October 9, 2008February 19, 2015

Placer County APCD 515-1 Rules and Regulations

RULE 515 STATIONARY RAIL YARD CONTROL EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS

Adopted October 9, 2008

(Amended February 19, 2015)

CONTENTS

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE

102 APPLICABILITY

200 DEFINITIONS

201 ACTUAL EMISSIONS

202 ACTUAL EMISSION REDUCTIONS

203 APCO

204 APPLICANT

205 BANKING

206 CERTIFIED ERCs

207 CONTROL DEVICE

208 EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS (ERCs)

209 EMISSION REDUCTION SHORTFALL

210 ENFORCEABLE

211 ERC CERTIFICATE

212 ERC OWNER

213 BASELINE ACTUAL EMISSIONS

214 OFFSET

215 PERMANENT

216 PRIORITY RESERVE BANK

217 QUANTIFIABLE

218 QUARTERLY

219 REAL

220 REGISTER

221 RELATIVE ACCURACY TEST AUDIT (RATA)

222 SURPLUS

223 TRANSFER

300 STANDARDS

301 CONTROL DEVICE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

302 PROPOSED ERC ISSUANCE

303 FINAL ERC ISSUANCE

304 RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF ERCs

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 APPLICATION PROCEDURES

402 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND TIMETABLE

403 REGISTRATION OF EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS

404 QUANTIFICATION PROTOCOL

405 EMISSION REDUCTION CREDIT ADJUSTMENTS OF CALCULATED CREDITS

406 VIOLATIONS
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Rules and Regulations 515-2 Placer County APCD

500 MONITORING, TESTING, RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING

501 CONTINUOUS MONITORS

502 TESTING

503 RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING

600 PROGRAM EVALUATION
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Placer County APCD 515-3 Rules and Regulations

100 GENERAL

101 PURPOSE: To provide the owners or operators of a rail yard a mechanism for quantifying, 

certifying, and banking emission reductions from the installation and use of a control device 

which reduces emissions from locomotive engines in rail yards.

102 APPLICABILITY:

102.1 Geographic: The provisions of this rule apply to rail operations located anywhere in 

Placer County.

102.2 Application: This rule applies to the owner and/or operator of a rail yard who installs 

a control device to reduce emissions from locomotive engines to generate ERCs. The 

use of ERCs for offsets is subject to the requirements of Rule 502, NEW SOURCE 

REVIEW and Section 304 of this rule.

102.3 Severability: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this 

rule is, for any reason, held invalid, unconstitutional, or unenforceable by any court of 

competent jurisdiction, that portion shall be deemed as a separate, distinct, and 

independent provision, and the holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining 

portions of the rule.

200 DEFINITIONS

201 ACTUAL EMISSIONS: The emissions measured by a certified CEMS at the inlet of a control 

device which reduces emissions from locomotive engines in rail yards.

202 ACTUAL EMISSION REDUCTIONS: Actual emission reductions means the difference in 

emissions exiting a control device and emissions entering a control device, as measured by a 

certified CEMS.

203 APCO: Air Pollution Control Officer.

204 APPLICANT: The owners or operators of a rail yard submitting an application to bank ERCs 

and obtain ERC certificates in accordance with this rule.

205 BANKING: The system of quantifying, adjusting, certifying, recording, and registering ERCs 

for future use or transfer. This system shall be called the Emission Reduction Credit Bank 

(ERC Bank).

206 CEMS: Continuous emission monitoring system.

207 CERTIFIED ERCs: ERCs which have been evaluated under the requirements of this rule 

and other applicable District, state and federal rules and regulations and which have been 

authorized by the Air Pollution Control Officer.

208 CONTROL DEVICE: Stationary equipment used to treat and/or control various air emissions 

such that the outlet emissions are less than the inlet emissions.

209 EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS (ERCs): Reductions of actual emissions that are 

registered with the District in accordance with the requirements of this rule.

210 EMISSION REDUCTION SHORTFALL: Amount of emissions in pounds that the quarterly 

emission reductions achieved by the control device falls short of the permit requirement.

211 ENFORCEABLE: Emission reductions and other required actions are enforceable if: (1) they 

are independently verifiable; (2) program and permit violations are defined; (3) those liable 

can be identified; (4) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the APCO 
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Rules and Regulations 515-4 Placer County APCD

maintain the ability to seek penalties for violations and, where applicable, to secure 

appropriate corrective action; (5) citizens have access to all the emissions-related information 

obtained from the source; (6) citizens can file suits against sources for violations; and (7) they 

are practicably enforceable in accordance with EPA guidance on practicable enforceability.

