MDE 

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT 

1800 Washington Boulevard • Baltimore MD 21230 

410-537-3000 • 1-800-633-6101 • www.mde.maryland.gov 

LanyHogan 

Governor 

Boyd Rutherford 

Lieutenant Governor 

Mr. Shawn M. Garvin 

Regional Administrator 

lOY 2 4 1D15 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III 

1650 Arch Street (3RAOO) 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029 

Dear Mr. Garvin: 

RECEIVED 

t~.J 2.. l 2015 

Ben Grumbles 

Secretary 

EPA. RGGION Ill 

OFFICE OF RW!ONAL AL>MINili'I'I~A'l'OR 

RECFl\tr:r-) 

DEC 2 ? 2015 

DivisionJ)iroctQr:l3APOO) The purpose of this letter is to submit the enclosed State ImplementatiOn Plan ~~IP) Revision #15-05 

concerning Maryland's opacity regulations. This SIP revision includes new regulations and 

amendments under COMAR 26.11.01 General Administrative Provisions and new regulations under 

a new chapter COMAR 26.11 .31 Quality Assurance Requirements for Continuous Opacity Monitors 

(COMs). The actions included in this SIP revision are described in detail in paragraphs 2 through 5 

of this letter. Amendments to another chapter COMAR 26.11.09.01 and 05 were'·coinpleted as part of 

the same administrative process and these regulations are mentioned in this package. Due to evolving 

EPA guidance regarding opacity SIPs, COMAR 26.11.09.01 and .05 will be revised before these 

regulations are submitted as a SIP revision. COMAR 26.11.09.01 and .05 are not part of this SIP 

revision. The Department also requests that Technical Memorandum 90-01 (TM) which embodies 

the current enforcement policies and quality assurance criteria be removed from the SIP. 

The first action of this SIP Revision added new definitions and aligned requirements for continuous 

opacity monitors (COMs) and continuous emission monitors (CEMs) into two separate regulations. 

The action amended Regulations .01 and .05, repealed existing Regulations .10 and .11 and adopted 

new regulations .10 and .11 under COMAR 26.11.01 General Administrative Provisions. The Notice 

of Proposed Action was published in the Maryland Register on January 29, 2010. A public hearing 

was held on March 3, 2010. The action was adopted on Apri114, 2010. The Notice of Final Action 

was published on May 7, 2010 and the new regulations and amendments became effective on May 

17, 2010. All administrative procedures were properly followed throughout the adoption process. 

The second action of this SIP revision adopted quality assurance requirements for CO Ms. The action 

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

Requirements for Continuous Opacity Monitors. The Notice of Proposed Action was published in the 

Maryland Register on January 14, 2011. A public hearing was held on February 15, 2011. The action 

was adopted on May 16, 2011. The Notice of Final Action was published on June.3, 2011 and the 

new Regulations became effective on June 13, 2011. All administrative procedures were properly 

followed throughout the adoption process. 

The third action of this SIP revision made minor revisions to the regulations addressing COMs and 

CEMs. The action amended Regulations .10 and .11 under COMAR General Administrative 

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Mr. Shawn Garvin 

Page2 

Provisions. The Notice of Proposed Action was published in the Maryland Register on January 14, 

2011. A public hearing was held on February 15, 2011. The action was adopted on July 29, 2011. 

The Notice of Final Action was published on August 12, 2011 and the amendments became effective 

on August 22, 2011. All administrative procedures were properly followed throughout the adoption 

process. 

The fourth action of this SIP revision affected one CO MAR chapter. It amended Regulations .1 0 and 

.11 under COMAR General Administrative Provisions. The Notice of Proposed Action was 

published in the Maryland Register on April22, 2011. A public hearing was held on July 11, 2011. 

The action was adopted on July 29, 2011. The Notice of Final Action wa published on Augu t 12, 

2011 and the new regulations became effective on August 22, 2011. All administrative procedures 

were properly follow~d throughout the adoption process. 

I certify that the electronic copy of this SIP submittal (enclosed) is an exact duplicate of the official 

hard copy. If you have any questions concerning this SIP action, please feel free to call me at (420) 

537-3084 or Mr. George (Tad) S. Abum, Jr., Director of the Air and Radiation Management 

Administration, at 410-537-3255. 

Secretary 

·. 

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