1 NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

2 DIVISION OF AIR RESOURCES

3

4 Re: 6 NYCRR Part 212, General Process Emission Sources; 6

5 NYCRR Part 218, Emission Standards for Motor Vehicle

6 Engines; 6 NYCRR Part 220, Portland Cement Plants and Glass

7 Plants; 6 NYCRR Subpart 227-2 Reasonably Available Control

8 Technology For Oxides of Nitrogen; 6 NYCRR Part 228,

9 Surface Coating Processes, Commercial and Indu~trial

10 Adhesives, Sealants and Primers; 6 NYCRR Part 234, Graphic

11 Arts and Parts 200 and 201 Revisions.

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13 Public Hearing, held at NYSDEC Region 8, Conference

14 oom, 6274 E. Avon-Lima Road, Avon, New York 14414, on February

15 8, 2010, commencing at 2:00 p.m.

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24 REPORTED BY: MARY ELIZABETH SEAMAN

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Thomas L. Marriott, P.E.

Regional Air Pollution ~ontrol Engineer

Kodak Project Director

Region 8

6274 East Avon-Lima Road

Avon, New York 14414-9519

Thomas G. Wickerham

Environmental Program Specialist II

Region 8 Division of Air Resources

6274 East Avon-Lima Road

Avon, New York 14414-9519

Rich Pecnik, Gernatt, NYCMA

Mike Mueller, Indeck

Tom Krysiak, Indeck

Tom Johnson, Dolomite (RAM)

Greg Rose, Dolomite (RAM)

Jeff Holley, Hanson

Scott Scharping, Keeler Canst. Co.

Chip Nelson, JMI

Jon Reimann, AES

Larry Rees, Hauck Mfg.

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2 MR. MARRIOTT: The time now is 2:05 p.m. This is

3 an administrative public hearing with a legislative format

4 before the New York State Department of E~vironmental

5 Conservation for the matter of the Department's proposed

6 revisions to Parts 200, 201, 212, 218, 220, 227-2, 228, and 234

7 of Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and

8 Regulations of the 'State of New York and revisions to the State

9 Implementation Plan.

10 The purpose of this hearing is to receive public

11 comment on the proposed regulations. If you wish to make a

12 statement, please fill out one of the cards and give it to me

13 as some of you have done. The cards will be used to call the

14 speakers in the order that I receive the cards.

15 My name is Thomas Marriott and I'm the regional

16 air pollution control engineer, but I'll be serving as the

17 hearing officer for the Department here. All persons,

18 organizations, corporations, or government agencies that may be

19 affected by the proposal are invited to submit either written

20 or oral statements. Statements taken today, whether written or

21 spoken, will be incorporated into the official record of this

22 proceeding. If you have your statement in writing please

23 provide me with a copy for the ease of transcription by the

24 court reporter. Your statements are not given under oath nor

25 will there be any cross examination. It's only necessary to

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2 attend one of the hearing sessions as a cumulative record will

3 be compiled.

4 Written statements received during the public

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5 comment period and oral statements at the hearing will be given

6 equal weight. Please submit any lengthy statements in writing.

7 If you wish you may summarize such statements verbally, and the

8 written comments can be submitted on or before 5:00 p.m. on

9 February 17th,' 2010 to the Division of Air Resources, 625

10 Broadway, Albany, New York, 12233-3251.

11 Notices of the hearings were pUblished in the

12 December 23rd, 2009 edition of the Environmental Notice

13 Bulletin and the State Register. Notices were also published

14 on December 23rd, 2009 in the New York Post, Newsday, the

15 Albany Times Union, the Glenns Falls Post Star, the Syracuse

16 Post Standard, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and the

17 Buffalo Evening News.

18 There's a total of three hearing sessions.

19 Additional hearings will be tomorrow, Tuesday, February 9th at

20 the DEC headquarters in Albany, 625 Broadway, Room 129B. That

21 will be at 2:00 p.m., and then Wednesday, February 10th at

22 DEC's Region 2 Annex on 47th Ave. in New York City. That will

23 also be at 2:00 p.m.

