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Technical Support Document

NOx RACT Source Specific SIP Revision – State of New Jersey

for the Naval Weapons Station Earle (NWSE) 

in Colts Neck, New Jersey

I. INTRODUCTION

Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Act or CAA) contains many

new and revised requirements for areas that have not attained the national ambient air 

quality standards for ozone. Section 182(f) of the Act requires States to apply the same 

requirements to major stationary sources of nitrogen dioxide (NOx) as defined by § 302

and 182(c), (d), and (e) of the Act, as are applied to major stationary sources of volatile 

organic compounds (VOC). The new NOx requirements are reasonable available control 

technology (RACT)1and new source review for major stationary sources in certain ozone 

nonattainment areas and throughout any ozone transport region. 

On November 25, 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a 

NOx Supplement to the General Preamble (NOx Supplement) to provide guidance on 

implementation of new provisions of the Act concerning emissions of NOx. 57 Federal 

Register (Fed. Reg.) 55620 (Nov. 25, 1992). The reader should refer to “The General 

Preamble for Implementation of Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments,” 57 Fed. Reg. 

13498 (Apr. 16, 1992), and the NOx Supplement for a more detailed discussion of the 

other NOx requirements.

This technical support document (TSD) deals primarily with the State of New 

Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP’s) State Implementation Plan 

(SIP) revision to the ozone SIP. This SIP was submitted to address the NOx RACT 

requirements specific to the stationary internal combustion reciprocating engines 

operated by Naval Weapons Station Earle, in Colts Neck, New Jersey (NJ).

II. CLEAN AIR ACT REQUIREMENTS FOR OZONE ATTAINMENT, 

RACT AND NEW JERSEY’S RACT REGULATION

A. Ozone Attainment Requirements 

 

1 The EPA defines RACT as the lowest emission limitation that a particular source is capable of 

meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and 

economic feasibility. 44 Fed. Reg. 53762 (Sept. 17, 1979).

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In March 2008, EPA strengthened the Ozone NAAQS to a level of 0.075 ppm. However, the 

Administrator is reconsidering this new standard and is expecting to make a decision in July 2011.
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In 1997, EPA revised the health-based NAAQS for ozone, setting it at 0.08 parts 

per million (ppm) averaged over an 8-hour time frame.2 EPA set the 8-hour ozone 

standard based on scientific evidence demonstrating that ozone causes adverse health 

effects at lower ozone concentrations and over longer periods of time than was 

understood when the pre-existing 1-hour ozone standard was set. 

On April 30, 2004 (69 Fed. Reg. 23951), EPA finalized its 

attainment/nonattainment designations for areas across the country with respect to the 8-

hour ozone standard. These actions became effective on June 15, 2004. The entire state 

of New Jersey is located in two multi-state 8-hour ozone moderate nonattainment areas, 

the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT nonattainment area, and the 

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE nonattainment area. 

These designations triggered the Act’s requirements under section 182(b) 

for moderate nonattainment areas, including a requirement to submit an attainment 

demonstration. EPA’s Phase 1 8-hour ozone implementation rule, published on April 30, 

2004 (69 Fed. Reg. 23951) (Phase 1 Rule) specifies that states must submit attainment 

demonstrations for their nonattainment areas to the EPA by no later than three years from 

the effective date of designation, that is, by June 15, 2007. 

On November 29, 2005, EPA published Phase 2 of the 8-hour ozone 

implementation rule (70 Fed. Reg. 71612) (Phase 2 Rule) in which it addresses the 

control obligations that apply to areas designated nonattainment for the 8-hour ozone 

NAAQS. Among other things, the Phase 1 and 2 Rules outline the SIP requirements and 

deadlines for various in areas designated as moderate nonattainment. For such areas, 

RACT plans were due by September 2006 (40 CFR 51.912(a)(2)). 

