1 Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

 Amendments to Rule 4307 

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

FINAL STAFF REPORT

Amendments to Rule 4307 

(Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters – 2.0 MMBtu/hr to 5.0 MMBtu/hr) 

May 19, 2011 

Prepared by: Sandra Lowe-Leseth, Air Quality Engineer 

 Koshoua Thao, Senior Air Quality Specialist 

Reviewed by: Patrick Houlihan, Senior Air Quality Specialist 

 Derek Fukuda, Air Quality Engineer 

 Jessi Fierro, Program Manager, Strategies and Incentives 

 Errol Villegas, Program Manager, Strategies and Incentives 

 Samir Sheikh, Director, Strategies and Incentives 

I. SUMMARY 

A. Reasons for Rule Development and Implementation 

California grows and processes about 80 percent of the world’s almonds and virtually 

100 percent of the almonds consumed in the United States (US). Due to Salmonella

outbreaks traced to California almonds in 2001 and 2004, the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) has imposed pasteurization requirements to reduce the potential 

for pathogen (bacteria that can make humans ill) contamination. The units that are the 

focus of this rule project are used to remove pathogens from the surface of raw almonds 

without “cooking” or otherwise affecting the nuts. 

In October 2008, Paramount Farms, Incorporated, the largest almond processor in the 

US, installed an almond pasteurization unit at its Lost Hills processing facility. The 

unit’s burners, however, do not meet the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control 

District (District) Rule 4307 oxides of nitrogen (NOx) limit. Paramount Farms asked for 

and received two one-year variances from the District’s Hearing Board. After the 

second variance hearing, the Rule Development Section was asked to research tree nut 

pasteurizer units and, if warranted, to consider a rule amendment incorporating tree nut 

pasteurizers into Rule 4307. The District has reviewed the available information, visited 

the facility in question and has determined that a rule amendment is appropriate. 

Based on the additional research, the District has estimated for a facility to install this 

low-NOx technology and comply with the existing rule requirements, the unit would 

achieve an emissions reduction of 0.003 tons of NOx per day, but at an incremental 

cost effectiveness of greater than $250,000 per additional ton of NOx reduced. This 
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2 Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

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specific situation and associated compliance cost was not considered during the last rule 

amendment. 

The rule amendments will allow this existing facility to continue meeting the strict FDA 

almond treatment requirements and comply with Rule 4307 requirements. New pathogenreduction units would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis within the context of the 

District’s permitting process. 

B. Description of the Project 

The purpose of this rule project is to amend Rule 4307 to specifically incorporate tree 

nut pasteurizers as a separate type of unit. In addressing these pasteurizers, the 

District is protecting public health by balancing the emissions from this unit and the 

potential health risks associated with un-treated tree nuts. 

C. Rule Development Process 

The proposed rule and final draft staff report were published and mailed to affected 

sources and interested parties prior to a public hearing to consider the adoption of the 

proposed amendments to Rule 4307 by the District’s Governing Board. 

II. CLIMATE CHANGE 

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) created a comprehensive, 

multi-year program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California, with the 

overall goal of restoring emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. In the coming 

years, ARB and the Legislature will be developing policies and programs to implement 

AB 32. The District believes that the evidence and the rationale that climate change is 

occurring is compelling and convincing. In addition to the long-term consequences of 

climate change, the District is concerned with the potential ramifications of more 

moderate but imminent changes in weather patterns. The Valley depends heavily on 

agriculture for its economy and has developed agricultural practices based on the last 

several decades of weather patterns. Unanticipated and large fluctuations in these 

patterns could have a devastating effect on the Valley’s economy. 

