ENCLOSURE 1

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REVISION

FOR

IMPLEMENTATION OF

BEST AVAILABLE RETROFIT TECHNOLOGY

STATE OPERATING PERMIT

FOR

Georgia Pacific

Big Island

Section 110 of the federal Clean Air Act prescribes the requirements for the contents, 

adoption and submittal of the state implementation plan (SIP). Section 

110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) requires that the plan contain adequate provisions prohibiting 

emissions in amounts which will interfere with measures required to be included in the 

plan to prevent significant deterioration of air quality or to protect visibility.

Part C (Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality) of § 160 establishes the 

purposes of the part as follows:

(1) to protect public health and welfare from any actual or potential adverse effect which in the 

Administrator's judgment may reasonably be anticipated to occur from air pollution or from 

exposures to pollutants in other media, which pollutants originate as emissions to the ambient air, 

notwithstanding attainment and maintenance of all national ambient air quality standards;

(2) to preserve, protect and enhance the air quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, 

national monuments, national seashores, and other areas of special national or regional natural, 

recreational, scenic or historical value;

(3) to insure that economic growth will occur in a manner consistent with the preservation of existing 

clean air resources;

(4) to assure that emissions from any source in any state will not interfere with any portion of the 

applicable implementation plan to prevent significant deterioration of air quality for any other state; 

and

(5) to assure that any decision to permit increased air pollution in any area to which this section 

applies is made only after careful evaluation of all the consequences of such a decision and after 

adequate procedural opportunities for informed public participation in the decision making process.

Section 165 addresses the preconstruction requirements for major sources to be built in 

areas classified as PSD areas (federal class I areas). Section 165(b)(2) addresses the 

responsibility of the federal land manager that has authority over federal class I areas:

The Federal Land Manager and the Federal official charged with direct responsibility for 

management of such lands shall have an affirmative responsibility to protect the air quality related 

values (including visibility) of any such lands within a class I area and to consider, in consultation with 

the Administrator, whether a proposed major emitting facility will have an adverse impact on such 
values. . . . In cases where the Federal Land Manager demonstrates to the satisfaction of the state 

that the emissions from such facility will have an adverse impact on the air quality related values 

(including visibility) . . . a permit shall not be issued.

Section 169(A) addresses visibility protection for federal class I areas:

Congress hereby declares as a national goal the prevention of any future, and the remedying of any

existing, impairment of visibility in mandatory class I Federal areas which impairment results from 

manmade air pollution.

This section also provides timeframes by which the Secretary of the Interior and the 

Administrator will interact to assess visibility, develop federal regulations including 

specific source exemptions and public participation and the promulgation of those 

regulations.

Section 169(B) addresses the need for studies and assessment of current sources of 

visibility, impacts of other provisions, establishment of visibility transport regions and 

commissions, duties of the Administrator and the establishment of the Grand Canyon 

Visibility Transport Commission.

40 CFR 51.166, SIPs for new source review and source modifications, requires that the 

plans (in accordance with the policy of § 101(b)(1) and the purpose of § 160 contain 

emission limitations and such other measures as may be necessary to prevent 

significant deterioration of air quality.

Visibility is specifically addressed in 40 CFR 51.166(o), additional impact analysis:

(1) The owner or operator shall provide an analysis of the impairment to visibility, soils, and 

vegetation that would occur as a result of the source or modification and general commercial, 

residential, industrial, and other growth associated with the source or modification....

40 CFR 51.166(p) addresses sources affecting federal class I areas-additional 

requirements.

(p)(2) The Federal Land Manager and the Federal official charged with direct responsibility for 

management of Class I lands have an affirmative responsibility to protect the air quality related 

values (including visibility) of any such lands and to consider, in consultation with the with the 

Administrator, whether a proposed source or modification would have an adverse impact on such 

values.

On July 1, 1999, EPA published a final rule to address regional haze (64 FR 35714). 

