sean o’brien air permits division texas commission on environmental quality advanced air...
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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
Air Permits Division
(512) [email protected]
Sean O’Brien