While there are many win-win strategies that can reduce both GHG and criteria/toxic 

pollutant emissions, when faced with situations that involve tradeoffs between the two, 

the District believes that the more immediate public health concerns that may arise from 

an increase in criteria or toxic pollutant emissions should take precedence. 
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III. BACKGROUND 

A. Almond Treatment/Pasteurization 

As a result of the two Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004, the FDA now requires 

that all almonds go through a pathogen reduction treatment before being sold to 

consumers in North America.1 There are two treatment levels. The higher bacteria-kill 

level is pasteurization, and the lower level is called mandatory treatment. A number of 

other commonly consumed foods, such as milk, juice, eggs and canned foods are 

pasteurized in order to ensure safety by removing pathogens. Since the District is 

considering both treatment levels as one concept, for the balance of this staff report, 

both levels of the FDA-required pathogen reduction will be referred to “pasteurization” to 

simplify the rule project’s discussion points. 

Like almond handlers, pistachio handlers will most likely be required to control 

pathogens on their product as a direct consequence of a major Salmonella outbreak 

traced to pistachios in 2009. It is expected that the pistachio pasteurization provision 

will be promulgated within 12 to 30 months. This means that an additional three to 

seven tree nut pasteurizers could be built in the Valley. Emissions from new units 

would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and within the context of the District’s New 

Source Review rule. 

B. Validating a Pasteurization Process 

The almond pasteurization plan became mandatory for the California almond industry 

on September 1, 2007. The FDA, along with Technical Expert Review Panel (TERP) 

comprised of almond scientific experts, is responsible for evaluating and approving the 

treatment processes that demonstrate effectiveness in achieving a reduction of possible 

contamination in almonds while not impacting their quality and sensory (e.g., taste and 

texture) attributes.2

 

A pasteurization process must go through “validation” in order to be considered 

approved for treating almonds. The objective of the validation is to show that a product 

treated in a TERP-approved process meets the required level of pathogen reduction. 

The handler keeps records to show that the pasteurization process was operated within 

approved parameters while the almonds were being processed. 

The validation program begins with a testing protocol submitted by the handler to the 

TERP. The validation protocol must completely describe the process used to treat the 

almonds, list the process parameters to be monitored along with estimated ranges, 

identify critical control points, and spell out a testing regimen that will demonstrate that 

the process produces the required level of pathogen reduction within a specific range of 

 

1

 Almond Board of California website 

http://www.almondboard.com/FoodProfessionals/Documents/Pasteurization_Sheet%205.22.09.pdf 

2

 Almond Board of California website 

http://www.almondboard.com/FoodProfessionals/Documents/Pasteurization_Sheet%205.22.09.pdf
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monitored parameters. The handler must also list all of the products that will be treated 

by the process and the parameters that will be used for each product type. A separate 

pasteurization validation would be performed for each product type that requires a 

different range of monitored parameters. The handler must also demonstrate that the 

process layout sufficiently segregates treated and untreated product to prevent the comingling of treated and untreated almonds. After the TERP approves the protocol, the 

validation program can begin. 

Validation requires that the handler first identify the areas of the process that would be 

most resistant to pathogen reduction. Since most pathogen reduction processes use 

heat to kill bacteria, this means that the handler will test the pasteurization process to 

create a temperature map of the process in order to find the coolest points. Once these 

points are determined, the handler will place inoculated almonds at the coolest points. 

The operator makes the inoculated almonds using a specific strain of the bacteria called 

Entercoccus faecium. This bacteria strain is a surrogate for the Salmonella strain that 

caused the outbreak. The actual bacteria count for the inoculated almonds must be 

enumerated before the inoculated almonds are used for validation testing. Inoculated 

almonds with verified bacteria counts are then placed in the cool spots identified by the 

handler’s temperature profile testing. The pasteurization process is then run at a 

particular set of monitored parameters. After pasteurization, inoculated almonds that 

passed through the process are tested for residual bacteria. Sufficient replicate runs 

(usually three runs) are needed for each parameter to address process variation 

concerns. For temperature control, the handler would typically have three runs at the 

lowest temperature and three runs at the highest temperature. Inoculated almonds 

would be placed at all of the identified cool points. For a process with five identified 

points, just testing the lowest and highest temperature would require 30 laboratory tests 

of inoculated almonds (three runs for the low temperature process condition multiplied 

by 5 identified points plus the same number for the high temperature condition). This 

does not include the pre-validation testing to verify the bacteria count of the inoculated 

almonds. Additionally, any almonds used during a validation program are considered 

untreated and must undergo a validated treatment process before they can be sold or 

the almonds must be discarded. The re-treated or discarded almonds represent a 

hidden cost of validation. 