The regional haze rule requires states to submit SIPs to address regional haze visibility 

impairment in federally protected parks and wilderness areas, which are known as 

“mandatory Class I federal areas” or “Class I areas.” The 1999 rule was issued to fulfill 

the requirements of §§ 169A and 169B. In this rule, EPA included a requirement for 

BART for certain large stationary sources that were put in place between 1962 and 

1977. The regulatory requirements for BART were codified at 40 CFR 51.308(e) and in 

definitions that appear in 40 CFR 51.301.
Sections 169A(b)(2)(A) and 169A(g)(7) use the term “major stationary source” to 

describe those sources that are the focus of the BART requirement. To avoid 

confusion with other requirements which also use the term “major stationary source,” 

the regional haze rule uses the term “BART-eligible source.” BART-eligible sources (i) 

have the potential to emit 250 tons or more of a visibility-impairing air pollutant, (ii) were 

in place between August 7, 1962 and August 7, 1977, and (iii) have operations that fall 

within one or more of 26 listed source categories. BART is required for any BARTeligible source which a state determines “emits any air pollutant which may reasonably 

be anticipated to cause or contribute to any impairment of visibility in any such area.” 

Accordingly, for stationary sources meeting these criteria, states must address the 

BART requirement when developing regional haze SIPs.

Section 169A(g)(7) requires that states consider the following factors in making BART 

determinations: (i) the costs of compliance, (ii) the energy and nonair quality 

environmental impacts of compliance, (iii) any existing pollution control technology in 

use at the source, (iv) the remaining useful life of the source, and (v) the degree of 

improvement in visibility which may reasonably be anticipated to result from the use of 

such technology. These statutory factors for BART were codified at 40 CFR 

51.308(e)(1)(ii).

In response to various legal challenges, the D.C. Circuit Court issued a ruling in 2002 

striking down the regional haze rule in part and upholding it in part. On July 6, 2005 (70 

FR 39103), EPA promulgated final regulations to address the court’s decisions (40 CFR 

51.302 and 51.308), and to provide BART determination guidance (Appendix Y to 40 

CFR Part 51). The purpose of the guidelines is to assist states as they identify which of 

their BART-eligible sources should undergo a BART analysis, and select controls in 

light of the statutory factors (the BART determination).

Georgia Pacific Big Island, located in Bedford County, Virginia, has been identified as a 

source subject to the BART requirements. A legally enforceable mechanism (federally 

enforceable state operating permit) has been drafted to ensure compliance with the 

BART requirements and is included as Attachment A. Attachment B presents the 

statement of basis to support the terms and conditions of the permit, including the 

determination and analysis to support the BART determination for the control of 

visibility-impairing pollutants (particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide)

from the facility. The permit is being issued pursuant to Article 52 (9 VAC 5-40-7550 et 

seq.) of 9 VAC 5-40 (Existing Stationary Sources) and Article 5 (9 VAC 5-80-800 et 

seq.) of 9 VAC 5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources) of state regulations and is

federally enforceable upon issuance.

TEMPLATES\SOURCE-SPECIFIC\PLN01

SRCESPEC\G-P BIG ISLAND\GPBI-SIP-1.DOC
ATTACHMENT A

LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE MECHANISM (PERMIT)

TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH BART REQUIREMENTS

FOR

Georgia Pacific

Big Island, Virginia

Registration No. 30389

Under the authority provided in 9 VAC 5-170-180 and Section II of Agency Policy 

Statement No. 3-2006 (dated October 20, 2006), the Director of the West Central

Regional Office approved and issued the permit on June 12, 2008, to be effective that 

same day. The permit was approved and issued following the procedural requirements 

of Virginia's federally enforceable state operating permit program, Article 5 (9 VAC 5-

80-800 et seq.) of Part II of 9 VAC 5-80 (Permits for Stationary Sources).







ATTACHMENT B

STATEMENT OF BASIS FOR

DETERMINATION OF THE CONTROL OF

VISIBILITY-IMPAIRING POLLUTANTS

FROM

Georgia Pacific

Big Island, Virginia

Registration No. 30389