Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee Meeting September 27, 2006

1
Air Quality Technical Advisory CommitteeMeeting
September 27, 2006

• Virendra Trivedi
• Chief, New Source Review/Title V Section
• Division of Permits
• Bureau of Air Quality
• PA Department of Environmental Protection
• vtrivedi_at_state.pa.us

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Topics Covered

• Preliminary Summary of Public Comments
• Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

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Overview of Proposed NSR Rulemaking Process

• EPA published the NSR reform rule in the Federal
  Register (67 Fed. Reg. 80186) on December 31,
  2002.
• EPAs final rule makes NSR reform mandatory for
  state and local agencies.
• EPA requires states to submit modifications to
  their existing NSR regulations to conform to the
  EPAs NSR Reform rules or make an equivalency
  demonstration.

4
Overview of Proposed NSR Rulemaking Process

• AQTAC reviewed the proposed regulatory revisions
  on August 9, and August 30, 2005.
• The Environmental Quality Board (EQB) approved
  the proposed NSR amendments on December 20, 2005.
• The proposed amendments to Subchapter E were
  published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on April
  29, 2006.

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Overview of Proposed NSR Rulemaking Process

• The Department held three (3) public hearings.
• The public comment period for the proposed
  rulemaking closed on July 31, 2006.
• The EQB received comments from 33 commentators.

6
Excerpts from EPAs Comments

• Revise certain definitions including
• Baseline actual emissions, projected actual
  emissions, net emissions increase, Begin actual
  construction, Federally enforceable
• Add certain definitions including
• significant emissions increase, replacement unit

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Excerpts from EPAs Comments

• Postpone adoption of PM2.5 NSR requirements until
  EPA promulgates the PM2.5 implementation rule.
• Include hourly and daily emission test criteria,
  if the three-tiered (hourly, daily and annual)
  applicability test is retained.
• Provide an amnesty period for the generation of
  certain types of emission reduction credits.
• PM-10, PM2.5 and SO2

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Excerpts from EPAs Comments

• Advance Clean Coal Technology
• The presumptive lowest achievable emission rate
  (LAER) provision is not approvable.
• LAER must be the more stringent of either
• A limit in a SIP for a class or category of
  sources.
• An emissions limit that has been achieved in
  practice.

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Excerpts from EPAs Comments

• The baseline actual emissions provision varies
  significantly from the Federal minimum
  requirement.
• The same baseline period should be allowed for
  all emission units associated with a project
  different baselines for different pollutants
  should be allowed.  
• The PAL reporting and monitoring provisions
  conflict with the Federal NSR requirements.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Look-back Period
• The Department should use the ten year
  look-back period consistent with the Federal
  NSR regulations rather than proposing a five year
  look-back.
• If the EQB does not adopt the federal approach,
  the EQB should adopt a 5-year look back with
  provisions to allow a more representative 2-year
  period out of the last 10 years.
• DEP should allow the use of a different 2-year
  period to determine the baseline emissions for
  each emission unit and each pollutant affected by
  a project.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Projected Actual Emissions
• Projected actual emissions should not become
  permit restrictions. If retained, they should be
  revised to better specify the procedural
  requirements for establishing the emission limit,
  including any timing constraints.
• Projected emissions should be calculated,
  monitored and reported in terms of 12 month
  periods consistent with the established policy
  and guidance and the federal rule.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• De minimis Aggregation
• De minimis aggregation should be limited to a
  5-year contemporaneous period and only required
  in the case of similar projects.
• The Department has provided no explanation for
  increasing the de minimis emission aggregation
  period from 5 years to 15 years.
• The provision should be revised to clarify that
  the LAER requirements do not apply to the de
  minimis emission increases.

13
Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Plantwide Applicability Limits (PALs) 
• PAL provisions should allow a 10-year look-back
  period.
• A Best Available Technology (BAT) requirement for
  new sources installed under a PAL removes a
  primary incentive for the PAL.
• PALs should have a 10-year term and be fixed
  rather than declining. 
• There is lack of clarity regarding how a PAL
  permit interacts with existing approvals and
  operating permits.
• The PAL recordkeeping and reporting provisions
  should be coordinated with the Title V
  recordkeeping and reporting provisions.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Plantwide Applicability Limit (PAL)
  (Continued)
• Units constructed after the 2-year PAL baseline
  period are added to the PAL at a rate equal to
  the actual emissions of the unit. The federal
  rules provide for adding to the PAL for such
  units at a rate equal to the potential to emit.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Southeast Pennsylvania Ozone Requirements
• Adopt the major source thresholds consistent with
  the "moderate" ozone nonattainment status under
  the new 8-hour ozone standard for the counties of
  Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and
  Philadelphia.
• The proposed retention of the 25 TPY requirement
  for NOx and VOC will create a competitive
  disadvantage.
• There is no explanation for adding the new
  15-year emissions netting period in the proposed
  rule.  

