received by Ohio EPA by 

20 close of business, today June 27, 2016. These 

21 comments may be filed with me today or e-mailed 

22 to Erica.fettydavis@epa.ohio.gov. All written 

23 comments submitted for the record receive the 

24 same consideration as oral testimony given 

25 today.
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1 Written statements submitted after 

2 today may be considered as time and 

3 circumstances permit, but will not be part of 

4 the official record of the hearing.

5 If you wish to present oral testimony 

6 at this hearing today and have not already 

7 signed the registration sheet, please do so at 

8 this time. The sheet is available at the 

9 registration table. Persons will be called in 

10 the order in which they have registered.

11 There is no cross-examination of 

12 speakers or of representatives of Ohio EPA in 

13 public hearings such as this. Ohio EPA hearings 

14 such as this afford citizens the opportunity to 

15 provide comments on the official record. 

16 Therefore, we will not be able to answer 

17 questions during the hearing. However, members 

18 of the panel may ask clarifying questions of the 

19 person testifying to ensure the record is as 

20 complete and accurate as possible.

21 I will now read the names of those who 

22 have registered at this hearing and will give 

23 each person an opportunity to testify.

24 (No names were registered.)

25 Is there anyone else who wishes to 
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1 testify at this time? 

2 Seeing no further requests for 

3 testimony, I remind you that written comments 

4 can be submitted through the close of business 

5 today, June 27. 

6 Thank you for attending. The time is 

7 now 3:30 p.m. and this hearing is adjourned. 

8 (Hearing concluded at 3:30 p.m.)

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