Special Notice

This notice was published in the October 1, 2017, issue (Vol. 2017, No. 19) of the Utah State Bulletin.


Special Notice: Notice of Public Comment for Fireworks Exceptional Events on July 4, 2017

Federal regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 50) allow states to exclude air quality data that exceed or violate a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) if it can demonstrate that an "exceptional event" has caused the exceedance or violation. Exceptional events are unusual or naturally occurring events that can affect air quality but are not reasonably controllable or preventable using techniques implemented to attain and maintain the NAAQS. Exceptional events are events for which the normal planning and regulatory process established by the Clean Air Act are not appropriate.

Exceptional events may be caused by human activity that is unlikely to recur at a particular location, or may be due to a natural event. EPA defines a "natural event" as an event in which human activity plays little or no direct causal role to the event in question. For example, a natural event could include such things as high winds, wild fires, and seismic/volcanic activity. In addition, the EPA will allow states to exclude data from regulatory determinations on a case-by-case basis for monitoring stations that measure values that exceed or violate the NAAQS due to emissions from fireworks displays from cultural events. These events can be flagged as being affected by exceptional or natural events and then justified.

Federal regulations (40 CFR Part 50.14) require that all relevant flagged data, the reasons for the data being flagged, and a demonstration that the flagged data are caused by exceptional events be made available by the State for 30 days of public review and comment. These comments will be considered in the final demonstration of the event that is submitted to EPA. The following monitored values have been attributed to exceptional events:

1. July 4, 2017, Ogden Monitor Station, 77.3 microgram/m3 PM2.5 (Due to Firework Display Emissions)

2. July 4, 2017, Lindon Monitor Station, 46.6 microgram/m3 PM2.5 (Due to Firework Display Emissions)

3. July 4, 2017, Rose Park Monitor Station, 37.8 microgram/m3 PM2.5 (Due to Firework Display Emissions)

The documentation to support removing this data from use in regulatory determinations will be available by October 1 for public review and comment. It can be viewed at: https://deq.utah.gov/ProgramsServices/programs/air/exceptionalevents/index.htm or at the DEQ Building located at 195 North 1950 West in Salt Lake City.

In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act, individuals with special needs (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) should contact Sharyn Dobson, Office of Human Resources at 801-536-4281 (TDD 536-4281).

The comment period will close at 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2017. Comments postmarked on or before that date will be accepted. Comments may be submitted by electronic mail to Jkarmazyn@utah.gov or may be mailed to:

Joel Karmazyn

Utah Division of Air Quality

PO Box 144820

195 N 1950 W

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4820


Additional Information

The Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the Bulletin is the official version. The PDF version of this issue is available at https://rules.utah.gov/publicat/bull_pdf/2017/b20171001.pdf. The HTML edition of the Bulletin is a convenience copy. Any discrepancy between the PDF version and HTML version is resolved in favor of the PDF version.

For questions regarding this notice, please contact Mat Carlile, by phone at 801-536-4116, by FAX at 801-536-4136, or by Internet E-mail at mcarlile@utah.gov.