EMISSIONS EXCLUSION GUIDANCE AND EXAMPLES

Sean O’Brien

Air Permits Division

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Advanced Air Permitting Seminar 2014

Netting

De minimis threshold test

For PSD and Nonattainment

NSR Reform added:Definition of ‘project emissions increase’Actual-to-projected-actual applicability testAbility to exclude emissions

Actual-to-Projected-Actual

No longer just PTE

5 or 10-year recordkeeping

Not for new facilities

Must be verifiable

Emissions Exclusion

Could have accommodated during baseline period

Unrelated to the particular project

Includes increased utilization due to product demand growth

Regulatory Guidance

Minimal:TCEQ APD 5881 documentSome specific cases in other EPA RegionsGeorgia Pacific – EPA Region 4

No firm rules about:Time periodsFuel or material usage vs. productionOne industry vs. another

General Guidance

Accommodate:Not a design capacityAccounts for bottlenecks

Accommodate proved by actual data:Indicates non-project PTERemoves uncertainty

General Guidance

Projected actual:Less than current allowable orNew PTE

Exclusions limited by:Existing PTEAddition of new equipmentNew sources of emissions

Necessary Data Historical operational data

Representations

Expected business activity

Highest projections of business activity

Company's filings with state or federal regulatory authorities

Compliance plans under approved SIP

Past Emissions

Historical data:Emission, production, and/or fuel usageMaintenance recordsOperating hours

More than a snapshot:Time period process-specific30 days, months, etc.

Demand Growth

Demand growth:Part of projected actuals5 or 10-year forward lookNon-project related increase

More subjective than historical data:ExtrapolationDisagreementDebottlenecking not allowed

Debottlenecking

Always part of the project:Cannot be excludedCannot be called demand growth

Determined by past production:Hard to exclude any emissionsIncludes affected units:

○ Upstream (reactors, etc.)○ Downstream (distillation columns, tanks, etc.)

Hypothetical Example

Plant produces widgets:Permitted to produce 200 per yearHas never achieved that level24-month baseline = 100 per year

Plans to install production upgrade:Larger widget dryer (downstream)Debottlenecking

Hypothetical Example Pre-project accommodation:

Highest month in baseline annualized:○ Let’s assume 10 widgets per month (120/yr)○ Excludable = 20 (120-100) widgets per year

Project increase:Post project = 200 widgets per yearProject increase = 80 (200-20-100) per year

More Examples

Example A

Boiler rebuild at chemical plant:Improvement project (better efficiency)Liquid fuel – chemical byproducts:

○ High ash content○ High fuel-bound nitrogen

What could have been accommodated?

Example A

Applicant showed:Connection? Production vs. fuel supplyHistorical data? CEMS, fuel analysesLength of time? Multiple months

Emissions based on fuel usage:Steam production maximizedWithin 24-month baseline periodProvided 10 years of overall data

Example A

What to look for:Acidic and corrosive environment:

○ High maintenance, downtime, etc.?Anomalies:

○ Representative month – not outlier

Case specific:No production increase hereDifferent facilities – different criteria

Example B

Truck manufacturing increase:More paintingVOC actual to projected actual > SER

No new facilities needed:Moving an RTOOperating hour increase

Example B Applicant showed:

Connection? Cyclical industryHistorical data? Average daily productionLength of time? 4 months

Anticipating increase in demand:Improved economyPrevious experience

Difficult Example

Difficult Example Chemical production increase:

Distillation column throughput increaseLarger reboiler and condenser needed

Changes are part of project:Affected facilities? Upstream, downstreamNecessary data? For all affected facilitiesDemand growth? Hard to justify

Questions?

Contact Information

Sean O’Brien

(512) 239-1137

sean.obrien@tceq.texas.gov

Air Permits Division

(512) 239-1137sean.obrien@tceq.texas.gov

Sean O’Brien