24 I will now calIon Thomas Wickerham of the

25 Division of Air Resources to give a brief summary of the

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2 regulations that are proposed here.

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4 MR. WICKERHAM: What I~ll do is present the hearing

5 statement for each of the rules that are the subject of

6 today's hearing and then we'll go from there.

7

8 Good afternoon, my name is Thomas Wickerham. I am

9 an Environmental Program Specialist with the New York State

10 Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air

11 Resources Region 8 office.

12 The New York State Department of Environmental

13 Conservation (the Department) is proposing to revise 6 NYCRR

14 Part 212, General Process Emission Sources. This revision

15 will add requirements for nitrogen ·oxide or "NOx" reductions

16 at hot mix asphalt production plants throughout the state.

17 The Department is proposing this regulatory revision in order

18 to help meet the increasingly stringent National Ambient Air

19 Quality Standards for ozone.

20 NOx emissions result from the operation of a burner

21 which heats and dries the aggregate. The revised regulation

22 contains separate control requirements for small and large

23 asphalt plants burners. The minimum requirement will be an

24 annual burner tune-up. Operators of large burners will need

25 to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of

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2 additional NOx controls. The owner or operator of a hot mix

3 asphalt production plant will be required to submit an

4 application to the Department to modify its permit to address

5 these new control requirements by June 1st, 2010. Any control

6 equipment or other emission reduction methods approved by the

7 Department must be installed or implemented by January 1st,

8 2012.

9 The Department will be accepting comments on this

10 rulemaking through 5 p.m. on February 17th, 2010. Public

11 notices to this effect have been published in the

12 Environmental Notice Bulletin, the State Register and various

13 newspapers around the state. The proposed rule is available

14 for review at the Department's web site at www.dec.ny.gov and

15 at the Department's Regional Offices. For answers to any

16 questions regarding this rulemaking, you can contact Scott

17 Griffin, G-R-I-F-F-I-N, at(518)402-8396 or bye-mail at

18 212asph@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Thank you.

19

20 And the second hearing statement for Part 218,

21 Emission Standards for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle

22 Engines. ,The purpose of this legislative hearing is to

23 solicit comments on the proposed revisions to 6 NYCRR Part

24 218, Emissions Standards for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle

25 Engines, and Part 200, Referenced Material.

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2 Section 177 of the Clean Air Act provides that

3 states may adopt the California new vehicle emission standards

4 provided that these standards are identical to California's.

5 New York adopted the California ~ow emission vehicle or "LEV"

6 program in 1992 for passenger cars and light-duty trucks. New

7 York has revised the LEV program periodically since 1992, with

8 changes occurring in 2005 to incorporate motor vehicle

9 greenhouse gas emission standards.

10 New York State is now proposing to adopt

11 California's most recent amendments to its greenhouse gas

12 standards. The proposed amendments would provide

13 manufacturers with the option of demonstrating compliance with

14 the fleet average greenhouse gas emissions standards based on

15 sales of passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty

16 passenger vehicles in New York, California, and all other

17 states that have adopted the California greenhouse gas

18 standards under Section 177. The greenhouse gas standards

19 would take effect for all 2009 and subsequent model year

20 passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger

21 vehicles. Adoption of the greenhouse gas standards is not

22 expected to negatively impact jobs and employment

23 opportunities in New York State. Automotive affiliated

24. businesses compete within the state and generally are not

25 subject to competition from out-af-state businesses. The

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2 regulations are not expected to impose a co~petitive

3 disadvantage on affiliated businesses. Reporting and

4 compliance documentation is the same as that already required

5 for California certified vehicles sold in New York and is not

6 e~pected to be burdensome.

7 Copies of the proposed draft Part 218 regulation

8 and related regulatory support documents are available at the

9 Department's website and from the Department's central and

10 regional offices. Comments will be received by the Department

11 until 5:00 p.m. on February 17th, 2009.

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MR. MARRIOTT: 2010.

MR. WICKERHAM: 2010. I apologize.