B. RACT Requirements 

Sections 172(c)(1), 182(b)(2) and 182(f) of the Act require nonattainment 

areas that are designated as moderate or above to adopt RACT. All of New Jersey is 

subject to this requirement since all counties in the State are located in either of two 

nonattainment areas that are classified as moderate ozone nonattainment areas for the 8-

hour ozone standard (40 CFR 81.331). In accordance with section 182(b), New Jersey

must, at a minimum, adopt RACT level controls for sources covered by a Control 

Techniques Guidelines (CTG) document and for any major non-CTG sources. 

Section IV.G of EPA’s Phase 2 rule discusses the RACT requirements for 

the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. It states, in part, that where a RACT SIP is required, 

SIPs implementing the 8-hour ozone standard generally must assure that RACT is met, 

either through a certification that previously required RACT controls represent RACT for 

8-hour ozone implementation purposes or, where necessary, through a new RACT 

determination. The majority of counties in New Jersey were previously classified under 

the 1-hour ozone standard as severe, while the remaining counties were subject to RACT 

as part of the Ozone Transport Region. New Jersey chose a uniform applicability level 

for RACT based on the severe classification which resulted in a statewide requirement 
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for major sources of NOx and VOC to be defined as those having emissions of 25 tons 

per year or more of both VOC and/or NOx. Under the 8-hour standard, in areas classified 

as moderate, the definition for major sources is 50 tons per year for VOC and 100 tons 

per year for NOx. However, New Jersey’s choice to retain the original 1-hour ozone 

limits statewide in New Jersey for purposes of the RACT analysis resulted in a more 

stringent evaluation of RACT. New Jersey’s use of 25 tons per year for RACT is 

consistent with the anti-backsliding provisions of the Act. See Clean Air Act Sections 

110(l) and 193; and South Coast Air Quality Management Dist (SCAQMD) v. EPA, 472 

F.3d 882 (D.C. Cir. 2006). 

C. History of New Jersey’s NOx RACT Rule, Subchapter 19. 

NJDEP held public hearings on March 18 and 19, 1993, to hear public comments 

on the proposed rule. Following the public hearings and the comment period, on 

November 15, 1993, New Jersey adopted Title 7, Chapter 27, Subchapter 19, of the New 

Jersey Administrative Code (Subchapter 19 or N.J.A.C. 7:27-19), entitled “Control and 

Prohibition of Air Pollution from Oxides of Nitrogen.” NJDEP submitted Subchapter 19 

to EPA as a revision to the SIP on November 15, 1993. EPA reviewed the SIP revision 

and found it to be administratively and technically complete by December 29, 1993. On 

October 2, 1995, EPA proposed a full approval of NJDEP’s Subchapter 19. 60 Fed. Reg. 

51379 (Oct. 2, 1995). The public comment period ended November 1, 1995. EPA did 

not receive any comments on the proposed full approval. However, during this public 

comment period, discussions developed among regional EPA offices as to the 

approvability of rules, such as NJDEP’s Subchapter 19, containing generic or “process 

oriented” provisions establishing RACT requirements for major sources of NOx and/or 

VOC emissions. The approvability issue related to Subchapter 19’s generic provision 

was resolved and EPA approved Subchapter 19. 60 Fed. Reg. 51379 (Jan. 27, 1997) 

Subchapter 19 became effective on February 26, 1997.

On March 24, 1995, NJDEP adopted amendments to Subchapter 19. NJDEP 

submitted the amended Subchapter 19 to EPA as a SIP revision on June 21, 1996. EPA 

found the SIP revision to be administratively and technically complete by September 26, 

1996. On August 31, 1998, EPA proposed a full approval of NJDEP’s Subchapter 19. 

63 Fed. Reg. 46209 (Aug. 31, 1998). The public comment period ended September 30, 

1998. EPA did not receive any comments on the proposed full approval. EPA approved 

NJDEP’s amendments to Subchapter 19. 64 Fed. Reg. 14832 (Mar. 29, 1999). The 

amendments became effective on April 28, 1999.

On July 1, 1996, NJDEP adopted additional amendments to Subchapter 19. 

