Region 9 Title V Permit Review Guidelines

1
Region 9 Title V Permit Review Guidelines

• Ray Vogel
• EPA/OAQPS

2
Region 9 Title V Permit Review Guidelines

• Key document in your library Title V Permit
  Review Guidelines developed by EPA Region 9
• Topics here correspond to many sections in
  Guidelines
• Learning concepts gives basic understanding of
  what a permit should contain
• A little encouragement
• You can do this! Permit review can be done even
  by non-technical people. It requires attention to
  detail, a focus on language and perseverance!

3
Outline

• What permit should contain
• Applicable requirements
• Permit conditions
• Practical Enforceability
• Monitoring
• Startup, shutdowns, malfunctions

4
How to Think About Permit Review

• Permit links emission unit with applicable
  requirement under Clean Air Act
• Your job as reviewer is to ensure permit includes
  correct requirements and does not exclude any
  that apply

5
How to Think about Permit Review

• Prioritize review. Focus on
• Units with highest emissions
• Units with highly toxic pollutants
• Units with history of noncompliance
• Units with high number of startup, shutdown,
  malfunction (SSM) reports
• Units with air pollution control devices

6
What Permit Should Contain

• All applicable requirements
• Examples state and federal rules, state permit
  terms
• Standard permit conditions required by part 70
• Examples permit expires after 5 years, duty to
  provide information
• Practically enforceable language
• Examples requirements to keep records,
  eliminating vague permit conditions

7
What Permit Should Contain (cont.)

• Source-specific monitoring, where needed
• Example testing or recordkeeping to show
  compliance with emission limits or work practice
  standards
• Reporting and recordkeeping
• Example Reports of excess emissions
• Schedule of compliance, if source is out of
  compliance
• Origin and authority citation

8
IntroductionApplicable Requirements

• Applicable requirements are CAA requirements that
  apply to Title V source
• Include regulations issued before permit but with
  future compliance dates
• Three broad types
• State Implementation Plan (SIP)
• New source review (NSR) permits
• Federal requirements NSPS, MACT, NESHAPs

9
Introduction Applicable Requirements (cont.)

• State implementation plans (SIP) contain rules
  adopted by state and approved by EPA. Look for
  rules in approved SIP
• New source review (NSR) permits. All past NSR,
  PSD, state construction permits issued to
  facility are applicable requirements

10
Introduction Applicable Requirements (cont.)

• New Source Performance Standards (NSPS). Apply
  only to new sources in specific categories that
  were constructed after the date specified in the
  rule. Listed in 40 CFR Part 60.
• E.g., Subpart J Standards for Petroleum
  Refineries
• National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
  Pollutants (NESHAPs). Pre-1990 standards listed
  in Part 61. Post-1990 standards listed in Part
  63.
• E.g., Subpart CC MACT for HAPs from Petroleum
  Refineries

11
Introduction Applicable Requirements (cont.)

• Other applicable requirements
• Compliance assurance monitoring (CAM)
• Acid rain rules for affected utilities
• Some rules requiring phase-out of ozone-depleting
  refrigerants
• Requirements that are NOT applicable
• National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)

12
Why review applicable requirements?

• Sources dont always know which requirements
  apply
• In past, overlooked applicable NSPS or NSR
  requirements
• Have incorrectly suggested units are exempt from
  CAM
• State permits sometimes exclude requirements or
  include incorrect requirements (e.g.,
  requirements not approved by EPA
• Correctly stating requirement necessary to know
  if additional monitoring required

13
How to Know If a Requirement Is Applicable?

• Look for applicability section describing types
  of units to which rule applies. In NSPS and
  NESHAPs, usually first section in rule
• Often, only certain types of emission units are
  covered (e.g., affected facilities)
• Most rules apply to sources in certain
  categories, (e.g., electric generating units,
  petroleum refining, municipal waste combustors,
  other)

14
How to Know If a Requirement Is Applicable?
(cont.)

• NSPS rules apply only after specific dates (e.g.,
  constructed or modified after May 4, 1987)
• Many NESHAP rules apply only to major sources
  in a specific category (e.g., major source
  engaged in petroleum refining)

15
How to DetermineIf a Source Is Major

• Based on a sources potential to emit (PTE)
• Include all emissions at facility
• Assume plant operates at full capacity, 8760
  hours/year, unless restricted by enforceable
  operating limit

16
How to Determine If a Source Is Major (cont.)

• Major source of HAPS has PTE of
• 10 tons/year for a single HAP, or
• 25 tons/year for any combination of HAPs
• Also, any source with a PTE of 100 tons/year of
  any pollutant is major
• VOC, NOx and CO have smaller thresholds in
  certain nonattainment areas

17
Basic Information Sources

• Air pollution control training courses on the web
• www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/eog/course_format.html
• Approved SIP requirements on the web
• See each EPA regional website. Region 5s site
• www.epa.gov/region5/air/sips/sips.htm
• Federal rules (NSPS, NESHAPs) www.gpoaccess.gov/cf
  r/index.html
• EPA OAQPS Permits site www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/permi
  ts