This is, the hearing statement for Part 220

16 Portland Cement Plants and Glass Plants. This public hearing

17 is one of three scheduled for the purpose of receiving

18 statements and comments on the Department of Environmental

19 Conservation's (the Department) proposal to amend Part 200,

20 "General Provisions" and Part 220, "Portland Cement Plants" of

21 Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules, and

22 Regulations of the State of New York, and associated revisions

23 to the State Implementation Plan or SIP. The proposed rule

24 amendments when finalized will be included in the SIP upon

25 approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

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2 (EPA) .

3 The Department is proposing to revise 6 NYCRR Part

4 200, General Provisions, and Part 220, Portland Cement Plants.

5 The current Part 220 will be divided into two sub-parts:

6 220-1 for portland cement plants: and 220-2 for glass

7 manufacturing plants. The Department is proposing to revise

8 Part 220 to require updated NOx, N-O-X RAeT, R-A-C-T for

9 cement kilns at portland cement plants in SUbpart 220-1, "and

10 to require NOx RAeT for glass furnaces at glass plants in

11 Subpart 220-2. The proposed revisions will apply to major

·12 facilities only. Major facilities are those that have a

13 potential to emit NOx in excess of 100 tons/yr upstate and 25

14 tons/yr downstate. In addition to the proposed revisions to

15 Part 220, the Department is also proposing to revise Part 200

16 by adding two new definitions; continuous emissions monitoring

17 system certification protocol, and continuous emissions

18 monitoring system plan.

19 The Department is taking a RAeT approach that

20 requires a facility specific analysis. The plant owner or

, 21 operator will be required to perform a facility specific RACT

22 analysis that determines RACT for emissions of NOx,

23 establishes a NOx RAeT emission limit(s), identifies the

24 procedures and monitoring equipment to be used to demonstrate

25 compliance with the NOx RACT emission limits, and includes a

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2 schedule for any equipment installation. The proposed NOx

3 RAeT implementation date is July 1, 2012. The RAeT analysis

4 must be submitted to the Department for review and approval.

5 The proposed revisions to Part 220 include the option of

6 allowing a facility to rely on a permit condition that

7 requires the future shutdown of a subject source at the

8 facility. Under the proposed shutdown option, a facility that

9 obtains a· permit condition that requires the shutdown of a

10 source by a specific date will not be required to conduct a

11 RAeT analysis or comply with the proposed continuous emissions

12 monitoring system requirements. The continped operation of

13 the source will be allowed until the NOx RAeT implementation

14 date. Approved RACT determinations will be submitted by the

15 Department to the EPA for approval as a separate SIP NOx RACT

16 emission limits at each facility.

17 The adoption of this regulation is a necessary part

18 of the State Implementation Plan which New York has developed

19 to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Air Act and EPA

20 regulations. The proposal represents New York State's

21 implementation of those measures needed to meet the national

22 ambient air quality standards.

23 The Department will provide a written response to

24 comments received or provided at these hearings. Requests for

25 information and comments related to the Part 220 and Part 200

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2 proposed revisions may be directed to Rick Leone, L-E-O-N-E,

3 at the NYSDEC Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Alban¥,

4 New York, 12233-3254, by telephone at (5181 402-8403, or by

5 email at:220cement@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

6 All of the rulemaking documents associated with

7 this rulernaking proposal are available on the Department's

8 website. Written statements may be submitted to the

9 Department until 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

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11 And this is the hearing statement for Subpart

12 227-2, Reasonably Available Control Technology for Oxides of

13 Nitrogen. This public hearing is one of three s_cheduled for

14 the purpose of receiving statements and comments on the

15 Department of Envi~onmental Conservation's (the Department's)

16 proposal to amend Part 200, "General Provisions," Subpart

17 201-3, "Exemptions and Trivial Activities" and Subpart 227-2,

18 "Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) .for Oxides of

19 Nitrogen (NOx)" of Title 6 of the Official Compilation of

20 Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New York, and

21 associated revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP).

22 The proposed rule amendments when finalized will be included

23 iri the SIP upon approval by the United· States Environmental

24 Protection Agency.

25 Subpart 201-3 is being revised to lower the

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2 applicability threshold for the exemption from permitting

3 requirements for certain stationary and portable combustion

4 installations. The exemption will now apply to all stationary

5 or portable combustion installations whose heat input is less

6 than 10 mmBtu/hr heat input. The current applicability

7 threshold is 20 mmBtu/hr heat input for those installations

8 found outside the downstate New York City area that is

9 classified as severe non-attainment for the one-hour ozone

10 national ambient air quality standard.