NJDEP amended Subchapter 19 to make the regulation consistent with a new program 

called the Open Market Emissions Trading (OMET) Program at Subchapter 30. On 

October 27, 1998, NJDEP submitted the amended Subchapter 19 to EPA as part of the 

OMET Program SIP revision. EPA determined the submittal to be administratively and 

technically complete on December 22, 1998. On January 9, 2001, EPA proposed a 

conditional approval of NJDEP’s OMET Program SIP revision, including the 
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corresponding amendments to Subchapter 19. 66 Fed. Reg. 1796 (Jan. 9, 2001). The 

public comment period ended March 12, 2001. Subsequently, EPA and NJDEP 

identified a number of problems with the OMET program. On October 18, 2002, EPA 

announced it would cease processing the OMET Program SIP revision and withdrew its 

proposed conditional approval. 67 Fed. Reg. 64347 (Oct. 18, 2002). On February 25, 

2004, NJDEP terminated the OMET Program and repealed Subchapter 30 through 

rulemaking. NJDEP also amended Subchapter 19 on April 5, 2004 (effective date), to 

delete those provisions related to the OMET Program, and to include new provisions for 

sources that participated in the OMET Program to comply with RACT. In an April 26, 

2004 letter, EPA notified NJDEP that new provisions proposed in Subchapter 19 were 

not consistent with the ACT and EPA’s RACT guidance and, therefore, were not 

approvable as a SIP revision. The corresponding OMET amendments to Subchapter 19 

that dealt with sources that availed themselves of the OMET Program were not repealed. 

Therefore, they are still part of the rules in Subchapter 19. NJDEP committed to delete 

the OMET provisions from Subchapter 19, and related rules, in future rulemaking. 

It should be noted that, since the July 1, 1996 adoption, NJDEP adopted 

administrative changes amendments to Subchapter 19 four additional times without 

submitting the revised rule to EPA for approval as SIP revisions. The additional 

amendments include the following effective dates: May 4, 1998 (29 N.J.R. 3521(a); 30 

N.J.R. 1563(b)); Administrative change on March 1, 1999 (31 N.J.R. 639); May 15, 

2000 (31 N.J.R. 1671(a); 32 N.J.R. 1808(a)); April 5, 2004 (35 N.J.R. 3486(a); 36 N.J.R. 

1791(a)); October 17, 2005 (36 N.J.R. 4228(a); 37 N.J.R. 3976(a)); and November 21, 

2005 (36 N.J.R. 4607(a); 37 N.J.R. 4415(a)). NJDEP adopted additional amendments to 

Subchapter 19, effective October 17, 2005. On July 31, 2007, EPA approved these 

amendments to Subchapter 19 as part of the SIP.

On March 20, 2009, NJDEP adopted additional amendments to Subchapter 19 

and submitted it to EPA as a SIP revision on April 21, 2009. On June 4, 2009, EPA 

determined the submittal to be administratively and technically complete. NJDEP

provided supplemental information to EPA on May 7, 2009. EPA proposed approval of 

the NJDEP’s amendments to Subchapter 19 on April 23, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 21197). The 

public comment period ended on May 24, 2010. EPA did not receive any comments on 

the proposed full approval. EPA approved NJDEP’s amendments to Subchapter 19 in the 

final rule on August 3, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 45483). The amendments became effective 

September 2, 2010. 

D. Subchapter 19.13

The source-specific SIP revision discussed in this technical support document was 

submitted to EPA, pursuant to Subchapter 19. Subchapter 19.13 establishes a procedure 

for a case-by-case determination of what represents RACT for a particular facility, item 

of equipment or source operation. This procedure is applicable in two types of situations: 

(1) where a major NOx facility contains any source operation or item of equipment not 

listed in Subchapter 19.2 with the potential to emit more than 10 tons of NOx per year; or 
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(2) where the owner or operator of a source operation or item of equipment that is listed 

in Subchapter 19.2 seeks approval of an alternative maximum allowable emission rate. 