For a new system, operators make their best estimate of the parameter settings that will 

achieve the requisite pathogen kill rate. If there is insufficient pathogen reduction during 

a given validation run, additional runs would be needed, beyond what was in the 

protocol. 

A process remains validated as long as there are no changes to the process. Examples 

of when re-validation would be triggered are modifications in design, configuration, 

throughput, etc. As with new installations, the re-validation may go smoothly or there 

may be many additional runs above what was planned in the protocol before the 

process is validated. 
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IV. CURRENT RULE 4307 AND AMENDMENTS 

A. Current Rule 4307 

Rule 4307 was adopted in December 2005, and it was last amended on October 2008. 

The rule applies to any gaseous fuel or liquid fuel fired boiler, steam generator, or process 

heater with a total rated heat input of at least 2.0 million Btu per hour (MMBtu/hr) up to and 

including 5.0 MMBtu/hr. The current rule limits emission of NOx, carbon monoxide (CO), 

and particulate matter (PM). NOx limits are 30 or 40 parts per million by weight (ppm) 

for gaseous and liquid fuel-fired units, respectively. For new or replacement units, NOx 

is nine or twelve parts per million, depending on the type of unit. CO is limited to 400 

ppm. PM is controlled through fuel selection. Operators may choose PUC-quality 

natural gas, commercial propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas, or a combination of 

such gases, or other low-sulfur fuel. If the operator chooses a high sulfur fuel, SOx is 

required to be controlled by either 95% or to no more than nine parts per million by volume 

(ppmv). 

For detailed requirements, please refer to Rule 4307, which is available on the District’s 

website at www.valleyair.org. 

B. Amendments to Rule 4307 

Section 3.0 – Definitions 

A definition is added for tree nut pasteurizer. The definition of EPA is modified to the 

standard format for acronyms that puts the spelled-out name in front of the acronym. 

Section 5.0 – Requirements 

The San Joaquin Valley is home to some of the largest tree nut (almond and pistachio) 

processing operations in the entire nation. To protect consumers, the FDA imposed 

pathogen reduction requirements for tree nut processing operations to reduce the 

potential for contamination from pathogens such as Salmonella. A variety of pathogen 

reduction measures are employed by tree nut processing operations, with the majority 

of facilities utilizing chemicals, blanching, or roasting processes not subject to Rule 

4307, and several facilities are utilizing steam pasteurization to satisfy FDA 

requirements. These pasteurizer units are costly, complex systems that sometimes 

include small burners. The Paramount Farms almond pasteurizer unit is a two-part unit. 

The first part uses steam to add moisture to the surface of the shelled almonds. The 

second part of the unit quickly heats the almond surface to kill pathogens. 

 

The District is proposing that tree nut pasteurizers be fired on natural gas as a NOx 

control. This strategy is similar to the requirements imposed on vegetable dehydrators 

in District Rule 4309, a rule that has been approved by the United States Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) into the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). During 

natural gas curtailments, units would either not be used or would have to meet the 
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requirements of Section 4.6. Section 4.6 outlines limitations for a unit that fires on 

alternative fuels during natural gas curtailments. As detailed in Section VII of this 

report, imposing a 30 ppm NOx emission limit for the single existing unit affected by the 

rule is extremely expensive because any change to the process triggers a re-validation 

of the sterilization process. Since the pasteurizer is already operating, the requirement 

took effect on the date of rule adoption; therefore no commencement date was needed 

for this provision. 

Section 5.4.4 is modified to clarify that a longer start-up or shutdown duration may be 

approved, if the operator receives approval from the APCO, ARB, and EPA. 

