On August 4-6, 2008, EQ staff attended a Council of Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO) Conference in Portland, Maine. One of the main topics was U.S. EPA progress on a revised Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rule for Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters. U.S. EPA published the original Boiler MACT in September 2004, but it was remanded and vacated in June 2007. U.S. EPA is planning to issue a proposed new rule in August 2009 and final rule in August 2010.
Here’s a roundup of what was learned:
For more information, contact EQ’s George Mesing at (724) 775-2910, Steve Felton at (800) 229-5299, or Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On July 21, 2008, U.S. EPA proposed a revision to its Phase 2 implementation rule for the 8-hour national ambient air quality standard for ozone. The revision will allow states to claim “reasonable further progress (RFP)” in State Implementation Plans on emission reductions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or nitrogen oxides from outside of nonattainment areas, provided the state includes emissions from all outside sources in its RFP assessments. This proposed rule is consistent with the U.S. EPA’s new rule on fine particulate matter.
The Natural Resources Defense Council challenged the Phase 2 rule in January 2007, stating that it allowed states to take credit for emission reductions from outside sources without adding all outside sources to the baseline emissions inventory. Last November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit remanded and vacated that portion of the Phase 2 rule.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice or contact EQ’s Kent Berry at (800) 229-5299, or Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On July 23, 2008, U.S. EPA issued final National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for nine metal fabrication and finishing area source categories. The new rule establishes emission standards in the form of emissions control, management practices, and equipment standards for new and existing operations of dry abrasive blasting, machining, dry grinding and dry polishing with machines, spray painting and other spray coating, and welding operations. The nine industrial source categories (by NAICS code) affected by this regulation are:
The regulation applies to operations that process materials that contain metal fabrication-based finishing Hazardous Air Pollutants (MFHAPs) or have the potential to emit an MFHAP constituent. The regulation defines MFHAP as any compound of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, or nickel.
Compliance requirements including capture and control of emissions by fabric filtration and eliminating visible fugitive emissions from dry abrasive blasting performed in vented chambers, dry grinding, and dry polishing. Visible emissions testing requirements allow for a graduated schedule extending as far as quarterly readings. There are no visual emissions determination requirements for small welding operations. Spray paint booths are required to operate and properly maintain cover spray particulate control.
The new rule provides compliance dates for existing and new sources. Existing area Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) source facilities subject to this rule will be required to comply with requirements and submit the initial notification no later than July 25, 2011. New sources must comply with the requirements of this final rule by July 23, 2008 or upon start-up. Facilities that added new sources after April 3, 2008 and are subject to this regulation must initially notify the U.S. EPA and state agencies by November 20, 2008.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice or contact EQ’s George Mesing at (724) 775-2910, Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On July 24, 2008, U.S. EPA proposed a second test rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act requiring manufacturers, importers and processors of 19 high production volume (HPV) chemicals to provide basic environmental and health data. HPV chemicals are materials produced or imported in excess of 1 million pounds per year.
The U.S. EPA issued its first test rule for 17 HPV chemicals in March. Five of those chemicals are also on the new list because additional data is being requested.
According to the proposed rule, U.S. EPA has the authority to order the tests because the 19 chemicals are produced in volumes greater than 1 million pounds a year; because a substantial number (more than 1,000) of workers are exposed to them; and because information the agency collected through its inventory update rule indicates that a substantial number (more than 10,000) of consumers could be exposed to 13 of the chemicals.
The 14 chemicals that are being proposed for testing for the first time are:
• acetaldehyde (CAS No. 75-07-0);
• 1H,3H,-benzoΏ,2-c:4,5-c']difuran-1,3,5,7-tetrone (CAS No. 89-32-7);
• methanone, diphenyl- (CAS No. 119-61-9);
• ethanedioic acid (CAS No. 144-62-7);
• phosphorochloridothioic acid, O,O-diethyl ester (CAS No. 2524-04-1);
• 1,3,5-triazine-1,3,5(2H,4H,6H)-triethanol (CAS No. 4719-04-4)
• d-erythro-hex-2-enonic acid, γ-lactone, monosodium salt (CAS No. 6381-77-7);
• d-gluco-heptonic acid, monosodium salt, (2.xi)- (CAS No. 31138-65-5);
• c.i. leuco sulphur black 1 (CAS No. 66241-11-0);
• castor oil, sulfated, sodium salt (CAS No. 68187-76-8);
• castor oil, oxidized (CAS No. 68187-84-8);
• benzenediamine, ar,ar-diethyl-ar-methyl- (CAS No. 68479-98-1);
• alkenes, C12-24, chloro (CAS No. 68527-02-6); and
• hydrocarbons, C > 4 (CAS No. 68647-60-9).
