1 Statement of the Air and Radiation Management Admin istration

Maryland Department of the Environment For the Public Hearing Concerning the infrastructur e State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Revised Lead (Pb) Standard

Held on December 5, 2012

Lead (Pb) SIP

Good morning. My name is Jim Wilkinson. I am a Pla nner in the Air Quality Planning Division, Air Quality Planning Program of the Air & Radiation Man agement Administration, Maryland Department of

Environment.

This public hearing is related to the air quality p lan titled the infrastructure SIP for the Revised L ead (Pb)

standard.

This public hearing is being held pursuant to feder al law found at 42 U. S. C. § 7410(a) and 40 CFR Pa rts 51.102 and 251. It is also being held in conformanc e with the State Administrative Procedure Act, unde r the State Government Article, beginning at Section 10-101.

Copies of each of the public hearing notices and th e Proposed Infrastructure State Implementation Plan for the Revised Lead (Pb) Standard will be part of the formal hearing record.

Access to the proposed document was made available via the website of the Maryland Department of the Environment. Hard copies were also available at th e Maryland Department of the Environment.

The purpose of this hearing is to provide the publi c with an opportunity to formally comment on the proposed document.

Summary of Proposed Infrastructure State Implementa tion Plan for the Revised Lead (Pb)

Standard

The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 to protect pub lic health and welfare. Congress amended the Act in 1990 to establish requirements for areas not meetin g the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The CAAA established a process for evaluat ing air quality in each region and identifying nonattainment areas according to the severity of it s air pollution problem. The Clean Air Act sets hea lth standards for six ambient pollutants: carbon monoxi de, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, lead an d particulate matter. The Environmental Protection Ag ency establishes rules and regulations to implement

the Clean Air Act.

On October 15, 2008, EPA substantially strengthened the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead. The revised standards are 10 times tighte r than the previous standards and will improve heal th2

protection for at-risk groups, especially children. EPA has revised the level of the primary (health-b ased) standard from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter ( μ g/m3), to 0.15 μ g/m3, measured as total suspended particles (TSP). EPA has revised the secondary (wel fare-based) standard to be identical in all respect s to the primary standard. Currently, using the data fr om EPA’s lead standards web page, http://www.epa.gov/air/lead/actions.html, Maryland does not expect any areas of the state to be above the

new standard.

The attached State Implementation Plan verifies tha t Maryland fully complies with the requirements of §110(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act by having all nece ssary implementation, maintenance, and enforcement measures in place in Maryland for the revised lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

CONSIDERATION OF COMMENTS The Department will consider all pertinent comments , and revise the proposed plan if necessary, before making a final decision to adopt the plan and submi t it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fo r approval as a Maryland State Implementation Plan. Written comments may be presented at this hearing but cannot be accepted if not presented before the close of the hearing. The 30-day public comment pe riod that began on November 2, 2012 for receipt of all c omments to the plan will close at the end of this p ublic hearing.