Air Toxics Regulations Rulemaking Feedback - Summer 2025

According to the statute, the rules must reflect any exposure of residents of an environmental justice area to facilities’ air toxics emissions. How do you recommend accomplishing this?

Should facilities be required to inform surrounding residents if they need to make operational changes to reduce the risk from their air toxics emissions? If so, what information would be helpful to receive?

Should facilities be required to public notice their changes to provide opportunity for input, and/or hold a public meeting in addition to informing residents? If so, what information would be helpful to have as part of these notices/meetings?

A public notice is the issuance of draft document(s) made available for public review and anyone is invited to comment on it within the comment period. MPCA staff review all comments and determine if the information submitted warrants making changes to the draft document.

If facilities are required to public notice any changes made and/or hold a public meeting, at what point in the process should the public notice or meeting occur?

• When above screening thresholds?
• When making changes to the facility?
• When a risk assessment is completed?
• When a risk reduction plan is required?
• Other times?

Should facilities be required to notify surrounding residents at any point in this process? If so, at what point in the process should they be notified?

If a facility were to public notice/hold public meetings, how would you like to receive that information?

• Mail flyers
• Email
• MPCA website announcement
• Via the news/newspapers
• Other options 

A petition is a formal process designed to provide a standard mechanism where the public can provide evidence to government entities to demonstrate that an action or project may have the potential for significant environmental or human health effects.

Should petitions be allowed and if so, what actions should be allowed to be petitioned for? Please share any example you might have.

• Anyone can petition for the screening values to be updated.
• Anyone can petition for a facility to redo or update their screening analysis.
• Other options  

If petitions are allowed, what evidence should be required with the petition? This could include information on emissions/pollutants, health effects, calculation methods, stack test results, etc.

Are there other aspects of the rule that you would like MPCA to consider? Are there other rules or regulations from other states that the MPCA should consider in writing these rules?

Are there air toxics or facilities of concern in your neighborhood? If there’s a facility of concern, what do you feel is the best resolution for your concerns? (i.e. reduce allowable emissions, limit operating hours, add more control equipment, have the facility get public input about changes it could make, etc.)

Should facilities in environmental justice areas be regulated differently than non-environmental justice areas? If so, how should their regulations differ? (i.e. faster compliance with the rule, public notice in environmental justice areas and not in non-environmental justice areas, have to rescreen in these areas, etc.)

What is your perception of the MPCA? How are we doing?

What organizations, industry groups, etc. should we notify when this rule is on notice? Please provide their contact information.