Section 6.0 – Administrative Requirements 

The records section is modified. The operator of a tree nut pasteurizer would be 

required to keep records showing that the unit is being operated and maintained as 

recommended by the pasteurizer’s manufacturer, as well as being able to demonstrate 

that the fuel utilized by the unit meets the specifications of PUC quality natural gas. 

V. IMPACT OF THE AMENDMENTS ON OTHER DISTRICT COMMITMENTS 

A. Impact of the Amendments on District Attainment Strategies 

This rule project is not a control measure in any attainment plan and is not expected to 

reduce or increase emissions from the single existing tree nut pasteurizer. For these 

reasons, the District has concluded that attainment of any ambient air quality standard 

will not be affected by this rule project. The amendments will not affect the District’s 

2007 Ozone Plan or the District’s 2008 PM2.5 Plan because no emission limits have 

been changed, nor are the amendments expected to affect emissions from this source 

category. 

The federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that attainment plans meet reasonable further 

progress (RFP) by achieving incremental emission reductions to ensure attainment of 

the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the attainment date. The CAA 

does not identify specific emission reduction benchmarks that must be met for 

particulate matter attainment plans. EPA has interpreted the CAA’s RFP requirement 

using the concept of achieving (generally) linear progress toward the standard. The 

District’s 2008 PM2.5 Plan contains an RFP demonstration. However, the amendments 

do not have emission reductions associated with them, so RFP is not expected to be 

affected by the changes in the rule. 

B. Consideration for the Condensable Fraction of PM2.5 

Certain high-temperature processes emit gaseous pollutants that rapidly condense into 

particle form in the ambient air. After January 1, 2011, areas that are nonattainment for 

the NAAQS for particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5) are to 
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consider the condensable fraction of directly emitted PM2.5 for purposes of establishing 

the emissions limits for: 

• RFP, in which an area shows continuous reductions of directly emitted PM2.5 

and precursors, with sufficient emissions reductions to demonstrate attainment 

by the applicable deadline; and

• Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) and Reasonably 

Available Control Measures (RACM), in which a nonattainment area shows 

that it is adopting technologies and measures that are reasonably available, 

considering technical and economic feasibility; sufficient to demonstrate 

expeditious attainment; and meet RFP. (reference: 40 CFR 51.1002(c))

 

The District established emissions limits for its attainment, RFP, and RACT/RACM 

demonstrations in the 2008 PM2.5 Plan for the PM2.5 NAAQS set by EPA in 1997. The 

District continues to evaluate condensable particulates and other directly emitted PM2.5 

to improve its PM2.5 emissions inventory for future attainment plan efforts. 

This amendment to Rule 4307 was neither included in, nor does it impede, the 

emissions limits set in the 2008 PM2.5 Plan. The District is not currently aware of 

significant condensable PM2.5 emissions or related condensable PM2.5 emissions 

control technologies for the sources affected by this amendment. The District has 

satisfied any applicable requirement to consider condensable particulates from this 

source at this time. 

VI. BASELINE EMISSION INVENTORY AND EMISSION REDUCTIONS 

There is one almond pasteurization unit currently operating that is affected by the 

amendments. The unit is fired on natural gas and rated at 4.4 MMBtu/hr. There is no 

baseline inventory for this source category. The District assumed typical uncontrolled 

burners were installed in the pasteurizer. The unit was assumed to operate between 

5,000 and 8,500 hours per year, and the average percent of maximum heat input is 

between 70 percent and 90 percent of maximum heat input. The District used 0.092 

pounds of NOx per MMBtu as the uncontrolled emission factor. Using these 

assumptions, the estimated uncontrolled emissions from this unit are about 1.0 to 1.5 

tons of NOx per year. 

The unit is already firing on natural gas, so the amendments will not require a change to 

the unit and by extension, no emission reductions are associated with the amendments. 

