UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION IX AIR DIVISION

Technical Support Document 

for

EPA’s Rulemaking for the

California State Implementation Plan

Regarding

Placer County Air Pollution Control District

Rule 516, “Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits”

Prepared by: Nancy Levin

March 14, 2014
2

RULE IDENTIFICATION

Agency: Placer County Air Pollution Control District

(PCAPCD)

Current SIP Approved Rule: None

Submittal Subject to this TSD: Rule 516 “Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits”

Adopted: February 19, 2009

Submitted: April 6, 2009

BACKGROUND: 

Under Section 107(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA designated Placer County

(partial) nonattainment for the following three National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS): 1-hour ozone, 1997 8-hour ozone, and 2006 PM2.5 . This area is regulated by

the Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD).

New or modified major stationary sources subject to PCAPCD’s Federal New Source 

Review (NSR) program must obtain emission reductions to offset emission increases 

prior to constructing such sources.1 While NSR offsets are typically emission reductions 

generated from permitted stationary sources (e.g., from shutdowns or over control), the 

opportunities for generating such reductions from traditional sources has been diminished 

due to implementation of stringent emission performance standards required by PCAPCD

prohibitory rules. The purpose of Rule 516 is to provide procedures to quantify, certify,

and issue emission reduction credits (ERCs) for emission reductions that have resulted 

from the permanent curtailment of rice straw burning in PCAPCD in order to ensure that 

such reductions meet federal offset requirements.

2

 Existing PCAPCD Rule 504

“Emission Reduction Credits” (Adopted 9-21-93, Amended 11-03-94, 8-12-10) governs

the banking and transfer of ERCs, and Rule 502 “New Source Review” governs the use

of ERCs. These two rules are not the subject of this rulemaking action. 

Historically, the practice of rice growing included burning the field stubble and straw

following harvest to kill weeds and insects and prepare the field for next year’s plantings. 

 

1 Rule 502 New Source Review (Adopted 11-12-74, Amended 05-24-77, 06-19-79, 09-21-93, 11-03-94, 

08-09-01, 12-09-04, rescinded and re-adopted 2-11-10, amended 10-13-11, 8-8-13) has been approved into 

the SIP (September 24, 2013, 78 FR 58460). Rule 502 requires the use of federally enforceable Emission 

Reduction Credits (ERCs). Rule 516, if approved, would provide for the generation of federally recognized 

ERCs.

2 Rule 516 would provide for the generation of federally recognized ERCs to address more stringent state 

offset requirements for pollutants such as PM10 and CO, even though PCAPCD is in federal attainment for 

PM10 and CO. See Attachment 3. 
3

In 1991, California passed the Connelly-Areias-Chandler Rice Straw Burning Reduction 

Act of 1991 (California Health & Safety Code (CH&SC) 41865), which required a phase 

down of the allowable rice straw burning acreage in the Sacramento Valley Air Basin.

3

 

By 2001, the phase down was complete and only 125,000 acres or 25% of the historically 

burned rice growing acreage can now be burned in any one year. One unique feature of 

the state law was that it specifically allowed ERCs to be generated from this curtailment, 

and stated that the related emission reductions could not be relied upon for demonstrating 

reasonable further progress or attainment of a NAAQS. While PCAPCD had previously 

issued rice straw ERC certificates under PCAPCD Rule 504,

4 Rule 516 was designed to 

ensure that the ERCs issued from this non-traditional source would meet the required 

offset integrity criteria for the purpose of providing federal NSR offsets.5 

RULE SUMMARY:

Rule 516 establishes standards, the administrative process and enforceable procedures for 

calculating creditable emission reductions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), 

nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter of 10 microns or less 

(PM10), and sulfur oxides (SOx) created through the permanent curtailment of burning 

rice straw. Once an ERC certificate has been issued by the Air Pollution Control Officer 

(APCO), ERCs may be used as offsets to meet federal or state NSR requirements. 