212 ERC CERTIFICATE: A document which provides title to a defined quantity and pollutant 

type of ERC’s issued by the District.

213 ERC OWNER: The person or legal entity in whose name the ERC Certificate is issued and 

listed in the Register.

214 BASELINE ACTUAL EMISSIONS: Baseline actual emissions are those exhaust emissions

captured from locomotive engines and measured at the control device inlet during the first 

four calendar quarters of operation after the CEMS has been certified.

215 OFFSET: The use of an ERC to compensate for an emission increase of an affected 

pollutant from a new or modified source subject to the requirements of Rule 502, NEW 

SOURCE REVIEW.

216 PERMANENT: Permanent means the actual emission reductions continue or endure for the 

duration of any project utilizing the resulting ERCs as offsets.

217 PRIORITY RESERVE BANK: A depository for preserving ERCs pursuant to Rule 505, 

PRIORITY RESERVE.

218 QUANTIFIABLE: Ability to reliably and replicate bly measured emission reductions by 

adhering to the quantification protocol.

219 QUARTERLY: Pertaining to any calendar quarter beginning in January, April, July, and 

October.

220 REAL: Actually occurring, implemented, and not artificially devised.

221 REGISTER: The document that records all ERC deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and 

transactions.

222 RELATIVE ACCURACY TEST AUDIT (RATA): A quality performance procedure performed 

pursuant to 40 CFR Part 60, Appendix F, Procedure 1 to certify the accuracy of the 

continuous emissions monitors.

223 SURPLUS: The amount of emission reductions that are, at the time of generation of an 

ERC, not otherwise required by federal, state, or local law, not required by any legal 

settlement or consent decree, and not relied upon to meet any requirement related to the 

California State Implementation Plan (SIP). However, emission reductions required by a state 

statute that provides that the subject emission reductions shall be considered surplus may be 

considered surplus for purposes of the Rule if those reductions meet all other requirements of 

this section. Examples of federal, state, and local laws and of SIP-related requirements 

include, but are not limited to, the following:

223.1 The federally-approved California SIP;

223.2 Other adopted State air quality laws, and regulations not in the SIP, including but 

not limited to, any requirement, regulation, or measure that: (1) the District or the 

State has included on a legally-required and publicly-available list of measures that 

are scheduled for adoption by the District or the State in the future; or (2) is the 

subject of a public notice distributed by the District or the Date regarding an intent to 

adopt such revision;
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Placer County APCD 515-5 Rules and Regulations

223.3 And other source- or source-category specific regulatory or permitting requirement, 

including, but not limited to, Reasonable Available Control Technology (RACT), New 

Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Emission Standards for 

Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), Best Available Control Measures (BACM), 

Best Available Control Technology (BACT), and the Lowest Achievable Emission 

Rate (LAER); and

223.4 Any regulation or supporting documentation that is required by the federal Clean Air 

Act but is not contained or referenced in 40 C.F.R. Part 52, including but not limited 

to: assumptions used in attainment and maintenance demonstrations (including 

Reasonable Further Progress demonstrations and milestone demonstrations), 

including any proposed control measure identified as potentially contributing to an 

enforceable near-term emissions reduction commitment; assumptions used in 

conformity demonstrations, and assumptions used in emissions inventories.

224 TRANSFER: The change in ownership of an ERC from one person or legal entity to another.

300 STANDARDS

301 CONTROL DEVICE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS:

301.1 The applicant shall obtain a permit pursuant to Rule 501, GENERAL PERMIT 

REQUIREMENTS to install a stationary control device in rail yards for the purpose of 

reducing exhaust emissions from locomotive engines.

301.2 The control device permit shall include enforceable conditions that ensure 

compliance with the applicable portions of Section 500 – Monitoring, Testing, 

Recordkeeping, and Reporting.

302 PROPOSED ERC ISSUANCE: Prior to proposing issuance of an ERC certificate pursuant to 

Section 402.6 of this rule, the APCO shall make the following determinations:

302.1 The actual emission reductions are real, surplus, enforceable, permanent, and 

quantifiable.

302.2 The continuous monitors used to measure inlet and outlet emissions of the control 

device meet the requirements of Section 500 of this rule.

302.3 The analysis provided by the applicant of historical locomotive activity and expected 

future emission reductions in the locomotive fleet are adequate to project future 

actual emission reductions by the control device.

302.4 Actual emissions reductions have been calculated and adjusted pursuant to the 

provisions of Sections 404 and 405 of this rule, respectively.