18
ReviewingState Implementation Plans

• Check that permit term references approved SIP
• If permit includes sunset/sunrise clause, check
  that new rule assures compliance
• For more information, see page III-6 and III-7

19
Reviewing New SourcePerformance Standards in the
Permit

• Check cites of NSPS rules
• Permit should provide enough information to
  justify exemptions from an NSPS
• Permit should address whether unit has been
  modified
• Permit should include correct monitoring
  requirements
• For more information, see page III-11 to III-14

20
Reviewing NESHAPStandards

• Check applicability of potential NESHAPs
• Permit should provide enough information to
  justify exemptions from a NESHAP
• Permit should address whether unit has been
  modified
• Permit should include correct monitoring
  requirements
• For more information, see page III-15 to III-16

21
Reviewing New Source ReviewPermit Terms

• Three versions of permits issued by states
• Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) in
  attainment areas
• Major New Source Review (NSR) in nonattainment
  areas
• State preconstruction permits to all other
  sources
• In some areas, EPA issues PSD permits
• All NSR permits must be included in Title V
  permit, regardless of when NSR permit was issued
• For details, see p. III-21 to III-27

22
Small-Group Activity Applicable Requirements

• A permit for a pulp mill references the NSPS,
  Subpart BB for Kraft Pulp Mills
• Where would you find this requirement?
• How would you determine if it applies to the
  facility?

23
Practical Enforceability

• Objective allow inspector to determine
  compliance
• To be practically enforceable, permit terms
  should
• Establish a clear legal obligation for source
• Allow compliance to be verified through data such
  as records or reports
• This is not highly technical!
• See p. III-45 to III-53

24
Practical Enforceability (cont.)

• Look for
• Short-term emission limits (30 days or monthly
  rolling averages)
• Requirement to keep records and submit reports to
  verify compliance with limits on operating hours
  or throughputs
• Examples
• emit less than 49 tons/year on a rolling monthly
  average instead of annual average of 49
  tons/year
• keep records of monthly throughput instead of
  no record-keeping requirement

25
Monitoring

• Permit must add monitoring where monitoring in
  underlying requirement
• Is wholly absent
• Is only a one-time stack test, or
• Does not specify requency
• Otherwise, permit cannot add monitoring, even if
  underlying monitoring could be improved

26
Monitoring (cont.)

• Monitoring is important because
• Often the only way to determine if unit is in
  compliance or if control device is operating
  improperly
• Many older requirements have little or no
  monitoring
• An area in which permitting agency has discretion
  to improve existing monitoring

27
Monitoring (cont.)

• Examples of requirements that may lack monitoring
• Older NSPS or SIP requirements that require no
  monitoring or one-time testing
• NSR permits
• Where to get ideas on improving monitoring
• For control devices CAM reference material
  http//www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/cam.html
• For uncontrolled units Title V technical
  reference document at same website, Region 9
  guidelines or state periodic-monitoring guidance
  documents

28
Cautions when using Region 9 Guidelines for
Monitoring

• Do not cite to 1999 EPA Periodic Monitoring
  Guidance. Struck down by DC Circuit
• Instead, cite states periodic monitoring
  guidance, if available, or part 70s periodic
  monitoring rule section 70.6(a)(3)(i)(B).
• See p. III-75 to III-87

29
Startup, Shutdown, Malfunctions (SSMs)

• SSM rules exist in SIPs, NSPS and NESHAP rules
• Many regulations do not require compliance with
  emission limit during SSM event
• Excess emissions during SSM events can be huge if
  they occur repeatedly or are allowed to continue
  unabated

30
Concerns with SSMs

• Emissions during upsets and SSM may release toxic
  and carcinogenic chemicals that community health
  and safety
• Exemptions in regulation and lack of reporting
  allow upset and SSM emissions to be kept off
  books and to exceed permit and regulatory limits
• Excess emissions due to upsets and SSM are
  largely avoidable

31
Review of SSMs

• Check plants history, look for
• Recurring malfunctions (preventable and
  foreseeable).
• Reports of SSM events, what caused them, and how
  long it took to correct problem
• If problem exists, request that permit add
  monitoring of SSM events to ensure malfunctions
  are caused only by sudden, unavoidable
  breakdowns of technology, beyond the control of
  the owner or operator and not
• Malfunctions due to human error
• Undersized or poorly maintained control equipment

32
Review of Major Points

• How to think about permit review
• Applicable requirements SIPs, NSPS, NESHAPs, NSR
  permits
• How to determine if they apply
• How to know if a source is major
• Practical enforceability
• Monitoring
• Startup, shutdown, malfunctions (SSMs)

33
Permit Review You can Do it!

• You decide how technical to make your review
  much of it can be non-technical
• Many resources are available
• You dont need to find and fix all problems
• Anything you can do to offer constructive comment
  is success!

34
Thank you and good
luck!
Ray Vogel EPA, OAQPS