1293415 Interstate Transport of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Non-electric Generating Unit Sources

DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

 

NOTICE OF Proposed RULEMAKING

 

Interstate Transport of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions
from Non-electric Generating Unit Sources

 

The Director of the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), pursuant to the authority set forth in sections 5 and 6(b) of the District of Columbia Air Pollution Control Act of 1984, as amended, effective March 15, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-165; D.C. Official Code §§ 8-101.05 and 8-101.06(b)(2008 Repl.)), section 107(4) of the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code § 8-151.07(4)), Mayor's Order 98-44, dated April 10, 1998, and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006, hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt the following amendments to chapter 10 of title 20 (Environment) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) in not less than forty-five (45) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

This rulemaking action proposes to regulate the interstate transport of nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions from non-electric generating unit (EGU) sources, by repealing 20 DCMR chapter 10 in its entirety and replacing the chapter with a source category NO_x emissions cap.

 

NO_x is a precursor to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and ozone, two serious threats to human health in the District. PM_2.5 is associated with a number of health effects including premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (as indicated by increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, absences from school or work, and restricted activity days), lung disease, decreased lung function, asthma attacks, and certain cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and cardiac arrhythmia. 70 Fed. Reg. 25162, 25168 (May 12, 2005). Short-term (1- to 3-hour) and prolonged (6- to 8-hour) exposures to ambient ozone have been linked to a number of adverse health effects, such as irritation of the respiratory system, temporary reduced lung function, aggravated asthma symptoms, and inflammation and damage to lining of the lungs, which may lead to permanent changes in lung tissue and irreversible reductions in lung function. 70 Fed. Reg. 25162, 25169 (May 12, 2005).

 

The District initially addressed the interstate transport of NO_x emissions by adopting the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) NO_x Budget Program. The OTC is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, the northern counties of Virginia, and the District of Columbia. In September of 1994, the OTC states (except for Virginia) agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to achieve regional emissions reductions of NO_x. In signing the MOU, states committed to developing and adopting regulations that would reduce region-wide NO_x emissions in 1999 and further reduce emissions in 2003.

 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a rule on October 27, 1998, known as the “NO_x SIP Call,” requiring twenty-two (22) states and the District to submit state implementation plans (SIPs) that address the regional transport of ground-level ozone. 63 Fed. Reg. 57356 (October 27, 1998). The OTC states finalized a model rule in collaboration with EPA, industry, utilities, and environmental groups, to impose seasonal limits on NO_x emissions and implement a NO_x emissions cap and trade program. Title 20 DCMR §§ 1000 to 1013 incorporated requirements of the OTC’s NO_x Budget Program model rule.

 

In 2003, EPA began to administer the NO_x Budget Trading Program under the NO_x SIP Call. The requirements of EPA’s NO_x SIP Call are incorporated by reference in 20 DCMR § 1014.

 

On May 12, 2005, EPA published the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), finding that twenty-eight (28) States and the District of Columbia contribute significantly to the nonattainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM_2.5 and/or the eight (8)-hour ozone standard. 70 Fed. Reg. 25162 (May 12, 2005). CAIR required these states to implement controls of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and/or NO_x, and included a NO_x ozone season trading program intended to phase out the NO_x SIP Call cap and trade program. 70 Fed. Reg. 25162 (May 12, 2005). In July 2008, the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia remanded CAIR and the CAIR Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) to EPA without vacatur. North Carolina v. EPA, 531 F.3d 896 (D.C. Cir. 2008). On August 2, 2010, EPA responded by publishing the Ozone Transport Rule, a proposed rulemaking to replace CAIR. 75 Fed. Reg. 45210 (August 2, 2010). The District is currently operating under a CAIR FIP, which will eventually be replaced by EPA’s new Ozone Transport Rule FIP.

 

Both CAIR and the proposed Transport Rule address only Electric Generating Units (EGUs) that were previously a part of the NO_x SIP Call. After 2008, EPA stopped administering the NO_x SIP Call trading program and required NO_x SIP Call states to sunset their NO_x SIP Call trading program provisions. States with non-EGU units that participated in the NO_x SIP Call are required to take regulatory action to continue to meet NO_x SIP Call non-EGU emissions reduction obligations adopted in their State Implementation Plans (SIPs). 40 C.F.R. 51.905.