Owners of rice growing parcels are eligible to apply for ERCs if rice straw was burned 

during the baseline period, i.e., 1988 through 1992 (Sections 102 and 301). All 

applications to obtain rice straw ERCs must be submitted by August 19, 2009, (Section

401). The rule contains requirements for both new applications and recertification 

applications (sections 402 and 403), including the list of each parcel included, the acreage 

used to grow rice during the baseline period, documentation that the rice straw burning 

occurred on the acreage used to grow rice during the baseline period, and a statement of 

intent to file a deed restriction for each parcel (s) in the application. These requirements 

are designed to limit agricultural burning to no more than 25% of the total acreage

historically used to grow rice. 

The rule sets an application deadline to ensure the APCO can consider all historic rice 

growing acreage and ensure compliance with the acreage limits provided under state law. 

 

3 A portion of Placer County is located in the “Sacramento Valley Air Basin,” as defined by the state, and 

therefore, state law applies to that portion. 

4 Rule 504 (Adopted 9-21-93, Amended 11-03-94, 8-12-10) “Emission Reduction Credits” does not include 

the necessary provisions to ensure that emission reduction credits from nontraditional sources, such as 

curtailing rice straw burning, are surplus, quantifiable, enforceable, and permanent and, therefore, valid for 

federal NSR offset purposes. Because nontraditional sources have generally not been regulated, there are 

much less historic data. Nontraditional ERC generating rules must include more specific quantification 

procedures to provide the necessary assurances that the reductions are valid and can be recognized as 

federal NSR offsets. 

5 ERCs generated pursuant to Rule 516 may also be used to address California offset requirements that are 

not in the SIP. 
4

Section 302 provides that the total available acreage for generating ERCs in PCAPCD

shall not exceed 10,303 acres.6 If the APCO receives applications where the total acreage 

exceeds this amount, the APCO must adjust the available acreage for each applicant in 

accordance with the procedures in Section 404. These sections ensure that the emission 

reductions come from a ‘real’ reduction in rice straw burning activities by limiting the 

total amount of acreage available to generate ERCs. 

Emission reductions are calculated in accordance with procedures in Sections 302, 303 

and 304, and rely on the following parameters:

 Historic Burn Fraction (HBF): The HBF is the percent of acres grown that were 

burned. The air district establishes its district-specific HBF, which may vary by 

district, based on available references.

7 The PCAPCD states that 100% of the rice 

that was planted was burned. 

 Available Acreage (acres) = 

[applicant’s eligible parcels (acres)] x [historic burn fraction (%)]

 Emission Factors (lbs/acre) listed in Section 303, take into account:

[fuel loading8(tons of rice straw burned/acre)] x [Jenkins’ emission 

factors9for rice straw burning (lbs pollutant/tons of rice straw burned)]10

Therefore, Annual Emission Reduction (lbs) = Available Acreage (acres) x Emission 

Factor (lbs/acre) x 75%.11

 

6 The 10,303 limit for available acreage represents the total acres of rice planted in Placer County in1989, 

which PCAPCD selected as its “representative year.” See Sacramento Federal Non-Attainment Area Rice 

Straw Emission Reduction Credit Model Rule Support Document (“White Paper”), October 16, 2008, page 

13 and 16. The PCAPCD, using the process outlined in the “White Paper,” averaged the number of acres 

planted annually between 1982 and 1991 (10,190 acres), and selected the single year during the baseline 

period (1988-1992) for which acres planted was the closest to the 10-year average. PCAPCD selected a

representative year of 1989, for which there were 10,303 acres planted. See also, Proposed Adoption of 

Rule 516, Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits Staff Report (“Rule 516 Staff Report”), January, 26, 

2009. 

7

Ibid. pages 3 and 11.