The five chemicals for which additional data are being sought are:
• 1,3-propanediol, 2,2-bis[(nitrooxy)methyl]-dinitrate (ester) (CAS No. 78-11-5);
• 9,10-anthracenedione (CAS No. 84-65-1);
• 2,4-hexadienoic acid (E,E)- (CAS No. 110-44-1);
• phenol, 4,4'-methylenebisΐ,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)- (CAS No. 118-82-1); and
• methanesulfinic acid, hydroxy-, monosodium salt (CAS No. 149-44-0).
The data sought by U.S. EPA is comparable to information that U.S. EPA has received on more than 1,000 HPV chemicals through its voluntary HPV Challenge Program.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice.
On July 30, 2008, the U.S. EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public comment on regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The public has until November 28, 2008 to review and comment on both the ANPR and observations and issues raised by other federal agencies.
This U.S. EPA notice was in response to an April 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v EPA. The Court ruled the CAA authorizes regulation of automotive greenhouse gases because they meet the definition of air pollutant under the Act.
In announcing the Federal Register notice, U.S. EPA Administrator Steve Johnson stated that “the ANPR clearly demonstrates that the CAA, an outdated law originally enacted to control regional pollutants that cause direct health effects, is ill-suited for the task of regulating global greenhouse gases.”
The notice reviews the various CAA provisions that could be applicable to regulating GHGs, provides information on potential regulatory approaches and technologies for reducing GHG emissions, and raises issues relevant to possible legislation and the potential for overlap between legislation and CAA regulation.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice or contact EQ’s Tom Robertson at (800) 229-5299.
On August 13, 2008, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Water Pollution Control Board proposed new rules for industries that discharge wastewater to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs). The rules will implement 13 changes to the general pretreatment program that are required by the U.S. EPA and are generally more stringent than the existing ones. The rules will also implement an additional 13 changes that the U.S. EPA considers optional and are less stringent than existing ones.
The majority of these rules affect significant industrial users, non-compliant users, and significant non-compliant users, POTWs, and control authorities.
The rules are expected to be adopted by the Water Pollution Control Board on September 10, 2008, and go into effect in early 2009.
For more information, see the Indiana Register notice or contact EQ’s John Wentz at (800) 229-7495.
On July 31, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to authorize development of an electronic system to track hazardous waste from cradle to grave.
The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act (S. 3109), introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and co-sponsored by Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), would allow the U.S. EPA to collect the fees that would fund the e-manifest system.
RCRA requires the tracking of hazardous wastes from their creation to their endpoint. Many states require shippers to file paper manifests after transporting hazardous waste. Advocates argue that electronic manifests would allow more complete and accurate tracking of wastes while also saving money.
The bill, which was passed by voice vote, would authorize U.S. EPA to select a contractor to develop an electronic system that would enable states and private industry to transition to an electronic system to rack the waste. There is no companion bill in the House of Representatives.
While it awaits passge of a bill authorizing a funding mechanism for the program, U.S. EPA has begun the rulemaking process. In a notice of data availability published in February 2008, the agency sought comments and estimated the costs of the program to users. Users would pay a fee each time they submit an electronic manifest.
On August 7, 2008, the U.S. EPA denied a waiver request from Texas Governor Rick Perry to cut the federal mandate for grain-based ethanol in gasoline in half for one year based on adverse economic impacts.
In 2007, Congress almost doubled the Renewable Fuel Standard for corn-based ethanol in gasoline to 9 billion gallons in 2008.
Gov. Perry, who made the waiver request in April, said the mandate has driven the cost of corn from around $2 per bushel in 2004 to nearly $8 per bushel in 2008.
"This is driving up the cost of staple food items at the grocery store,” he said in a Wall Street Journal article on August 12. “And it is also driving up the price of corn-based feed, devastating the livestock industry to the point that Texas cattle feeders have been operating in the red since 2007.”
Two California utilities are taking steps to comply with a new state law that requires them to generate 20% of their power from renewable resources by 2010.1
In August, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced that it has signed contracts to buy electricity from two solar power plants to be built near the Central California coast. The utility will buy 800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy - enough to power 239,000 homes each year - with 250 MW available in 2010 and the remaining 550 MW available in 2011.
Also in August, Southern California Edison asked the California Public Utilities Commission for approval to enter into a 20-year contract to purchase power from a proposed biomass facility in the Imperial Valley in Southern California. The plant, to be located near El Centro, CA, would produce 20 MW of power by converting methane from cow manure from local farms into steam energy; woodchips and other organic materials could also be used as back-up fuels.