11 Subpart 227-2 is being revised in a number of

12 significant ways. The emission limits for very large boilers,

13 large boilers, mid-size boilers, and small boilers are being

14 made more stringent. For each combined cycle combustion

15 ~urbiner SUbpart 227-2 will now require that a case-by-case

16 RAeT analysis be performed and will now include shutdown and

17 system-wide averaging compliance,options for all subject

18 sources.

19 Owners and operators of sources subject to Subpart

20 227-2 must submit, by January 1st, 2011, either a complete

21 application for a permit or a RAeT analysis that explains that

22 the control technology the faci,lity currently employs should

23 still be considered RACT for that source. Sources subject to

24 the new emission limits must demonstrate compliance by

25 July 1st, 20i2 unless the sources rely on the shutdown

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2 compliance option which provides that the shutdown must occur

3 no later than December 31, 2012. Several definitions will be

4 removed from Subpart 227-2 and transferred to Part 200, thus

5 making those definitions generally applicable to all of the

6 Department's air pollution control regulations.

7 The proposed revisions will amend regulations that

B are essential components of the SIP that New York has

9 developed to comply with the requirements of the federal Clean

10 Air Act. The revisions are part of New York State's

11 implementation of certain measures needed to meet the national

12 ambient air quality standards for ozone.

13 The Department will provide a written response to

14 comments received or provided at these hearings. Anyone who

15 wishes to obtain information or submit comments related to

16 Subpart 227-2, Part 200, and Subpart 201-3 may contact Mr.

17 Mike Jennings at the NYSDEC Division of Air Resources, 625

18 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3254, telephone (518)402-8403, or

19 e-mail at227ract@gw.dec.state.ny.us. or visit the

20 Department's website at

21 www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html. Written

22 comments must be submitted to the Department by 5:00 p.m.

23 Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

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25 And this is the hearing statement for Part 228,

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2 Surface Coating Processes, Commercial and Industrial

3 Adhesives, Sealants and Primers.

4 On December 23rd, 2009 tne Department' proposed

5 'amendments to parts 200 and 228 of Title 6 of the Codes, Rules

6 and Regulations of the State of New York to reduce ozone

7 precursor. emissions from commercial and industrial adhesives,

8 sealants and primers. This regulation will result in lower

9 ambient ozone levels. Ozone is formed in the atmosphere by a

10 variety of photochemical reactions involving volatile organic

11 compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides .(NOx) in the presence of

12 sunlight and warm temperatures. Ground level ozone, a

13 respiratory irritant, aggravates respiratory conditions like

14 chronic lung and heart diseases, allergies, and asthma.

15 The adoption of the revisions to Part 228 will

16 assist the Department in attaining the National Ambient Air

17 Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone. On April 30th, 2004, the

18 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published

19 a final rule designating and classifying all non-attainment

20 areas for the 1997 8-hour ozone national ambi~nt air quality

21 standard. For the various non-attainment areas in New York

22 State, the New York State Department of Environmental

23 Conservation {the Department) is required to submit revisions

24 to the State Implementation Plan {SIP) that show that New York

25 State will attain the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air

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2 Quality Standards by the applicable date, and that the State

3 is making reasonable progress towards this goal. These SIP

4 revisions must include the establishment of new or revised

5 control requirements for emissions of the precursors of ground

6 level ozone pollution: NOx and VOCs. The Department has

7 listed this proposed regulatory revision for commercial and

8 industrial adhesives, sealants and primers as a measure that

9 would h~lp progress toward attainment in SIPs already

10 submitted to the EPA. Additionally, these more stringent

11 requirements will prove a necessary component of realizing the

12 recently announced 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards

13 for ozone, which will require that ambient concentrations

14 throughout the state must meet a 0.075 part per million

15 standard.