8 Fuel loading from rice is 3.0 tons/acre. See White Paper, Table A2-Emission factors, page 16.

9 The emission factors (sometimes referred to as Jenkins II emission factors) come from a California Air 

Resources Board (CARB) memo, which was originally released 8/17/2000 and updated 9/12/2000. The 

factors in the memo are cited as being predominately from Bryan Jenkins’ report entitled, “Atmospheric 

Pollutant Emission Factors from Open Burning of Agricultural and Forest Biomass by Wind Tunnel 

Simulations,” 1996, UC Davis. 

10 Rule 516 Staff Report, page 3.

11 Proposed Adoption of Rule 516, Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits, Staff Report, PCAPCD, 

January 26, 2009, page 3.
5

Consistent with state requirements, Rule 516 also apportions the annual emission 

reductions into quarters based on the historic rice growing and burn practices within the 

district. 

Rule 516 includes several sections regarding burn restrictions. Section 306 requires a 

deed restriction be placed on the parcel and prohibits burning that is not consistent with 

the ERC certificate. The issuance of an ERC is subject to Section 308 which limits 

agricultural burning to 25% of the rice growing acreage. Section 307 requires PCAPCD

to place a parcel or group of contiguous parcels on a “restricted burn list” prior to issuing 

an ERC, and that no agricultural burn permit may be issued for more than 25% of the rice 

growing acreage of any parcel on the restricted burn list. Section 308 states that no one 

shall burn on more than 25% of the rice growing acreage of a parcel that has received an 

ERC certificate pursuant to Rule 516.

A rice growing parcel owner who previously obtained state rice straw ERCs pursuant to

Rule 502 Emission Reduction Credits, may re-apply under Rule 516 to have these

previous ERCs re-certified as federal ERCs under this rule. The applicant must surrender 

all previous certificates issued for rice straw burning on those parcels before an ERC can 

be reissued.

Applicants are also required to maintain, for a minimum of five years, records on the

amount of acres planted and burned, as well as the type of crop grown. The District is 

required to conduct a program evaluation and provide a report to EPA within two years 

of rule adoption.

EPA REVIEW CRITERIA: EPA generally considers three criteria in evaluating state 

and local prohibitory rules for approval into the SIP. For this rulemaking, we are 

considering two additional criteria. 

1. Enforceability - Section 110(a) of the CAA requires enforceable SIP requirements. 

Several EPA guidance documents are used to evaluate rule enforceability, 

including the “Bluebook” (Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, 

Deficiencies, and Clarification to Appendix D, November 24, 1978, 52 FR 45044)

and EPA Region IX’s Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC and 

Other Rule Deficiencies (August 21, 2001, the “Little Bluebook”).

2. Non-interference - CAA §110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any SIP revision 

that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and 

reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. 

In addition, CAA §193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-approved control 

requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area.
6

3. Stringency - Section 182(b)(2) of the CAA requires certain SIP rules to apply 

Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT). Other sections of the Act 

require other control levels. 

4. New Source Review – Section 173(c) of the CAA and 40 CFR Part 51, Appendix 

S, “Emission Offset Interpretative Ruling” require certain sources to obtain 

emission reductions to offset increased emissions from new projects. 

5. Economic Incentive Programs - EPA published the guidance, “Improving Air 

Quality with Economic Incentive Programs” on January 2001 (EPA-452/R-01-

001). This guidance applies to discretionary economic incentive programs (EIPs) 

and represents the agency’s interpretation of what EIPs should contain in order to 

meet the requirements of the CAA. Because this guidance is non-binding and does 

not represent final agency action, EPA is using the guidance as an initial screen to 

determine whether potential approvability issues arise.

EPA EVALUATION: Rule 516 complies with the evaluation criteria as discussed 

briefly below.

1. Enforceability - The applicability and requirements of Rule 516 are generally clear 

and consistent with the Bluebook and other relevant EPA guidance regarding 

enforceability. Rule 516 includes references to other PCAPCD rules. We 

evaluated the referenced rules to determine the purpose of the reference, whether 

the rules were SIP approved, and whether the rules affected the criteria, standards, 

and procedures for generating valid ERCs under Rule 516. We determined that 

these references did not affect the approvability of the rule. 