In the first instance, for any source operation or item of equipment at a major NOx

facility, with the potential to emit 10 TPY or more of NOx, not specifically regulated 

under Subchapter 19.2, the owner/operator must submit a 'NOx Control Plan' to the 

NJDEP. This NOx Control Plan is to include a technical and economic feasibility

evaluation of NOx control technologies as well as a proposed NOx emission limit.

In the second instance, those specific sources subject to NOx limits under 

Subchapter 19 may apply for an alterative emissions limit. In this case, NOx RACT 

control measures may be deemed impractical due to some physical constraints or the 

control measures may be incapable of reducing the emissions to the limits required under 

Subchapter 19. In this situation, the NJDEP may establish an alternative maximum 

allowable emission rate for the affected sources.

For each of these situations, Subchapter 19.13 provides that NJDEP establish 

emission limits based upon a RACT determination specific to the facility in question. 

The procedures for requesting that determination, and the standards for review of the 

request, are the same in each situation.

The owner or operator of a facility for which a NOx control plan is required must 

obtain approval of the plan, implement it by May 31, 1995, and continue to comply with 

it thereafter. The Act imposes this deadline. Implementing the plan includes obtaining 

the required permits and certificates, installing the approved NOx control technology, and 

complying with the emission limits approved in the plan. An owner or operator seeking 

approval of an alternative maximum allowable emission rate must obtain approval before 

the source operation or item of equipment in question becomes subject to the rate 

normally applicable under Subchapter 19, in order to avoid incurring violations for 

exceeding that normally applicable rate.

Subchapter 19.13(h) provides that "any alternate emissions limit pursuant to 

Subchapter 19.3(c) or NOx Control Plan pursuant to Subchapter 19.3(b) approved by the 

NJDEP will be submitted to EPA for approval as a revision to the SIP for ozone." An 

alternate emissions limit or NOx Control Plan would be first proposed and adopted in 

New Jersey and then, as required by law, submitted to EPA for approval as a SIP revision. 

Subchapter 19 provides that any alternative emission limit approved by NJDEP 

after May 19, 2009 shall have a limit of 10 years, unless the source is modified, altered,

or reconstructed during the term of the plan in which case the source may need to apply 

to NJDEP for a new alternate emissions limit, pursuant to Subchapter 19.13(b)(6) or 

19.3(k). NJDEP approved the source-specific SIP revision discussed in this TSD on May

12, 2009.

E. Enforceability of Subchapter 19
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For sources not subject to specific emission limitations or work practice standards, 

N.J.A.C. 7:27-19.13 provides a procedure and schedule that must be followed in order to 

comply with the Subchapter. Noncompliance with this procedure would constitute a 

violation of Subchapter 19, which would subject the source owner or operator to civil 

and/or criminal penalties, as applicable. EPA believes this is sufficient to ensure that 

sources comply and should EPA have to take enforcement action, it could use the same 

provisions to obtain compliance.

EPA will process all source-specific SIP revisions submitted by NJDEP, 

regardless of the status of EPA approval of Subchapter 19, provided that NJDEP 

complies with the following:

- provide evidence that NJDEP has the necessary legal authority under State law 

to approve and implement the compliance plan with reference to appropriate 

State laws and regulations;

- provide a description of the enforcement procedure NJDEP will use should it 

discover a violation;

- provide a description of the compliance strategy NJDEP will use to ensure 

compliance; and

- include a copy of any relevant permits which are contained in the compliance 

plan. For “grandfathered” sources, the compliance plan must identify the 

applicable enforceable requirements or restrictions.

III. EPA’S ANALYSIS OF STATE SUBMITTAL (Note this Technical Support 

Document summarizes the state submission. The complete RACT analysis, related 

correspondence and SIP revision are available for inspection and review at the EPA 

Regional Office and NJDEP State Office.)