 

According to CAIR, to achieve NO_x SIP Call reductions from non-EGUs, control measures must either: “(A) impose a NO_x mass emissions cap on each source; (B) impose a NO_x emissions rate limit on each source and assume maximum operating capacity for every source for the purpose of estimating mass NO_x emissions; or (C) impose any other regulatory requirement which the State has demonstrated to EPA provides equivalent or greater assurance than [options A or B] that will comply with the State’s NO_x budget in the 2007 ozone season.” 40 C.F.R. 51.121(f)(2).

 

The District currently has one (1) source that was regulated under the NO_x SIP Call but cannot participate in the CAIR or proposed Transport Rule program because it is not an EGU. In this rulemaking action, the District proposes to repeal the outdated NO_x Budget Program provisions that pre-dated the NO_x SIP Call (20 DCMR §§ 1000 through 1013), because this program ended in 2003. Additionally, the provisions of 20 DCMR § 1014, the NO_x Budget Trading Program for SIPs (a.k.a. the NO_x SIP Call) are also being repealed, as they do not apply to any control period after 2008. These provisions will be replaced by a NO_x emissions limit for the one (1) applicable non-EGU source in the District, the U.S. General Services Administration Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant (GSA CHRP), using a source category regulation. The proposed rules also include emissions monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting requirements, along with enforceable mechanisms to ensure that the source, including new or modified units, will not exceed total NO_x emissions projected for the source for the 2007 ozone season. Finally, the definitions in 20 DCMR § 1099 are being repealed and replaced with new definitions that address the new regulations.

 

Once finalized, this regulation will be submitted to EPA as a SIP revision to satisfy the same portion of the District’s NO_x emission reduction requirements that the NO_x SIP Call once satisfied. If any new source becomes subject to this chapter, the District will amend these regulations accordingly. EGU sources, presently regulated under a CAIR FIP, will be regulated by the new Ozone Transport Rule when it is finalized.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 10 – NITROGEN OXIDES EMISSIONS BUDGET PROGRAM is repealed and replaced with:

 

CHAPTER 10 – NON-EGU LIMITS ON NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS

 

1000                APPLICABILITY

 

1000.1             This chapter applies to any fossil fuel-fired stationary boiler, combustion turbine, or combined cycle system at a nitrogen oxide (NO_x) source that has a maximum design heat input of greater than two hundred fifty Million British Thermal Units (250 MMBtu) per hour and is subject to a NO_x emission limit pursuant to § 1001.1.

 

1000.2             With regard to a NO_x source, fossil fuel-fired means:

 

             (a)        The combustion of fossil fuel, alone or in combination with any other fuel, where fossil fuel actually combusted comprises more than fifty percent (50%) of the annual heat input on a British Thermal Unit (Btu) basis during any year; or

 

             (b)        The combustion of fossil fuel, alone or in combination with any other fuel, where fossil fuel is projected to comprise more than fifty percent (50%) of the annual heat input on a Btu basis during any year, provided that the source shall be “fossil fuel-fired” as of the date, during such year, on which the source begins combusting fossil fuel.

 

1001                NO_x EMISSIONS LIMIT PER SOURCE

 

1001.1             The total amount of NO_x mass emissions from all units at an applicable NO_x source during a control period shall not exceed the limits in the following table:

 

Maximum Allowable NO_x Emissions Limits for the

United States General Services Administration (GSA)

Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant (CHRP),

in tons per control period (tpcp):

 

Plant Unit	NOx Emissions Limit
GSA CHRP	25
New Unit Set-Aside Equivalent	1
Maximum Allowable NOx Emissions (tpcp)	26

 

 

 

 

 

1001.2             In the event that the emissions limit specified in § 1001.1 is different from the limit specified in any permit or regulation unrelated to this chapter, the more stringent limit shall apply.

