Recap of the CAPCA 2026 Spring Technical Workshop and Forum
Posted: April 30th, 2026
Author: Emily Mandel
This year’s Spring Carolinas Air Pollution Control Association (CAPCA) technical workshop and forum included a wide-range of technical topics of interest to those located in the Carolinas and beyond. In addition to regulatory update highlights presented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Region 4, and leadership from South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SC DES) and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ), the conference sessions were divided into three primary technical sessions.
Wednesday afternoon was filled with informative presentations on hazardous materials management as well as a playbook for accounting for fugitive emissions. Thursday afternoon was dedicated to engaging sessions on common regulatory requirements and the monsters hidden under the bed, best practices for compliance and consequences of non-compliance, and a fireside chat titled Beyond Environmental Justice (EJ): Reimagining Community Engagement in the New Environmental Landscape. Finally, the conference concluded with an insightful look at the energy sector and strategies related to the particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Highlights from these program presentations are provided below.
Best Practices for Compliance and the Consequences of Non-Compliance
It is important for facilities to always remain inspection-ready. One of the keys to this is knowing your process by knowing your emissions, getting to know your equipment, and spending time with operations. Facilities should also make sure that alarms and interlocks are set to help prevent non-compliance rather than to notify personnel of non-compliance. Having these alarms and interlocks is key for critical parameters. In terms of data, ensure that data is being kept for the 5 year required timeframe and verify exclusions of data as appropriate. Make sure that maintenance records include everything that is required by regulations. Self-assessment tools, such as regulatory protocols and guidance from U.S. EPA or state agencies, can be very helpful in ensuring inspection readiness. It is also important to create policies and document reviews when using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Beyond EJ: Reimagining Community Engagement in the New Environmental Landscape
In March 2025, the U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) was closed. Prior to this, U.S. EPA had been moving towards requiring EJ reviews as a part of major source permits and there were significant EJ-focused comments by U.S. EPA during major source permit reviews. After OEJECR’s closure, EJ implementation has become dependent on state policies and public interest. Zoning has become an increased avenue for environmental advocacy where rezoning of an area has led to challenges for existing facilities. Many companies and agencies are trying to find ways to still hit on EJ topics and focus on early community engagement. Some companies have adopted internal EJ policies that allow their communities to ensure their voices are heard. Living in a world where the internet drives information sharing means that getting ahead of this information sharing is often a good business strategy. Community engagement can help establish trust and credibility for companies and technology can provide a lot of great tools to help engage communities.
ALL4’s Brandon Mogan participated in this fireside chat and left the audience with some things to think about regarding community engagement and EJ:
- Are project teams expanding beyond just the environmental department?
- Are common environmental reports becoming more important (e.g., Tier II, TRI)?
- Do we need to pass the regulatory submittals through a “PR” filter?
- Should we model even if it isn’t required?
- If the public is monitoring ambient air, should industry be monitoring ambient air?
Understanding what is important to your community will help with evaluation of these questions for your facility and upcoming projects.
PM2.5 NAAQS Strategies
The U.S. EPA missed their February 7th 2026 deadline to finalize initial area designations for the new PM2.5 NAAQS. With the annual NAAQS for PM2.5 lowering to 9 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), background concentrations for many areas are now within 1 µg/m3 of the standard. This means there is insufficient headroom for a typical project. PM2.5 has a small Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) significant emissions rate (10 tons per year), a very small Significant Impact Level (SIL), and modeling guidelines are very conservative. With this in mind, it is becoming increasingly important for facilities to refine and more accurately estimate their PM2.5 emissions. Stack testing is one way of refining this emissions data, but measurement issues exist for wet stacks or when ammonia or sulfur dioxide is present. Facilities can also look at where they are able to use emissions factors from similar sites instead of AP-42. ALL4’s Rich Hamel walked through refinements to modeling that can help models pass for PM2.5 while also ensuring all of the emissions are being captured and modeling guidelines are being followed. These refinements can include removing emissions that are being double counted and representing actual operating schedules where sources do not operate concurrently. Note that certain refinements may result in additional limitations in your permit; however, the refinements could lead to a passing result. Finally, states are continuing to evaluate “Exceptional Events” from phenomena such as wildfires and fireworks to help reduce background concentrations in areas where these events are occurring.
Summary
As we heard at the CAPCA meeting, there are many regulatory developments to keep track of at the state and federal levels and ALL4 staff are monitoring them closely. ALL4 looks forward to seeing you in the Fall at the CAPCA technical workshop and forum in Myrtle Beach, SC or sooner at a young professionals event! If you need support with any of these topics or need help with air permitting and compliance in North or South Carolina, please reach out to Emily Mandel at emandel@all4inc.com or 980-349-5497.
