Background

The Mendenhall Valley, Alaska, area was designated nonattainment for PM₁₀ and classified as moderate upon enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990.

On June 22, 1993, Alaska submitted a PM₁₀ attainment plan to the EPA. On March 24, 1994, EPA approved the Mendenhall Valley PM₁₀ attainment plan (59 FR 13884 (PDF)(3 pp, 410 K, About PDF)).

On May 8, 2009, Alaska submitted a Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for PM₁₀ for the Mendenhall Valley nonattainment area and a request to redesignate the area to attainment for PM₁₀. The LMP demonstrated that the Mendenhall Valley NAA qualified for a PM₁₀ LMP because the annual design value for the area was 56.8 micrograms per cubic meter, which is substantially less than the PM₁₀ LMP threshold value of 98 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA approved the LMP on May 9, 2013 (78 FR 27071 (PDF)(8 pp, 307 K)).

Summary

The strategy focuses on control of wood smoke emissions and fugitive dust sources.

Rules

• Alaska Administrative Code, Title 18, Chapter 50 Air Quality Control, Section 075 ‘‘Wood-fired heating device visible emission standards,’’ effective May 6, 2009.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 2008–28, adopted February 20, 2009.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 91-52, January 6, 1992, amending Wood smoke control code to lower the particulate count threshold, and to prohibit the burning in woodstoves of substances other than paper, cardboard and untreated wood.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 91-53, January 6, 1992, amending the woodsmoke control fine schedule to increase the fines for violations of the woodsmoke control code.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 93-01, February 8, 1993, setting boundaries for regrading and surfacing.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 93-06, April 5, 1993, setting boundaries for regrading and surfacing.
• By Resolution of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 1612, December 7, 1992, adopting Memorandum of Understanding between ADEC, ADOT and CBJ, January 6, 1993, sharing responsibility and authority for resolving the PM-10 nonattainment problems associated with road dust in the Mendenhall Valley.
• Ordinance of the City and Borough of Juneau, Serial No. 93-39am, November 17, 1993, creating Local Improvement District No. 77 of the City and Borough, setting boundaries for drainage and paving of streets in the Mendenhall Valley.

Contingency Measures

• Additional controls on fugitive dust sources.
• Additional inducements to reduce emissions from residential wood stoves.

EPA Effective Date

July 8, 2013