Additionally, there is no increase in emissions to implement this rule; therefore, there is no 

emission impact for this project. 
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VII. COSTS AND COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS 

The California Health and Safety Code Section 40920.6(a) requires the District to 

conduct both an absolute cost effectiveness analysis and an incremental cost 

effectiveness analysis of available emission control options before adopting each Best 

Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) rule. The purpose of conducting a cost 

effectiveness analysis is to evaluate the economic reasonableness of the pollution 

control measure or rule. The analysis also serves as a guideline in developing the 

control requirements of a rule. 

Absolute cost effectiveness of a control option is the added annual compliance cost in 

dollars per year divided by the emission reduction achieved in tons of pollutant reduced 

per year. Incremental cost effectiveness is intended to measure the change in costs, in 

dollars per year, and emissions reductions, in tons of pollutant reduced per year, 

between two progressively more effective control options or technologies. Incremental 

cost effectiveness compares the differences in costs and the differences in emissions 

reductions of the two candidate control options. Incremental cost effectiveness does 

not reveal the emission reduction potential of the control options, merely the additional 

cost of adding the next most effective control to a given control measure. Unlike the 

absolute cost effective analysis that identifies the control option with the greatest 

emission reduction; incremental cost effectiveness does not present a meaningful 

correlation between emissions reductions and cost effectiveness. Therefore, the 

relative values produced in the incremental cost effectiveness analysis and the absolute 

cost effectiveness values are not comparable and cannot be evaluated using similar 

standards. 

The pasteurizer at Paramount Farms is already in compliance with the new provisions 

of Rule 4307 and therefore, no additional costs to the operator are associated with the 

new requirements. Absolute cost effectiveness cannot be calculated because there are 

no associated emission reductions, meaning that the $0 cost would be divided by zero, 

which is mathematically undefined. 

The incremental cost effectiveness is the difference in cost between successively more 

effective controls. The next-most stringent option after natural gas firing is to require the 

current unit to replace the current burners with 30 ppm low-NOx burners. Paramount 

Farms submitted cost data for retrofitting their current unit. A theoretical replacement 

unit (which has not been built, nor tested to determine if it would pasteurize to the 

required level of pathogen reduction) would cost $260,000. As discussed in Section 

III.B of this staff report, any change to a validated sterilization process triggers revalidation under FDA regulations. Therefore, the costs of materials and testing for the 

re-validation of the sterilization process are included as one-time retrofit costs. 

Paramount Farms indicated that the testing and materials for re-validation would be an 

additional $1.2 million to $5.0 million. Added to the replacement cost, the total one-time 

retrofit costs of $1.46 to $5.26 million. Annualized over 10 years at 10% rate of return, 

the annualized incremental cost is $238,000 to $856,000. 
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In order to determine incremental cost effectiveness, an estimate of emission reductions 

from the new requirement to the next-most effective control is needed. The District 

estimated a range of additional NOx reductions for this unit using the same assumptions 

as for the baseline inventory. The District used 0.092 pounds of NOx per MMBtu as the 

uncontrolled emission factor and 0.036 pounds NOx per MMBtu for the controlled 

emission factor. Using the same range for hours used and percent of maximum heat 

input as for the baseline emissions estimation above, the estimated emission reductions 

are 0.43 tons per year to 0.94 tons per year. The incremental cost effectiveness is 

$252,000 to $908,000 per additional ton of NOx reduced. The calculation is shown in 

Table 1. 

Table 1 – Incremental Cost Effectiveness Analysis Results 

 

One-time 

Retrofit Cost 

($) 

Annualized 

Cost ($/yr) 

Incremental Cost 

Effectiveness at 

min reductions 

($/add’l ton NOx)

Incremental Cost 

Effectiveness at 

max reductions 

($/add’l ton NOx) 

Total 

(retrofit + re-valid min) $1,460,000 $237,542 $550,886 $252,039

Total 

retrofit + re-valid max) $5,260,000 $855,802 $1,984,699 $908,032

Because the incremental cost is greater than $250,000 per additional ton of NOx 

reduced, the District has determined that requiring the affected unit be retrofitted with a 

30 ppm burner is not reasonable for the existing unit. 