Naval Weapons Station Earle Alternative NOx Emission Limit

Pursuant to Subchapter 19.3(h) “any alternate emissions limit pursuant to section 

19.3(c) or NOx Control Plan pursuant to section 19.3(b) approved by the NJDEP will be 

submitted as an amendment to the SIP for ozone.” An alternate emission limit or NOx 

Control Plan would be first proposed in New Jersey as an amendment to the SIP and then 

submitted to EPA, by law, as a SIP revision. Similarly, Subchapter 19.21(f) requires 

NJDEP to submit repowering plans to EPA as a revision to the SIP. This technical 

support document discusses EPA’s analysis of a single source-specific SIP revision.

In a letter dated May 14, 2009 from Mark N. Mauriello, Acting Commissioner, 

NJDEP, to Acting Regional Administrator George Pavlou, EPA Region 2, New Jersey

requested EPA’s approval of a revision to the NJ SIP for ozone. The request was for a 
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NJ SIP revision for the Naval Weapons Station Earle (NWSE) facility located at 201 

Highway 34 South in Colts Neck, NJ in Monmouth County. NWSE facility contains one

existing and one new generator which are powered by one existing and one new 500 

Kilowatt, lean burn, two-stroke, compression ignition, diesel fuel fired, stationary internal 

combustion reciprocating engine (both engines are Detroit Diesel Model 12V-92T). The 

source-specific SIP revision for NWSE was proposed by NJDEP on January 16, 2009

through public notice in The Star Ledger Newspaper, which is circulated in Colts Neck, 

New Jersey. The public notice allowed 30 days for public comments and the opportunity

for a public hearing, offered upon written request. NJDEP did not receive any requests 

for a public hearing, therefore no hearing was held. EPA provided comments on the SIP 

revision prior to adoption by NJDEP. After reviewing and addressing EPA’s comments, 

NJDEP adopted the source specific SIP revision on May 12, 2009 and supplemented this 

information on May 21, 2009. As part of the completeness review, EPA ensured that 

NJDEP complied with the conditions discussed earlier in Section II.E. for source specific 

SIP revisions. This technical support document is the next step in EPA’s rulemaking 

process.

NJDEP’s SIP revision consists of two attachments with multiple enclosures. 

Attachment 1 includes the following documents:

 Enclosure 1: SIP Completeness Checklist

 Enclosure 2: A copy of the Alternate Emission Limit approval document

 Enclosure 3: Response to comments document

 Enclosure 4: Statement of basis

 Enclosure 5: A copy of the Public Notice and Opportunity for Public Hearing

 Enclosure 6: A copy of the Affidavit of Publication of Public Notice

 Enclosure 7: A copy of the application package from the applicant and other 

supporting documentation

Attachment 2 includes a copy of N.J.A.C. 7:27-19.1 et seq., Control and Prohibition of 

Air Pollution from Oxides of Nitrogen, most recently amended by New Jersey on April 

20, 2009. 

The NWSE facility contains one existing and one new generator powered by one

existing and one new 500 Kilowatt (kW), lean burn, two-stroke, compression ignition, 

diesel fuel fired, reciprocating stationary internal combustion engine. According to 

N.J.A.C.7:27-19.8(e), engines equal to or exceeding 370 kW (500 bhp) used for 

generating electricity are subject to the following provisions under this chapter: 

1. Beginning March 7, 2007, existing lean burned diesel fuel fired engines are

required to comply with the revised NOx RACT limit of 2.3 g/bhp-hr. 

2. For units (37 kW or larger rated output) that commence operations after March 7, 

2007, engines are required to comply with the revised NOx RACT limit of 0.90

g/bhp-hr. 
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3. In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:27-19.8(f) and 7:27-19.16, owners and operators of 

these engines are required to adjust the engine’s combustion process in 

accordance with the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule and 

meet specific recordkeeping requirements.

This means: 1) NWSE’s existing engine must comply with the revised NOx RACT limit 

of 2.3 g/bhp-hr, 2) NWSE’s new engine must comply with the revised NOx RACT limit 

of 0.90 g/bhp-hr, and 3) both of NWSE’s engines must meet engine combustion 

adjustment, maintenance and recordkeeping requirements.