302.5 The applicant has paid the fees required pursuant to Rule 601, PERMIT FEES.

303 FINAL ERC ISSUANCE: The APCO shall not issue an ERC certificate until the permit for 

the control device responsible for creating the emission reductions has been modified to 

include, at a minimum, the following:

303.1 The minimum quantity of ERC pollutant(s) to be removed from the exhaust stream 

per quarter, and

303.2 Conditions that ensure compliance with the applicable portions of Section 500 –

Monitoring, Testing, Recordkeeping and Reporting, and

303.3 A statement that the permittee may not retire the permit for the control device unless 

the rail yard is shutdown or the permittee surrenders to the District a Certified ERC 
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Rules and Regulations 515-6 Placer County APCD

certificate for the same quantity of quarterly emission reductions required by the 

permit. 

303.4 Statements that incorporate all of the provisions of Section 406 – Violations.

A statement that any quarterly emission reduction shortfall constitutes a separate violation for 

each day of the compliance period, and

303.4 A condition that requires an emission reduction shortfall be made up within four 

quarters of the end of the compliance period in which the shortfall occurred.

304 RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF ERCs:

304.1 The use of PM10 and/or PM2.5 ERCs generated pursuant to this rule shall not be used 

to provide offsets for diesel particulate matter. The ERC certificate shall contain a 

statement prohibiting such use.

304.2 ERCs generated pursuant to this rule from locations in Federal Attainment Areas 

shall not be used for offsets in Federal Non-attainment Areas.

400 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

401 APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

401.1 The applicant shall submit an application on forms supplied by the District.

401.2 The application may be for reductions of one or more affected pollutants. The 

application shall contain sufficient information to allow for adequate evaluation of the 

actual emission reductions. At a minimum, for each pollutant for which an ERC 

certificate is requested, the application shall contain emissions data from a certified 

CEMS for a minimum of four consecutive calendar quarters.

401.3 The applicant shall provide an analysis of historical locomotive activity at the control 

device location to support emission calculations and show reasonable expectation 

that a specific amount of emission reductions can be achieved on an on-going basis, 

taking into account lower than expected activity level, and other factors.

401.4 The applicant shall provide an analysis of expected future emission reductions in the 

locomotive fleet as the fleet is upgraded with newer, lower-emitting locomotives. The 

actual emission reductions measured by the CEMS shall be reduced to account for 

expected future improvements in the fleet.

401.5 The applicable fees shall be submitted pursuant to Rule 601, PERMIT FEES.

402 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND TIMETABLE:

402.1 The APCO shall determine whether an ERC application is complete no later than 

thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of the application, or after a longer time 

period if agreed upon in writing by both the applicant and the APCO.

402.2 Upon determination that the application is complete, the APCO shall notify the 

applicant in writing. Thereafter, only information to clarify, correct, or otherwise 

supplement the information submitted in the application may be requested by the 

District.

402.3 If the APCO determines that the application is not complete, the applicant shall be 

notified, in writing, of the decision, specifying the additional information that is 

required. The applicant shall have sixty (60) days, or a longer time period agreed 

upon in writing by both the applicant and the APCO, to submit the requested 
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Placer County APCD 515-7 Rules and Regulations

information. Upon receipt of additional information, the APCO shall have another 

thirty (30) days to determine completeness. If no information is submitted or the 

application is still incomplete, the APCO may cancel the application with written 

notification to the applicant.

402.4 Withdrawal of an ERC application by the applicant shall result in cancellation of the 

application. Any re-submittal shall be processed as a new application.

402.5 Upon determination that an application is complete, the APCO shall have 180 

calendar days to take final action. During this time period, the District shall follow the 

public notification procedures in Subsections 402.6, 402.7, and 402.8.

402.6 Upon completion of the preliminary evaluation of the application, the APCO shall 

provide written notice of such to the applicant, the ARB, and EPA and publish a 

public notice in a local newspaper of general circulation. The public notice shall 

specify the applicant, the quantity of ERCs proposed to be certified and the location 

where a copy of the preliminary evaluation and proposed revised operating permit 

may be inspected.

402.7 Publication of the public notice required in Subsection 402.6 shall commence a thirty 

(30) day public comment period during which the APCO shall accept written 

comments on the merits of the preliminary evaluation. Upon conclusion of this thirty 

(30) day period, the APCO shall have another thirty (30) days to render a final 

decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the application taking into 

consideration all written comments. This final decision shall be provided in writing to 

the applicant, any commentorscommenters, the US Environmental Protection 

Agency, and the California Air Resources Board.