VIII. SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS 

Pursuant to state law, the District is required to perform a socioeconomic impact 

analysis prior to adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule that has significant impacts 

on air quality or that will strengthen emission limitations. The amendments to Rule 4307 

would cost $0 to comply; therefore there is no socioeconomic impact from the 

amendments. 

IX. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the District reviewed the 

possible environmental impacts of the proposed amendments and determined that air 

quality and perhaps greenhouse gas emissions are the only potentially affected 

environmental resources. The amendments do not impose regulatory requirements 

resulting in an increase in fuel combustion, thus implementation of this rule project 

would neither increase greenhouse gas emissions nor affect criteria pollutant emissions. 

 
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The District concludes that there is no substantial evidence in the whole record before 

the District that the amendments to Rule 4307 would cause any adverse effects on the 

environment. The District finds that the project is exempt per the general rule that 

CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect 

on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)). For these reasons, a 

Notice of Exemption was filed upon the Governing Board adoption of the amendments 

to Rule 4307. 

X. RULE CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS 

Prior to adopting, amending, or repealing a rule or regulation, California Health and 

Safety Code Section 40727.2 requires a written analysis that identifies and compares 

requirements of the proposed rule with corresponding, existing and proposed District 

rules and corresponding EPA rules, regulations, and guidelines. Based on the analysis, 

the District concludes that the amendments to Rule 4307 are consistent with other District 

rules and are not in conflict with these rules. Further, the rule amendments are consistent 

with EPA rules, regulations, and guidelines that apply to the same source category. The 

analysis is presented in Appendix A of the Final Staff Report. 

XI. REFERENCES 

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Clean Air Fine Particulate 

Implementation Rule” Federal Register Volume 72 pages 20586 – 20667; April 

25, 2007. 

2. U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Marketing Service “Almonds Grown in 

California: Outgoing Quality Control Requirements” Federal Register Volume 72 

pages 15021 – 15036; March 30, 2007. 

3. Bob Klein, Manager, Administrative Committee for Pistachios, phone 

conversation November 2, 2010. 

4. Almond Board of California, “Considerations for Proprietary Processes Used for 

Almond Pasteurization and Treatment” April 2007. 

5. Almond Board of California, “Guidelines for Process Validation Using 

Enterococcus Faecium NRRL B-2354” October 2007. 
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APPENDIX A 

Rule Consistency Analysis 

For Amendments to Rule 4307 

May 19, 2011
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RULE CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS FOR AMENDMENTS TO RULE 4307 

I. REQUIREMENTS FOR RULE CONSISTENCY ANALYSIS 

Pursuant to Section 40727.2 of the California Health and Safety Code, prior to adopting, 

amending of a rule or regulation, the District is required to perform a written analysis 

that identifies and compares the air pollution control elements of the rule amendments 

to Rule 4307 with the corresponding elements of existing or proposed District and EPA 

regulations and guidelines that apply to boilers, steam generators, and process heaters 

(units). The elements that were analyzed are emissions standards, monitoring and 

testing requirements, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements. 

II. ANALYSIS 

A. District Rules 

Boilers, steam generators, and process heaters subject to Rule 4307 could be subject 

to other District rules, including: 

• Rule 2010 (Permits Required) 

• Rule 2201 (New and Modified Stationary Source Review Rule) 

• Rule 4101 (Visible Emissions) 

• Rule 4102 (Nuisance) 

• Rule 4201 (Particulate Matter Concentration) 

• Rule 4202 (Particulate Matter Emission Rate) 

• Rule 4301 (Fuel Burning Equipment) 

• Rule 4801 (Sulfur Compounds) 

The above-listed rules are not in conflict nor are they inconsistent with the requirements 

of amended Rule 4307. 