However, while combusting diesel fuel, the NWSE’s existing and new engine will 

not meet the NOx RACT limits of 2.3 and 0.90 g/bhp-hr, respectively. NSWE provided 

an analysis of available control technology and economic feasibility options for reducing 

NOx emissions from the engines. The analysis was conducted to determine the control 

technology and NOx emissions limits that would represent the best achievable level of 

control that is both technically and economically feasible. A total of 16 NOx emissions 

control technology options were evaluated to determine if they were technically and 

economically feasible for application to either engine, and, if so, how effective they

would be in reducing NOx emissions from these units and how much they would cost. 

The list of options was compiled based on the list of technologies set forth in the EPA’s 

Alternative Control Techniques (ACT) Document, dated July 1993, EPA’s Air Pollution 

Control Cost Manual, dated June 7. 2003, and EPA’s Stationary Reciprocating Internal 

Combustion Engines Update Information on NOx Emissions and Control Techniques, 

dated September 1, 2000, and NJDEP’s State of the Art Manual for Reciprocating 

Internal Combustion Engines, dated 2003. Below are the following evaluated NOx 

control options:

1. Fuel Switching

2. Emissions Averaging

3. Ignition Timing Retardation

4. Water Injection

5. Exhaust Gas Recirculation

6. Selective Catalytic Reduction

7. Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction

8. Catalytic Adsorption

9. Lean NOx Catalyst

10. Ozone Injection

11. Aftercooling

12. Non-Selective Catalytic Reduction

13. Catalytic Adsorption

14. SCONOx Technology

15. NOx Tech Emissions Control System

16. Prestratified Charge

The findings of the analysis of technical and economical feasibility were that NONE of 

the NOx control technology options mentioned above was considered to be technically
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and economically feasible for either of the engines. Details of this analysis are included 

in the Enclosure 7 of the NJ SIP. Therefore, an alternative emission limit (AEL), as 

described in N.J.A.C. 7:27-19.13, must be implemented. NWSE submitted an application 

pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:27-19.13 for an AEL. NWSE has proposed the following, to limit the:

1. NOx emissions rate from each engine to 11.3 g/bhp-hr, 

2. total NOx emissions rate while combusting 100% distillate oil to 4.67 tons per year

for both engines combined,

3. combined hours of operation for both engines to less than 675 hours per year,

4. operation of each engine to 75% load or less, and

5. annual fuel usage to 20,047.50 gallons per year combined for both engines

The proposed AEL would allow NWSE to operate both of these engines on 100% 

distillate oil for up to 675 total hours per year, limit the annual fuel usage to 20,047.50

gallons per year, and lower the allowable NOx emissions from 15.98 (The current 

approved permit limit for one internal combustion engine.) to 4.67 tons per year

combined for both engines.

NJDEP’s May 21, 2009, Conditions of Approval for NWSE specify the NOx 

emissions limits, combustion process adjustment mentioned above, emission testing, 

monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. These permit conditions are 

consistent with the NOx RACT requirements specified in Subchapter 19. Continued 

compliance will be determined by NJDEP’s review of NWSE’s records and other source 

data. 

EPA’s Evaluation: EPA reviewed NWSE’s application and NJDEP’s source-specific 

SIP revision for completeness and approvability. EPA agrees with the technical and 

economic feasibility demonstration and the proposed alternative maximum allowable 

NOx emission limit of 11.3 g/bhp-hr for each engine; maximum allowable NOx 

emissions rate for both engines combined to 4.67 tons per year; combined hours of 

operation for both engines to less than 675 hours per year; operation of each engine to 

75% load or less, and the annual fuel usage to 20,047.50 gallons per year combined for 

both engines. Based on the revised emission limit, as well as the limits on fuel use and

hours of operation, EPA proposes to approve NJDEP’s source specific SIP revision for an 

AEL for NWSE.

EPA’s APPROVABILITY RECOMMENDATION: Full Approval
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