Public Participation

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Stakeholder Involvement

The Air Quality Bureau frequently seeks input and recommendations from stakeholders on various planning and rulemaking activities, along with permits that will be issued.

  • Public Input allows opportunities for comment and general information to review Air Quality rulemakings and draft permits. Please see the fact sheet Making Your Comments Count for tips on making effective comments.
  • Meetings are ongoing, regularly scheduled meetings to discuss current and upcoming regulatory issues.
  • Workgroups are established to assist the Air Quality Bureau with specific air quality program implementation activities.

Interested members of the public can view agendas, documents, and general information; meeting and workgroup activities can also be tracked.

Please note that not all categories will have items available for comment at all times. Public meetings being held throughout the state are also available on the State of Iowa public meeting calendar.

Public Input

Construction Permits

* The Iowa DNR is proposing to issue these construction permit(s). Written comments should be directed immediately to the assigned engineer.

 

Operating Permits

 

The DNR invites the public to provide comment on a draft plan to help redesignate the Muscatine area from nonattainment to attainment with the 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient air quality standard. The DNR intends to submit the plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a revision to Iowa's state implementation plan (SIP).

EPA designated a portion of Muscatine County as a nonattainment area in 2013 because SO2 concentrations in the air did not meet the 2010 federal 1-hour SO2 health standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb). Beginning with the 2015-2017 three-year period, SO2 concentrations measured in Muscatine show the area meets the standard. The improved air quality is the result of permanent reductions in local emissions.

The proposed SIP revision includes a maintenance plan to demonstrate the Muscatine area will continue to meet the 1-hour SO2 standard. The DNR is also requesting the removal of outdated permits and less stringent SO2 requirements for the revoked 24-hour SO2 federal air quality standard. A copy of the draft plan and its attachments are provided below. When DNR submits the plan, the Governor will formally ask EPA to redesignate the area to attainment. Only EPA can redesignate the area to attainment.

Draft SIP Documents

Muscatine 1-Hour SO2 Maintenance Plan

Attachment 1 - GPC's New and Modified Permits

Attachment 2 - MPW's Modified Permits

Attachment 3 - Monsanto's Modified Permit


Public Comments & Public Hearing Information

Anyone may make written comments on this proposed SIP revision. The comment period starts on August 20, 2021, and ends on September 20, 2021. Written comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on September 20, 2021 and may be sent to:

Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Air Quality Bureau
c/o Matthew Johnson
502 East 9th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-0034

Or email matthew.johnson@dnr.iowa.gov, or fax 515-725-9501.


A public hearing will be held on Monday, September 20, 2021, at 11 a.m. Participants may access the public hearing as follows:

Teleconference: (669) 238-0582, PIN: 507 076 149#

Video Conference: https://meet.google.com/nvb-yswe-zbu

List of additional phone numbers (if needed): https://meet.google.com/tel/nvb-yswe-zbu?pin=7204233117497

If you plan to participate in the public hearing and have special requirements, such as those related to a hearing impairment, contact Matthew Johnson at 515-725-9554 or email matthew.johnson@dnr.iowa.gov to advise of specific needs.

DNR will summarize and respond to comments after the close of the public comment period. The responsiveness summary will include written and oral comments and DNR's response to the comments. The completed responsiveness summary will be forwarded to EPA and made available to the public as part of the final SIP submission.

 

Meetings - Air Quality Client Contact

Air Quality Client Contact Meetings focus on current and upcoming air program issues and changes. The meetings provide an open forum for stakeholders and the general public to discuss new state and federal air quality rules or air program developments and are a good source of information for anyone who works with or has an interest in activities related to air quality.

All meetings are open to the public.


Meetings - Fee Advisory Groups

Legislation passed by the 86th session of Iowa General Assembly (Senate File 488) established authority to collect application fees for new source air construction permits at major sources. Construction permit application fees will pay for the reasonable direct and indirect costs of implementing and administrating new source review programs for major sources. The legislation directs the DNR to convene a fee advisory group to obtain recommendations regarding these fees for major source air construction permits, including Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits. The advisory group will meet at least once annually to consider the fees. For more information contact Jim McGraw at Jim.Mcgraw@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-9543.


Workgroups

The Air Quality Bureau is convening a stakeholder advisory group to receive input on a potential rule making regarding requiring electronic submittal of air emissions inventory reports, air permit applications, and other air quality documents. An advisory group meeting will be held with Zoom on August 19 at 10 am [air electronic submittals advisory group meeting, add to calendar]. Registration details are included in the meeting agenda.

For more information please contact Jessica Reese Mcintyre at jessica.reesemcintyre@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-9547, or Jim Mcgraw at jim.mcgraw@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-689-1439. For information on the potential rule making, please contact Christine Paulson at christine.paulson@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-9510.

The DNR held a value stream mapping event (VSM) on October 17 – 20, 2016. This was a collaborative event with six industry representatives and was co-facilitated by the Department of Management. The VSM participants thoroughly discussed various opportunities to transform Title V permitting and came to consensus on six key deliverables to improve efficiency:

  • optional pre-application meeting
  • optional pre-technical review meetings
  • improved application forms
  • metrics to determine missing information and customer satisfaction
  • critical information earlier in the process
  • directory for just-in-time sharing of internal data

These deliverables will relate to receiving better information from our applicants, thereby improving the efficiency of the DNR staff who will no longer spend time collecting information that could have been provided up front.

Since three of these improvements are more complex in nature, the DNR is asking for the input of additional team members. Two workgroups will be held between January 17 and 20, 2017 to address the optional pre-meetings and improvements to the application forms. The workgroups will consist of a diverse group of twelve to fifteen industry representatives.

Additional Information:

If you have comments or questions about the VSM event, please contact Marnie Stein, Title V permit supervisor, at 515-725-9525 or marnie.stein@dnr.iowa.gov.

Title V Workgroups

Representatives from eight businesses collaborated with Title V permit writing staff from the DNR and Linn County in two workgroups held between January 17 and 20, 2017. One team addressed optional pre-meetings for hands-on help with the application, likely resulting in a faster application review time a permit that better reflects the needs of the business. The second team simplified the Title V application forms by creating excel spreadsheet versions of some forms, allowing the use of previous versions of the forms, reducing the information requested, and updating the application instructions.