Units subject to Rule 4307 are not subject to existing Rules 4351, 4305 and 4306 

because these rules apply to larger boilers, steam generators, and process heaters with 

a rated heat input of greater than 5.0 MMBtu/hr. Similarly, units subject to Rule 4307 

are not subject to Rule 4308, which applies to units with rated heat input of 0.075 

MMBtu/hr to 2.0 MMBtu/hr. The units subject to District Rule 4308 are smaller than 

those subject to Rule 4307; therefore, there is no duplication of requirements between 

these rules. 
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B. Federal Rules, Regulations, and Policies 

1. EPA New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) 

The federal NSPS regulations are found in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 

40 Part 60 (40 CFR 60). There are four NSPSs that the District evaluated for this 

rule consistency analysis. 

a. 40 CFR 60 Subpart D (Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel Fired Steam 

Generators for Which Construction Commenced After August 17, 1971) 

40 CFR 60 Subpart D applies to fossil fuel-fired, and fossil fuel and wood 

residue-fired steam generating units of more than 250 MMBtu/hr that 

commenced construction or modification after August 17, 1971. 40 CFR 60 

Subpart D establishes the emission standards for NOx, SOx, and PM. 40 CFR 

60 Subpart D does not apply to units subject to Rule 4307 because units subject 

to Rule 4307 are rated less than 250 MMBtu/hr. 

 

b. 40 CFR 60 Subpart Db (Standards of Performance for IndustrialCommercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units) 

40 CFR 60 Subpart Db applies to steam generating units with a heat input 

capacity of greater than 100 MMBtu/hr that commence construction, modification, 

or reconstruction after June 19, 1984. Steam generating units, as defined in 40 

CFR 60 Subpart Db, do not include process heaters. 40 CFR 60 Subpart Db 

does not apply to units subject to Rule 4307 because the units subject to Rule 

4307 are rated less than 100 MMBtu/hr. 

c. 40 CFR 60 Subpart Dc (Standards of Performance for Small IndustrialCommercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units) 

40 CFR 60 Subpart Dc applies to steam generating units with a maximum heat 

input capacity of 10 MMBtu/hr to 100 MMBtu/hr that commence construction, 

modification, or reconstruction after June 9,1989. 40 CFR 60 Subpart Dc does 

not apply to units subject to Rule 4307 because the units subject to Rule 4307 

are rated less than 10 MMBtu/hr. 

2. National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and 

Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) 

NESHAPs are codified in the CFR under 40 CFR 61. There are no NESHAPS 

that apply to boilers, steam generators or process heaters. 

EPA has issued MACT standards under Section 112 of the 1990 Clean Air Act 

Amendments. These MACT standards have been codified into the Code of 
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Federal Regulations as 40 CFR 63. EPA recently promulgated two MACTs that 

apply to boilers, steam generators, and process heaters - 40 CFR 63 Subpart 

DDDDD (NESHAP for Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and 

Process Heaters) and 40 CFR 63 Subpart JJJJJ. 

a. 40 CFR 63 Subpart DDDDD (NESHAP for Major Sources: Industrial, 

Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters) 

40 CFR 63 Subpart DDDDD applies to existing, reconstructed, or new boilers 

and process heaters located at a stationary source that is classified as a major 

source for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). This subpart defines large units as 

units greater than 10 MMBtu/hr. Since the applicability of Rule 4307 is for units 

that are between two and five MMBtu/hr, any Rule 4307 unit that would be 

subject to this MACT would be considered a small unit, Further, the MACT has 

different pollutants and different emission limits depending on the size of the 

boiler/process heater and the fuel burned. If a unit subject to District Rule 4307 

is also subject to 40 CFR 63 Subpart DDDDD, there is no conflict between the 

provisions of the District rule and the MACT requirements. 

b. 40 CFR 63 Subpart JJJJJJ (NESHAP for Industrial, Commercial, and 

Institutional Boilers Area Sources) 

This MACT establishes standards for boilers located at facilities that are not 

major sources of HAPs. It applies specifically to boilers that have heat input of at 

least 10 MMBtu/hr. Since units subject to District Rule 4307 are much smaller 

than this, the MACT requirements do not apply to the units subject to District 

Rule 4307, and therefore, there is no conflict between the MACT standards and 

the provisions of Rule 4307. 