16 The Department is basing the revisions to Part 228

17 on'the 2006 Ozone Transport Commission Adhesives and Sealants

18 Model Rule which achieves vee reductions through two basic

19 components: sale and manufacture restrictions that limit the

20 vee content of specified adhesives, sealants and primers sold

21 in the state; and use restrictions that apply primarily to

22 commercial/industrial applications. These revisions will

23 result in approximately 12.2 tons per day of vee emission

24 reductions in the year 2012 for the State Implementation Plan.

25 The revisions to Part 228 will apply to any person who sells,

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2 supplies, offers for sale, or manufactures for sale in New

3 York State any adhesive, sealant, adhesive primer or sealant

4 primer for use in New York State. These revisions will also

,5 apply to any person who uses or applies any adhesive, sealant,

6 adhesive primer or sealant primer within New York State.

7 To assure the continuation of the achievement of

8 quality construction in the State of New York until

9 alternative low voe products become available t a phased-in

10 seasonal implementation shall be provided. As a result, this

11 phase-in provision applies to the use and sale of adhesives,

12 sealants, and primers for use with single-ply roofing

13 membranes, and permissible time periods for the manufacture,

14 sale and distribution of the existing adhesives, sealants, and

15 primers. Also, a four month product "sell-through" period

16 shall be allowed for any commercial and industrial adhesive,

17 sealant, adhesive primer or sealant primer manufactured before

18 the effective compliance dates and VOC content limits adopted

19 in the new Part 228.

20 The Department also proposes to amend Part 200 to

21 incorporate by reference all applicable test methods,

22 regulations, and procedure documents.

23 The Department will be accepting comments on this

24 rulernaking through 5 p.m. on February 17, 2010. A copy of the

25 proposed rule is available for viewing at the Department

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2 website at http://www.dec.ny.gov.regulation/60692.htrnl.

3 Questions regarding this rulemaking may be directed to Mr.

4 Ralph Itzo, I-T-Z-O, at (518)402-8403.

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6 And the hearing statement for part 234, Graphic

7 Arts. This pUblic hearing is one of three scheduled to

8 receive statements and comments on the Department of

9 Environmental Conservation's (Department) proposal to amend

10 Part 200, "General Provisions", Part 201, "Permits and

11 Registrations" and Part 234 "Graphic Arts" of Title 6 of the

12 Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the

13 State of New York, and associated revisions to the State

14 Implementation Plan or "SIP." The proposed rule amendments

15 when finalized will be included in the SIP upon approval by

16 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

17 The proposal will update two references in Table 1

18 of section 200.9 to reflect the 2006 Code of Federal

19 Regulations. The proposed amendments to Part 201 revise the

20 criteria for a graphic arts process to obtain an exemption at

21 201-3.2 (c) (13). In order to qualify for the exemption,

22 graphic arts processes must be located outside a severe ozone

23 non-attainment area and have facility-wide volatile organic

24 compound or "voe" emissions less than three tons per year on a

25 12-month rolling basis. This exemption is currently 20 pounds

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2 per day which is 3.65 tons per year. Also amended i,s a

3 trivial activity listed at 201-3.3(c) (23) to delete 'Letter

4 Press Operations' and add 'Proof Press Operations'.

5 The proposed Part 234 revisions expand the

6 regulation's applicability to include letterpress printing and

7 establish more stringent Reasonably Available Control

8 Technology or "RAeT" requirements on facilities that engage in

9 flexographic, offset lithographic and rotogravure printing.

10 The proposed revisions also impose new requirements for

11 graphic arts coatings and adhesives, and cleaning solutions

12 used in letterpress and offset lithographic printing.

13 The language of proposed section 234.1, General

14 Applicability and Exemptions, will be revised to expand the

15 applicability of the regulation. Currently part 234 applies

16 to facilities in ozone non-attainment areas and all major

17 facilities. Major facilit~es are those with the potential to

18 emit 25 tons of voe or more per year in lower Orange County,

19 and 50 tons of vee or more per year in the rest of the state.

