Notice of Public Hearing

SUBJECT: Proposed Adoption of New Rule 421, Mandatory Episodic Curtailment of Wood and Other Solid Fuel Burning

The Board of Directors of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (District) will conduct a public hearing on September 27, 2007 at 9:30 A.M. in Room 1450 (Board of Supervisors’ Chambers), County Administration Building, 700 H Street, Sacramento, California.

The District Board will consider the adoption of proposed new Rule 421, Mandatory Episodic Curtailment of Wood and Other Solid Fuel Burning, which will:

1.   Prohibit the operation of a solid fuel burning device or solid fuel burning fire when a mandatory curtailment is in effect;
2.   Require the Air Pollution Control Officer to declare a mandatory curtailment whenever he/she predicts the 24-hour average
     PM-2.5 concentration will exceed 35 μg/m3; and
3.   Specify the methods by which the Air Pollution Control Officer will notify the public of each mandatory curtailment.

The rule only applies during the months of November, December, January, and February.  The rule does not apply to cookstoves, gaseous fueled fireplaces, solid fuel burning conducted as part of a religious ceremony, or homes where the solid fuel burning device is the sole source of heat.  The District Board will also consider an exemption for persons for whom a mandatory curtailment would create an economic hardship.

Rule 421 was created as part of the response to the requirements of Senate Bill 656 that the District implement cost-effective control measures for particulate matter emissions.  Staff finds that the proposed rule is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as an action by a regulatory agency for protection of the environment (Class 8 Categorical Exemption, Section 15308 State CEQA Guidelines) and because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant adverse effect on the environment (Section 15061(b)(3), State CEQA Guidelines).

Note: The title of the rule was changed on September 5, 2007.

Download the latest versions here.

• proposed Rule 421 - Version A (PDF)
  
• proposed Rule 421 - Version B (PDF)
• final staff report - September 7, 2007 (PDF)
• staff report - August 28, 2007 (PDF)

By this notice, all interested parties are specifically requested to provide comments on the proposed adoption of new Rule 421.  Oral and written testimony may be directed to the Board of Directors at the public hearing on September 27, 2007, or to the Sacramento Metropolitan AQMD, 777 12th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814, Attention: Jeffery Yang (916) 874-4550.  You can also submit your comments via e-mail to jyang@airquality.org

Hard copies of this rule and the staff report will be provided upon request at (916) 874-4800.

Material for October 25, 2007 public hearing continuation:

• proposed Rule 421 (PDF)
• additional options for Board consideration (PDF)