402.8 The APCO shall make available for public inspection at the District’s office the 

information submitted by the applicant and the APCO’s preliminary evaluation no 

later than the date the public notice of the preliminary decision is published.

402.9 The applicant or any other party may appeal the APCO’s final decision in accordance 

with Regulation 7, PROCEDURE BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD.

403 REGISTRATION OF EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS: ERC certificates issued in 

accordance with this rule shall be registered and maintained by the District according to the 

provisions of Rule 504, EMISSION REDUCTION CREDITS, Section 410, Registration and 

Section 411, ERC Register, respectively.

404 QUANTIFICATION PROTOCOL: The following procedures shall be used to calculate actual 

emission reductions achieved by installing a control device to reduce locomotive exhaust 

emissions.

404.1 Actual emission reductions shall be calculated for each calendar quarter by 

subtracting measured emissions exiting the control device from measured emissions 

entering the control device, as measured for each pollutant by a CEMS which 

complies with the requirements of Sections 501 and 502.

404.2 ERCs for particulate matter emission reductions shall be expressed in terms of PM10

and/or PM 2.5.

404.3 ERCs for nitrogen oxides, reactive organic compounds, carbon monoxide, sulfur 

oxides, PM10 and PM2.5 shall be quantified in terms of pounds of pollutant per quarter 

for each calendar quarter.

404.4 Emission calculations for quantifying emission reductions shall be based upon at least 

four consecutive calendar quarters of CEMS data.
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Rules and Regulations 515-8 Placer County APCD

405 EMISSION REDUCTION CREDIT ADJUSTMENTS OF CALCULATED CREDITS: Before 

the APCO may issue an ERC certificate, the actual emission reductions calculated for each 

calendar quarter pursuant to Section 404 shall be reduced by the following amounts:

405.1 The APCO shall retire 10% of the calculated quantity of NOx emission reductions for 

air quality benefit.

405.2 The APCO shall transfer an additional 5% of the calculated quantity of emission 

reductions to the Priority Reserve Bank.

405.3 The APCO shall retire an equivalent percentage of the calculated quantity of 

emission reductions to account for expected future improvements in the fleet, as 

determined by Section 401.4.

406 VIOLATIONS:

406.1 Failure to comply with any provision of this rule or permit condition established 

pursuant to this rule shall constitute a violation of this rule.

406.2 Failure to provide the quarterly emission reduction incorporated in the permit to 

operate for the control device shall be considered an emission reduction shortfall and 

shall be a separate violation for each day of the quarter. If an emission reduction 

shortfall occurs, the permittee shall take the following corrective actions in order:

406.2.1 The permittee shall average the actual emission reductions reported for the 

previous four quarters to determine if a sufficient quantity of actual emission 

reductions occurred to satisfy the quarterly emission reduction requirement 

on an annual basis. If the annual emission reductions satisfy the quarterly 

emission reduction requirement, the violation will be deemed resolved, if not 

the permittee shall comply with (ii) below.

406.2.1406.2.2 The permittee shall submit a compliance plan quantifying the amount of the 

emission reduction shortfall and indicating how the emission reduction 

shortfall will be remedied within the next 4 quarters. Such remedies may 

include cancelling any unused ERCs, reducing additional emissions during 

any of the next four quarters, such that on an annual basis the required 

quarterly amount of emission reductions is provided, or purchasing and 

retiring the necessary amount of ERCs. Any such shortfall shall be made 

up within four quarters of the shortfall occurrence. The shortfall may be 

made up through...

406.23 Unnecessary idling or load testing for the sole purpose of providing the quarterly 

emission reduction or make-up of a prior quarter shortfall in emission reductions shall 

be a violation of this rule and the permit to operate.

406.34 If the owner is unwilling or unable to produce the emissions reduction required in the 

control device permit to operate and a compliance plan is not submitted or any such 

emission reduction shortfall is not made up within four quarters of the shortfall 

occurrence, and any portion of the ERC certificate remains unused, a portion of the 

ERC certificate equivalent to the shortfall shall be revoked by the District. 

406.5 If activity levels at the rail yard fall below those projected pursuant to Section 401.3, 

the permittee may submit an application to revise the quarterly emission reductions 

required, based on the new activity levels. EPA must also provide written 

concurrence as to any new quarterly emission reduction requirement prior to 

issuance of a revised permit to operate. 