20 Under the revisions, any graphic arts facility that is located

21 in a sev~re ozone non-attainment area, or any facility with

22 annual vee emissions of 3 tons or more on a rolling l2-month

23 basis is SUbject to all the requirements of Part 234 as

24 specified. Further, any facility in an ozone non-attainment

25 area, all major facilities, and any emission unit which has

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2 the potential to emit 2S tons per y~ar or more of VQe, will be

3 required to use low vae content inks, coatings, and adhesives,

4 or use add-on controls to limit emissions. Facilities that'

5 are located outside a severe ozone non-attainment area with

6 annual vae emissions less t~an 3 tons on a rolling 12-month

7 basis are only subject to the proposed requirements of section

8 234.5, Prohibition of sale or specification; Section 234.6

9 Handling storage and disposal of vaCi Section 234.7

10 Recordkeepingi and Section 234.8 Opacity.

11 The adoption of this regulation is a necessary part

12 of the SIP which New York State has developed to demonstrate

13 compliance with the Clean Air Act, and EPA regulations and

14 Control Techniques Guidelines. The proposal represents New

15 York State's implementation of those measures needed to meet

16 the national ambient air quality standards, as well as to

17 safeguard the health and welfare of its population, while also

18 promoting economic growth.

19 The Department will provide a written response to

20 comments received or provided at these hearings. Requests for

21 information and comments related to the Part 234, 201, and 200

·22 proposed revisions may be directed to Mr. John Henkes,

23 H-E-N-K-E-S, at the New York State DEC Division of Air

24 Resources, 625 Broadw?y, Albany, New York 12233-3254, by

25 telephone at (518)402-8403 or bye-mail at

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2 234arts@gw.dec.state.ny.us. All the rulemaking documents

3 associated with this rulemaking proposal are available on the

"4 Department's website. Written statements may be submitted to

5 the Department at the above address until 5:00 p.m.

6 Wednesday, February 17, 2010. Thank you.

7

8 MR. MARRIOTT: Thank you Mr. Wickerham. We have made

9 arrangements for a stenographer to record these proceedings.

10· If you read a prepared statement, please read it slowly and if

11 possible have a copy for the reporter. If you leave a copy of

12 your statement with the reporter and you would like it

13 returned, leave your address with the reporter and the

14 reporter will arrange for it to be returned. If your

15 statement is lengthy I would recommend you submit your

16 statement in ~riting and then summarize it in your verbal

17 statements. Has everyone who wishes to speak handed in a

18 card? Okay. I'm going to call the speakers here. Are there

19 any elected Federal, State, 'or County officials here? Good.

20 Okay. Please state your name cleprly for the record and spell

21 your last name. Mr. Rich Pecnik is it?

22

23 RICHARD PECNIK: Thank you Mr. Marriott. My name.

24 is Richard Pecnik, P-E-C-N-I-K and I represent the Gernatt

25 Family of Companies and also the New York Construction

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2 Materials Association. We at Gernatt are a family owned and

3 operated business that has been in existence since 1955

4 located 35 miles from Buffalo in southwestern New York State.

5 We employ nearly 170 people in our operations at eight

6 different locations. We currently operate five hot mix

7 asphalt plants producing blacktop primarily for Federal,

8 State, County, Town, and private projects. Our plants all

9 have New York State Air permits which keep us compliant with

10 the Federal Clean Air Act. Our blacktop plants are all fueled

11 by natural gas.

12 The proposed revisions to Part 212 give us great

13 concern for many reasons. Most nota?ly are the lack of

14 definitions of terms such as "low NOx burners", the incredibly

15 short timeframe for compliance with plant assessments, the

16 huge cost implications of having to retro-fit or add on to

17 existing facilities with minimal reduction in emissions, and

18 the lack of any measurable standards with which to comply.

19 The Federal Environmental Protection Agency declared in 2007

20 that blacktop plants were not a significant source of air

21 emissions. Looking at the total NOx emitted by the roughly

22 200 plants in New York State reenforces this statement. The

23 entire volume of NOx emitted by all the blacktop plants in New

24 York State is approximately 731 tons per year which represents

25 .13% of all NOx emissions in the State. This number is

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2 clearly insignificant when compared to other NOx sources,

3 making any reductions gained by the proposed 212 regulations

4 insignificant.