2. Non-interference – Rule 516 does not replace any existing rule currently in the 

SIP. Therefore, approval of this rule will not interfere with any applicable 

requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP) or any 

other applicable requirement of the CAA. 

3. Stringency - None of these CAA sections apply to Rule 516, so stringency is not 

being used to evaluate for SIP approval.

4. New Source Review – Emission reductions to be used as NSR offsets must be 

surplus, quantifiable, enforceable, and permanent. 

In order for emission reductions from the curtailment of rice straw burning to be 

considered surplus, the emissions from this source category must be clearly and 

accurately quantified in the baseline emissions inventory and in future-year 

projections of the emissions inventory used in the attainment demonstration. In 

addition, the emission reductions created under Rule 516 must not be relied upon 
7

in any attainment or progress plans. The PCAPCD has updated their ozone and 

PM2.5 baseline emissions inventories to include agricultural burning, including rice 

straw burning.12 Although CH&SC 41865 requires the curtailment of rice straw 

burning, these emission reductions are not being relied upon to demonstrate 

attainment, RFP or any other purpose and can therefore be considered surplus. 

Rule 516 meets the quantification criteria because it includes a methodology to 

quantify emissions and emission reductions in Sections 302, 303, and 304. The

emission factors and fuel loading factor come from a CARB memo that relies 

primarily on a 1996 paper by Bryan Jenkins of U.C. Davis. The determination of 

acreage which historically grew rice and burned rice straw is based on 

documentation such as the grower’s rice sales record, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture data on rice planting, air district burn permits, log books, and pictures. 

The emission reductions are permanent and enforceable because the owner of the 

parcel, who has been issued an ERC under Rule 516, is subject to the requirements 

of the rule, including the requirement to burn no more than 25% of the rice 

growing acreage. Should the property change ownership, a deed restriction filed 

with the assessor’s office would alert subsequent owners that they cannot burn 

more the 25% of the rice growing acreage in any given year. 

5. Economic Incentive Program - Several fundamental principles described in the 

guidance include integrity (credits are based upon emission reductions which are 

surplus, enforceable, quantifiable, and permanent), equity, and environmental 

benefit. The integrity principle is the same as those described under NSR

evaluation and described above. This rule generates emissions offsets for the NSR 

program and does not raise any equity issues that are different from the NSR 

program in general. The environmental benefit has been addressed in the offset 

ratio defined by the NSR program. 

EPA ACTION: EPA staff recommends full approval of the submitted version of Rule 

516 because it complies with all relevant CAA requirements and is consistent with EPA’s 

guidance for NSR and economic incentive programs. 

REFERENCES:

1. “Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations,” 

(a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988 (web citation).

2. “Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies,” 

(a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001 

 

12 http://www.placer.ca.gov/~/media/apc/documents/Notices/DraftPM25PlanandAppendices.pdf, See pages 

4-11 to 4-13. 
8

(http://www.epa.gov/region09/air/sips/littlebluebook2001.pdf).

3. “Memorandum from Stephen D. Page, Director, EPA Office of Air Quality 

Planning and Standards to Regional Air Directors, Regions I-X, “Implementation 

Guidance for the 2006 24-Hour Fine Particle (PM2.5) National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards (NAAQS).

4. “Technical Information Document for Residential Wood Combustion Best 

Available Control Measures”, EPA-450/2-92-002, September 1992.

5. “General Preamble”, Appendix C2--Available Residential Wood Combustion 

Control Measures, 57 FR 18072, April 28, 1992.

6. “Strategies for Reducing Residential Wood Smoke”, EPA Document # EPA456/B-09-001, October 2009.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. PCAPCD Rule 516, “Rice Straw Emission Reduction Credits,” adopted on 

February 19, 2009 and submitted by CARB to EPA on April 6, 2009.