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Advanced Clean Coal Generation Technology
• Separate provisions for Advanced Clean Coal
  Generation Technology show an unfair preference
  to one particular segment of industry.
• Parameters used to establish LAER may be
  unachievable, particularly in a retrofit
  scenario.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• General Comments
• Pennsylvania should adopt the federal NSR
  regulations to ensure that the state is not
  disadvantaged compared to surrounding states.
• Any provisions that differ from the federal
  program should be kept to a minimum.
• Portions of the proposed regulation should be
  rewritten for clarity. Specifically, problems
  arise with the multiple uses of the term "net
  emissions increase."

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Lb/hr and Lb/day
• The lb/hr and lb/day de minimis aggregation
  thresholds are burdensome and should be
  eliminated. 
• These hourly and daily triggers could cause a
  project to trigger PA NNSR when there isn't any
  annual increase in emissions.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs)
• The proposed rule adds a restriction that
  emission reductions necessary to meet
  allowance-based programs may not be used to
  generate ERCs.
• The requirement for an application to bank
  emission credits within one year is a serious
  impediment to economic development and the to the
  restart of temporarily closed facilities.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• PM2.5 and PM-10
• The proposed PM 2.5 requirements are premature
  and should be eliminated until EPA promulgates a
  federal regulation.
• No justification has been provided for the
  proposed lowering of the threshold from 100 tons
  per year to 70 tons per year of PM-10 for sources
  subject to NSR

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Definitions
• All definitions should be added to Section 121.1.
• The definition of the term allowable emissions
  should be clarified.
• The definition of major modification is
  imprecise.
• The definition of the term major facility is
  ambiguous.
• The definition of the term actual emissions is
  different than the corresponding federal
  definition.

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Excerpts from Industrys Comments

• Definitions
• Emissions from start-ups, shutdowns, and
  malfunctions should not be treated differently
  under the definitions of "baseline actual
  emissions" and projected future actual
  emissions.
• The term new emission unit does not take into
  account the reasonable "shakedown" period that is
  typically included in plan approvals.
• The definition of the term actual emissions
  should use a 24-month consecutive period rather
  than a a two-year period.

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Excerpts from Clean Air Councils comments

• Clean Air Council supports the following
  provisions
• The 5-year look-back period
• Deletion of the potential-to-potential test and
  addition of the actual-to-future-actual test.
• Continuation of severe ozone nonattainment area
  provisions in the five-county Philadelphia area
• Lb/hr and lb/day de minimis aggregation
  thresholds

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Excerpts from Clean Air Councils comments (cont.)

• The Council supports the following provision of
  PALs
• The use of a 5 year look-back for PAL baseline
  determinations.
• The decision to use the same 2-year period to
  determine a baseline for all pollutants and
  sources.
• The requirement for BAT on new sources under an
  existing PAL.
• The Council suggests adding a provision to change
  the PAL period to 5 years and adding a modest
  decline upon renewal.

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Excerpts from Clean Air Councils comments (cont.)

• The Council supports the provision of Clean Coal
  Technology Provision but suggests requiring the
  following emission rates to qualify
• SO2 0.015 lb/MMBtu
• NOx 0.025 lb/MMBtu
• CO 0.04 lb/MMBtu
• PM10 0.007 lb/MMBtu
• VOC 0.006 lb/MMBtu
• Hg 0.2-6 lb/MMBtu

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Excerpts from IRRCs comments

• Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC)
  outlined three examples of areas where the
  proposed regulation is more stringent than the
  federal rules
• Look-back Period
• Philadelphia Five-county Area
• Best Available Technology and PALs
• IRRC supports retaining all definitions in
  Section 121.1.

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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking
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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

• Definitions
• Move all NSR definitions to 25 Pa. Code Section
  121.1.
• Delete the following definitions
• PM-10 precursor
• Extreme Ozone Nonattainment Area definitions
• Marginal Ozone Nonattainment Area definitions
• Moderate Ozone Nonattainment Area definitions
• Serious Ozone Nonattainment Area definitions
• Add the following additional definitions
• Air Contamination Source
• Replacement Unit
• Significant Emissions Increase

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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

• Definitions
• Revise the following proposed definitions
• Actual Emissions
• Best Available Control Technology
• De Minimis Emissions Increase
• Emissions Unit
• Federally Enforceable
• Major Facility, Major Modification
• Net Emissions Increase
• Plantwide Applicability Limit
• Projected Actual Emissions, Significant

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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

• Postpone final action on PM-2.5 requirement
  pending adopting of PM2.5 requirements by EPA
• Delete existing PM-10 precursor requirements
• Revise the proposed Section 127.203a
• Delete Lbs/hr and Lbs/day requirements

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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

• Baseline Actual Emissions
• Allow a 24-month period within 5 years
• Use of a different 24 month-period within 10
  years will be allowed if it is representative of
  normal operations
• Allow a different 24-month period for each
  pollutant if it is more appropriate due to
  extenuating circumstances.

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Draft Concepts for Final Rulemaking

• Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs)
• Provide an amnesty period for the generation of
  certain pollutants
• PM-10, PM2.5 and SO2