1 The California Air Resources Board, through its Draft Greenhouse Gas Scoping Plan, is proposing to increase this to 33% by 2020.
For more information, contact EQ’s Tom Robertson at (800) 229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at (800) 229-7495.
On August 11, 2008, Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed revisions to Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations that would allow federal agencies to decide for themselves if construction projects threaten a protected species. It would also prevent federal agencies from tying global warming emissions directly to the deterioration of any species’ habitat.
The revisions would eliminate the need for federal agencies to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on projects deemed to have no adverse impact on threatened wildlife. Currently, consultation with scientists is required for every project that is reviewed, paid for, or approved by the federal government and that potentially could have an impact on an endangered or threatened species or habitat.
The revisions are meant to allow Fish and Wildlife scientists to spend more time reviewing projects that could pose harm to endangered species or habitat.
Federal agencies that deem projects to have no adverse impact on endangered or threatened species would accept the liability for any harm to threatened wildlife.
After listing the polar bear as a threatened species on May 14, Kempthorne promised to make “common sense” revisions to ESA regulations and said that decision “should not open the door to use the ESA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants and other sources.” Kempthorne said climate change's impact to protected wildlife should be addressed by Congress or through the Bali road map. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December, participating countries laid out the road map to finalize a new international agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2009.
On August 7, 2008, the U.S. EPA unveiled a pilot program that will enable regulated facility owners to self-disclose environmental reporting violations electronically. The Audit Policy Self-Disclosure system, or eDisclosure, is expected to reduce transaction costs for companies that report environmental violations.
The pilot program will allow companies nationwide to electronically self-report violations of the Environmental Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act only. In addition, facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas will be able to disclose violations of all environmental laws electronically. Pending the results of the pilot project, U.S. EPA will consider expanding this portion of the program nationwide.
Under its Audit Policy, U.S. EPA has created a series of incentives for facility owners to self-report environmental violations, resolving violations at nearly 10,000 facilities since 1995. Fines and penalties may be reduced or waived if a facility owner voluntarily reports a violation. Penalties are not waived for repeat offenders or violations that caused actual harm.
The eDisclosure program will use U.S. EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX), the system for submitting environmental data to the agency. When an electronic self-disclosure is submitted using eDisclosure, all information provided will be saved in a secure database and routed to the appropriate agency contact.
The information concerning the discovery, disclosure, and correction of the violations and the accompanying certification will then be evaluated against EPA audit policy conditions, and the appropriate enforcement response will be determined.
EPA published interim guidelines on August 1, 2008 to expand its audit policy to encourage new owners of a facility to self-report environmental violations. See the Federal Register notice for more information.
A new interim policy gives incentives to organizations that have acquired another company to report and correct environmental violations that occurred prior to the acquisition. Those that discover environmental violations would voluntarily report the violations to the agency. Once they have reported, the owners will have the option of signing an audit agreement with the agency detailing remedies and penalties.
New facility owners can report environmental violations to EPA within 21 days of discovery or within 45 days of the purchase closing, whichever is longer.
For more information about U.S. EPA's Audit Policy Self-Disclosure pilot program, visit the website or contact EQ’s Tom Robertson at 800-229-5299 or Mike Arozarena at (800) 229-7495.
EQ is helping clean up mercury and arsenic waste from the Altoona Mine in northern California through its U.S. EPA Region 9 Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contract.
This $4 million project involves building a HDPE-lined repository in the side of a mountain to hold about 110,000 cubic yards of waste from the abandoned mercury mine, which is located near Castella in Trinity County. The repository will be capped with a HDPE liner and 3 feet of clean soil. Site-wide restoration will include hydro-seeding, tree planting and surface drainage controls.
About 29 EQ employees are accessing the site each day from a remote camp in the mountains. The project began in July and is expected to be completed by November.
For more information, contact EQ’s Jason Coury at (425) 673-2900.
In July, EQ won its fourth rebid for a prime Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contract with U.S. Region 5. This 7-year contract is potentially valued at $101 million. EQ has served as a prime ERRS contractor for Region 5 since 1993. Region 5 includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
For more information, contact EQ’s John Mullane at (800) 229-7495.
In August, EQ donated scholarship monies to the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) for the 2008-2009 school year. The gift will assist Ms. Kendra Cozzens, a junior at Wilmington College who is majoring in biology. This is the second year EQ has participated in this scholarship program.
For more information about this scholarship program, visit the OFIC website.
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