2. “Improving Air Quality with Economic Incentive Programs,” January 2001, EPA452/R-01-001 (cover only; text at 

http://www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/meta/m1201.html).

3. Memo dated March 14, 2014 from Nancy Levin, EPA Rules Office, to proposed 

rulemaking file, “PCAPCD Attainment Status and ERCs.”
9

ATTACHMENT 3

MEMORANDUM

Date: March 14, 2013

Subject: PCAPCD Attainment Status & ERCs

From: Nancy Levin, EPA Region 9 Air Division, Rules Office, AIR-4

To: File for Proposed Rulemaking on PCAPCD Rule 516

If PCAPCD Rule 516 is approved into the SIP, it will provide for the generation of 

federally-recognized Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs) for VOC, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, 

CO, and SOx. PCAPCD’s attainment status varies depending on the pollutant. The 

following describes the area’s federal attainment status, as well as where and how these 

ERCs can be used. This analysis takes into account the fact that PCAPCD may be in 

federal attainment (e.g., where no offsets are required for federal New Source Review 

(NSR)) yet sources in the area may be subject to more stringent state offset requirements 

embedded in the SIP-approved NSR rule. The more stringent state requirements are 

typically implemented by having a lower emissions threshold for requiring offsets. 

VOC and NOx (1-hour and 8-hour Ozone NAAQS)

 PCAPCD is federal nonattainment for 1-hour and 8-hour ozone.

 VOC and NOx are precursors to ozone.

 ERCs for VOC and NOx can be used within the Placer County ozone 

nonattainment area. 

 These VOC and NOx ERCs could be used to meet more stringent state VOC and 

NOx offset requirements that are embedded in PCAPCD’s NSR rule.

PM10

 PCAPCD is federal attainment for PM10.

 Because these PM10 ERCs are being generated in an area that is in federal 

attainment, under the CAA, these PM10 ERCs cannot be used as NSR offsets in 

any federal nonattainment area.

 These PM10 ERCs could be used to meet more stringent state PM10 offset 

requirements that are embedded in PCAPCD’s NSR rule.

PM2.5

 Portions of PCAPCD are classified as federal nonattainment for PM2.5., however, 

EPA approved a clean data finding for the Sacramento nonattainment area, which 

includes a portion of Placer County, effective August 14, 2013 (78 FR 42018, 

July 15, 2013). Because these PM2.5 ERCs are being generated in an area that is 

federal nonattainment, under the CAA, these PM2.5 ERCs can be used as PM2.5
10

offsets in Placer County or other federal nonattainment areas if certain conditions 

are met.

 These PM2.5 ERCs could be used to meet more stringent state PM2.5 offset 

requirements that are embedded in PCAPCD’s NSR rule.

CO

 PCAPCD (and the entire state) is federal attainment for CO.

 The CO ERCs could be used to meet more stringent state offset requirements 

embedded in PCAPCD’s NSR rule or in any other area in accordance with state 

law.

SOX

 PCAPCD is federal attainment for SOx.

 SOX is a precursor to PM10 and PM2.5.

 Because PCAPCD is in federal attainment for PM10, the SOx ERCs could be used 

for more stringent state offset requirements in PCAPCD, but cannot be used as 

PM10 offsets in any federal PM10 nonattainment area.

 Because PCAPCD is a federal nonattainment area for PM2.5, the SOx ERCs could 

be used as PM2.5 offsets if the District obtains EPA approval of the appropriate 

PM2.5 to SOx interpollutant offset ratios. 

NOx

 PCAPCD is federal attainment for NOx.

 NOx is a precursor to PM2.5.

 Because PCAPCD is a federal nonattainment area for PM2.5, the NOx ERCs could 

be used as PM2.5 offsets if the District obtains EPA approval of the appropriate 

PM2.5 to NOx interpollutant offset ratios.