5 The cost of.achieving"compliance with the proposed

6 regulations will certainly take many blacktop plants out of

7 service, eliminating jobs, making blacktop a much more costly

8 and less accessible material. Increased costs to the producer

9 resulting from compliance with these regulations will be

10 passed on in higher costs for blacktop. Budgets at agencies

11 like the Thruway Authority, the New York State Department of

12 Transportation, and County, Town, and Village Highway

13 Departments will be decimated. This will drive up the costs

14 of projects using blacktop significantly, leading to huge

15 increases in greenhouse gas emissions, including NOx, as

16 project sponsors will have to travel greater distances, using

17 more trucks and burning more fu~l, to get the product. These

18 increased emissions will be far greater than the reductions

19 generated by compliance with these regulatory changes. Roads

20 and bridges will be maintained even less efficiently and the

21 quality of our infrastructure (the backbone of all commerce,

22 commercial and private) will deteriorate at an even faster

23 rate than it currently is. Poor infrastructure moves traffic

24 much less efficiently directly contributing more NOx emissions

25 to the environment. This legislation will result in a net

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28 EAST MAIN STREET, SUITE 101 .. ...
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2 increase in NOx emissions. In the assessment of "Cost to

3 State and Local Goverrunents" it is stated there will be no

4 cost to these entities. This is blatantly false for the

5 reasons described above.

6 Who at the agency is going to conduct the technical

7 review of the assessments required by June 1st, 2010? Will

8 approval/disapproval be consistent statewide? Many State

9 regulations are already applied inconsistently in different

10 regions and many technical documents required by the regulated

11 community are being reviewed by Agency personnel who are

12 entirely unqualified to do so. The regulations contain no

13 assurances that the applicant will get fair and equal

14 treatment.

15 These proposed changes, while well-intended, seem

16 to be poorly thought out. The long term implications will

17 actually defeat the intended purpose by generating more

18 emissions than they reduce. DEC should take a step back and

19 look at uses which generate more significant volumes of NOx.

20 The cost versus benefit ratio of these regulations is

21 impractical. The implications of excess costs, increased

22 emissions, loss of jobs, further degraded infrastructure, and

23 reduced services is too great for the taxpayers of New York to

24 have to endure.

25 Please incorporate my comments into the hearing

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2 record. Thank you.

3

4

5

6

MR. MARRIOTT: Thank you. Mr. Chip Nelson.

CHIP NELSON: 1 1m going to decline to go verbal.

7 I'm just going to put it in writing by the 17th.

8

9 MR. MARRIOTT: Okay. Thank you. Is there anyone

10 else who wishes to speak that qidn't complete a card? Okay.

11 A reminder again that the public comment period will be

12 closing at 5:90 p.m. on February 17th, 2010 and the written

13 statements should be submitted to the address there on the

14 board. The time now is 2: 40 p. m.. and since there is no one

15 else who wishes to comment I'm going to adjourn this hearing

16 session. Thank you all for coming. Staff will be available

17 informally after the conclusion in anybody wishes to ask

18 questions or discuss anything. Thank you.

19

20

21

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(Whereupon the public hearing was concluded at

2:46 p.m. on February 8, 2010.)

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3

STATE OF NEW YORK:

4 COUNTY OF MONROE:

C E R T I FIe A T ION

5 I, MARY ELIZABETH SEAMAN, being a Shorthand Reporter

6 and Notary Public in and for Monroe County, New York, do hereby

7 certify that I reported in machine shorthand the New York State

8 Department of Environmental Conservation Public Hearing, and

9 that the foregoing pages were typed by computer-assisted

10 transcription under my personal supervision and constitute a

11 true record of this proceeding.

12 I further certify that I am not an attorney or

13 counsel of any parties, nor a relative or employee of any

14 attorney or counsel connected with the action, nor financially

15 interested in the action.

16 WITNESS my hand in the City of Rochester, County

·17 of Monroe, State of New York.

18

19 _'_~l~,,__tljYi!:'I.lttd~ijL _ 20 Ml'1RY , ELIZF<BETH SEAMAN

21 Dated at Rocheste~, New York

22 this 12th day of February, 2010.

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