500 MONITORING, TESTING, RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING

501 CONTINUOUS MONITORS:
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Placer County APCD 515-9 Rules and Regulations

501.1 For each control device installed to generate ERCs, the applicant shall install, and 

thereafter operate, maintain, certify, and quality-assure a continuous emission 

monitoring system (CEMS) which measures the inlet and outlet stack gas 

concentrations for each pollutant for which an ERC is to be issued and the oxygen 

concentrations in ppmv. The measured concentrations shall be corrected to 15 

percent oxygen on a dry basis.

501.2 The CEMS shall meet the applicable requirements of 40 CFR 60 Appendix B, 

Performance Specifications 2 and 3, and 40 CFR Part 60 Appendix F, Procedure 1. 

The CEMS shall complete a minimum of one cycle of operations (sampling, analyzing 

and data recording) for each successive 15-minute period. CEMS for PM shall not 

be required to include condensables.

501.3 The CEMS shall be programmed to calculate and record the actual emission 

reductions achieved by the control device, measured in pounds, on a daily basis, and 

summed quarterly.

501.4 A CEMS certification test protocol shall be submitted to the District and EPA no later 

than 30 days prior to the test date to allow review of the test plan and to arrange for 

an observer to be present at the test. The protocol shall include a process for 

demonstrating the accuracy of the computer programming used to calculate 

emissions. The certification test shall be conducted in accordance with the submitted 

protocol and any changes required by the District or EPA. The applicant shall furnish 

the District and EPA a written report of the results of performance tests within 60 

days of completion. Certification testing of the CEMS may be conducted as part of 

the initial performance test for each control device.

501.5 For each control device installed to generate ERCs, the applicant shall install, and 

thereafter maintain and operate a continuous monitoring system to measure and 

record the stack gas volumetric flow rate. The system shall meet the 40 CFR Part 52, 

Appendix E Performance Specifications.

502 TESTING:

502.1 The CEMS shall be tested annually and quarterly in accordance with the 

requirements of 40 CFR 60 Appendix F, Procedure 1. The PM testing shall include 

the filter catch only.

502.2 A performance test shall be performed on the control device once every five years, in 

accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR 60.13.

503 RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING:

503.1 The control device permittee shall maintain CEMS records that contain the following: 

The occurrence and duration of any startup, shutdown or malfunction, performance 

testing, evaluations, calibrations, checks, adjustments, maintenance, duration of any 

periods during which a continuous monitoring system or monitoring device is 

inoperative, and emission measurements.

503.2 The control device permittee shall maintain records and submit a written report 

regarding operation of the control device and CEMS quarterly. The report is due on 

the 30th day following the end of the calendar quarter and shall include the applicable 

time and date of each period during which the CEMS was inoperative (monitor down 

time), except for zero and span checks, and the nature of system repairs or 

adjustments.

503.3 The owner or operator of the control device shall prepare and submit to the District a 

quarterly report which is due on the 30th day following the end of the calendar 
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Rules and Regulations 515-10 Placer County APCD

quarter. The quarterly report shall detail the quantity and type of emissions reduced 

by operation of the control device; calculated pursuant to Section 404.1. If actual 

emission reductions achieved are less than the emission reduction requirements 

specified in the permit, the permittee shall also submit a compliance plan indicating 

how the emission reduction shortfall will be remedied.

503.4 The control device permittee shall report breakdowns of the control device or the 

CEMS per District Rule 404, UPSET CONDITIONS, BREAKDOWN OR 

SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE.

503.54 All records required pursuant to this rule shall be kept for a minimum of five (5) years 

and made available to District inspectors upon request.

600 PROGRAM EVALUATION

601 The APCO shall evaluate this program at least once every 3 years after rule adoption and 

submit the evaluation program report to the EPA.

602 The evaluation report shall include for each applicant:

602.1 The number of Ccertified ERCs issued for each pollutant (pounds per quarter).

602.2 Actual emission reductions achieved for each pollutant (pounds per quarter).

602.3 The average cost of ERCs (dollars per ton) by pollutant during the evaluation period.

602.4 The attainment status for each pollutant for which an ERC was issued, at the ERC 

generation and use locations.

603 If there were any emission reduction shortfall, the evaluation report shall also describe:

603.1 The number of quarters where there was a shortfall.

603.2 The APCO’s analysis of factors which contributed to the shortfall.

603.3 Corrective measures taken to prevent recurrence of the shortfall.

603.4 How long it took the rail yard owner/operator to make up the shortfall.

604 The evaluation report shall also describe:

604.1 Any unintentional beneficial or detrimental effects from the program.

604.2 Cost savings, if any, experienced by sources from using these ERCs.

604.3 Whether the APCO had sufficient resources to implement this program.

604.4 Any lessons learned.