 

1002               EMISSIONS MONITORING AND TESTING

 

1002.1                          The owner or operator of each NO_x source shall comply with the continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 75, subpart H, where the emissions monitoring system shall:

 

(a)                Continuously monitor the NO_x emissions from the source;

 

(b)               Continuously record the NO_x emissions from the source;

 

(c)                Be installed, certified, operated, maintained, and quality assured in a manner approved by the District Department of the Environment (Department) and acceptable to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and

 

(d)               Demonstrate that the NO_x emissions do not exceed the maximum allowable NO_x emission limit specified in § 1001.1 of this chapter.

 

1002.2             Testing shall meet the following requirements:

 

(a)        Be conducted using methods approved by the Department and acceptable to EPA;

 

                        (b)        Be conducted by the end of each calendar year; and

 

(c)        Demonstrate that the NO_x emissions do not exceed the maximum allowable NO_x emission limit specified in § 1001.1 of this chapter.

 

1003                                RECORD-KEEPING AND REPORTING

 

1003.1                          Notwithstanding the general reporting requirements in 20 DCMR §§ 500 and 501, the owner or operator of each NO_x source shall retain, for a period of at least five (5) years:

 

(a)                 Information on the amount of NO_x emissions from sources, such as records of all measurements, data, reports, and other information required by this chapter and the provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 75, subpart H; and

 

(b)                 Other information deemed necessary by the Department that enables the District to determine whether sources are in compliance with applicable portions of the control measures.

 

1003.2                          The owner or operator of each NO_x source shall begin recording data the first hour that the NO_x source is operating for reporting purposes.

 

1004                   PENALTIES

 

1004.1             The Department may enforce the provisions of this chapter pursuant to applicable law and regulations, including those providing for civil, criminal, and administrative penalties pursuant to 20 DCMR § 105, and following the guidelines below:

 

(a)               There shall be a presumption that any excess emissions identified during a control period that occurred during the entire control period and constitutes one hundred fifty-three (153) days of violations (representing the number of days in a control period), unless the NO_x source can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Department, that a lesser number of days of violation should apply; and

 

(b)              Each ton of excess emissions shall be a separate violation.

 

1099                DEFINITIONS

1099.1             When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed:

 

Continuous emissions monitoring system or CEMS – the equipment used to sample, analyze and measure air pollutants and provide a permanent record of emissions expressed in pound per Million British Thermal Units (lb/MMBtu) and tons per day. The following component parts shall be included in a continuous monitoring system:

 

(a)                NO_x pollutant concentration monitor;

 

(b)               Diluent gas (oxygen or carbon dioxide) monitor;

 

(c)                Data acquisition and handling system, and

 

(d)               Flow monitor (where appropriate).

 

Control period – the period beginning May 1^st of each year and ending on September 30^th of the same year, inclusive.

 

Department – the District Department of the Environment (DDOE).

 

Excess emissions – the NO_x emissions, in tons, that a NO_x source reports during a control period that is greater than the maximum allowable NO_x emissions limit in § 1001.1 of this chapter.

 

Heat input – the product (expressed in MMBtu/time) of the gross calorific value of the fuel (expressed in Btu/lb) and the fuel feed rate into the combustion device (expressed in fuel mass/time) and does not include the heat derived from preheated combustion air, recirculated flue gases, or exhaust from other sources.

 

Ton – any “short” ton (two thousand pounds (2,000 lb.)). For the purpose of determining compliance with the NO_x emissions limitations, total tons for a control period shall be calculated as the sum of all recorded hourly emissions (or the tonnage equivalent of the recorded hourly emissions rates) in accordance with this chapter, with any remaining fraction of a ton equal to or greater than five-tenths (0.5) ton being deemed to equal one (1) ton.

 

 

Comments on these proposed rules must be submitted, in writing, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register to Ms. Jessica Daniels, District Department of the Environment, Air Quality Division, 1200 First Street, NE, 5^th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002 or sent electronically to [e-mail]. Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the address listed above for a small fee to cover the cost of reproduction or on-line at http://ddoe.dc.gov.