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Petitions for DEQ Air Toxics Review

Background 

Cleaner Air Oregon is Oregon's program to reduce health risks to people who live, work, or learn near industrial and commercial facilities that emit toxic air contaminants. As part of this program, the Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Health Authority periodically review and update toxicological information (i.e., information about the amount of chemicals that cause health issues) that form the basis for assessing potential health impacts of facility emissions. 

DEQ must review and update the priority contaminant list and toxicity reference values (TRVs) every three years; this is called a “triennial review." DEQ and OHA staff do an in-depth review of the contaminants on the priority list and TRVs and identify changes to recommend to the Environmental Quality Commission, which has oversight responsibility for DEQ and has authority to adopt DEQ rules. The Cleaner Air Oregon rules adopted by the EQC also give an option to members of the public to submit petitions to make changes to the list and TRV. DEQ and OHA welcome petitions for consideration during the update process. Petitions were due Nov. 2, 2022 at 5:00 PM. We are no longer accepting petitions at this time.

What are Priority Toxic Air Contaminants and TRVs? 

The Priority Toxic Air Contaminant List is a list of contaminants considered a priority for investigation in Oregon. Under the state's Cleaner Air Oregon program, industrial facilities must report their air emissions of these contaminants. A TRV is the concentration of a toxic air contaminant that may cause health problems when inhaled. The Priority List and TRVs may be used by DEQ programs including, but not limited to, Cleaner Air Oregon (OAR-340-245) and the Oregon State Toxic Air Contaminants Program (OAR-340-246). 

For more background, read DEQ's Priority List and TRV Fact Sheet.

Submit a Petition 

DEQ is accepting four types of petitions, detailed below. Please note that only one petition request may be made for each submission. For example, a request to add chemical X to the reporting list is a separate petition from a request to add a toxicity reference value for that same chemical. Below are links to the form for each type of petition; you will need to indicate a specific chemical or class of chemicals on the form. Petitions are considered public record and subject to public records requests. Please note, DEQ will be reviewing Diesel Particulate Matter, so please do not submit a petition for that chemical. 

Petition Type: 

Instructions for Submitting a Petition 

Interested parties who want to ask DEQ to add or remove toxic air contaminants from the priority list and/or add, remove, or revise a TRV may submit a petition to DEQ. DEQ will review petitions during the triennial review. 

Petition requirements are detailed in Oregon Administrative Rule 340-247-0040. DEQ highly encourages submitting all supporting evidence listed on this form related to your petition type. This will help in the evaluation of petitions. If you are unable to provide recommended emissions information, DEQ will attempt to obtain these values during the review period. 

Petitions are due by Nov. 2, 2022 at 5 p.m. PT. If DEQ receives a petition after the deadline, the petition will be reviewed during the next triennial review period.

Submission by Form 

If submitting electronically, you will be able to submit up to 10 files with your petition. File types cannot exceed 100 MB per file.

Submission by Mail 

In addition to accepting petitions electronically and by email, DEQ will also accept petitions by mail. All petitions must include the same components as outlined above, to include: the petition form as well as copies of supporting documents. 

Mail petitions to 

Cleaner Air Oregon, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
700 Multnomah St. Suite 600,
Portland, OR 97230. 

Mail submissions must be post-marked by the deadline. Questions If you have any issues submitting your petition, please contact Apollonia Goeckner, Cleaner Air Oregon Program Coordinator, apollonia.goeckner@deq.oregon.gov

Additional Resources 

Contact

Apollonia Goeckner, 503-869-0026 

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