3. EPA Alternative Control Techniques (ACT) Document 

EPA –453/R-94-022 “Alternative Control Techniques (ACT) Document – NOx 

Emissions from Industrial/Commercial/Institutional Boilers”, dated March 1994 

The ACT discusses the different control techniques for controlling NOx emissions 

from boilers with heat input capacities from 0.4 to 1,500 MMBtu/hr. The ACT 

also presented the achievable emission levels of several control techniques 

based on the type of boiler and the type of fuel used. The ACT contains cost 

effectiveness estimates for different control techniques. However, the ACT does 

not prescribe the specific emission limits that should be used in developing a 

regulation to control NOx emissions from boilers. 

4. EPA Control Techniques Guideline (CTG) Document 

There is no EPA CTG for boilers, steam generators, and process heaters. 
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

Appendix A: Rule Consistency Analysis May 19, 2011 

A-6 Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

Amendments to Rule 4307 

5. EPA Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) and EPA Best Available Control 

Technology (BACT) Requirements 

EPA staff maintains a database of reasonably available control technology 

(RACT), BACT, and LAER technologies that have been provided to EPA by state 

and local permitting agencies. Boilers in this database that are the same size 

range as the rule applicability have limits that are equivalent to the current rule 

limits. For this reason, the rule is consistent with EPA’s RACT/BACT/LAER 

database. 

6. EPA Policy on Start-up or Shutdown 

An EPA memorandum titled “State Implementation Plans (SIPs): Policy 

Regarding Excess Emissions During Malfunctions, Startup, and Shutdown” from 

Steven A. Herman, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance 

Assurance and Robert Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, 

and dated September 20, 1999 outlines the EPA policy with regard to emissions 

during malfunction, startup, and shutdown. The startup and shutdown provisions 

in Rule 4307 are consistent with these guidelines.

7. EPA Policy on Recordkeeping 

Title V (federal) permits and MACT standards require five-year record 

maintenance. The proposed recordkeeping for District Rule 4307 requires that 

operators maintain records for at least five years. Rule 4307 is consistent with 

EPA recordkeeping policy. 

III. CONCLUSION 

Based on the above analysis, the District concludes that amended Rule 4307 is 

consistent with other District rules and is not in conflict with these rules. Further, the 

proposed rule is consistent with EPA rules, regulations, and guidelines that apply to the 

same source category. 
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

 

Appendix B: Comments and Responses May 19, 2011 

Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

Amendments to Rule 4307 

B - 1

APPENDIX B 

Summary of Significant Comments and Responses 

For Amendments to Rule 4307

May 19, 2011 
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

 

Appendix B: Comments and Responses May 19, 2011 

Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

Amendments to Rule 4307 

B - 2

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SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

 

Appendix B: Comments and Responses May 19, 2011 

Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

Amendments to Rule 4307 

B - 3

 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS FOR 

 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO RULE 4307 (BOILERS, STEAM GENERATORS, 

AND PROCESS HEATERS –– 2.0 MMBTU/HR TO 5.0 MMBTU/HR) 

EPA REGION IX COMMENTS 

1. COMMENT: The Cost and Cost Effectiveness Analysis (Section VI, pages 6-7) in 

the staff report estimates that re-validation of the sterilization process costs between 

$1.2 and $5 million. The District does not explain the high cost or wide cost range 

beyond one sentence indicating that Paramount Farms provided this estimate. 

Since this re-validation process drives the cost of retrofitting nut pasteurizing units 

beyond what the District considers cost effective, the District should explain these 

costs in more detail. 

RESPONSE: The District requested further information on the re-validation of the 

sterilization process from the operator and has provided additional explanation in 

the Final Staff Report. Please refer to Sections III and VII for the updates. 

ARB COMMENTS 

The District did not receive a comment letter from ARB. 

STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS 

The District did not receive any comment letters from stakeholders. 
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT 

 

Appendix B: Comments and Responses May 19, 2011 

Final Staff Report with Appendices for 

Amendments to Rule 4307 

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