United States Environmental Protection Agency, Regi on 9

Air Division

Technical Support Document

for

EPA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

for the

California State Implementation Plan

South Coast Air Quality Management District’s

Rule 1147, NOx Reductions from Miscellaneous Source s

Prepared by: Idalia Pérez

June 2010South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD )

Submitted Rule SCAQMD Rule 1147, NOx Reductions from Miscellaneous Sources

 Adopted: December 5, 2008

 Submitted: May 17, 2010

 Determined complete: June 8, 2010

Previous Rule Submittals There are no outstanding submittals of Rule 1147.

SIP-Approved Rule Rule 1147 has not been previously approved into the SIP.

Rule Summary Rule 1147 limits NOx from a variety of gas and liqu id fired combustion equipment that require a District permit and are not specifically required t o comply with a NOx emission limit by other District Regulation XI rules.

The emission limits for NOx, which range between 30 ppm and 60 ppm depending on equipment type and process temperature, are in Table 1 of Sec tion (c)(1). Other requirements of the Rule include mandatory system maintenance and installati on of fuel and time meters.

Compliance for in-use units, which is presented in Table 2, is phased in starting with older equipment. New, modified or relocated units have to be in compliance by January 1, 2010. Compliance can be achieved by certification, for un its which do not allow of adjustment of fuel and combustion air, or by emission determinations p ursuant to an approved test protocol.

Effects on Emissions

The District estimates that NOx emission reductions due to Rule 1147 are 3.5 tons per day by 2015 with an additional 0.3 tons per day reduction expected by 2023.

Rule Evaluation Generally, SIP rules must be enforceable (see §110( a) of the Clean Air Act, hereafter CAA); must require Reasonably Available Control Technology (RA CT) for major sources of NOx in nonattainment areas (see CAA §182(b)(2) and (f)); m ust not interfere with applicable requirements, including requirements concerning attainment (see C AA §110(l)); and must not relax existing requirements in effect prior to enactment of the 19 90 CAA amendments (see §193).

SCAQMD regulates a serious (8-hour) and extreme (1- hour) ozone nonattainment area (40 CFR 81), thus SCAQMD must ensure RACT. Guidance and pol icy documents that we used to define specific enforceability and RACT requirements inclu de the following:

• Issues Relating to VOC Regulation, Cutpoints, Defic iencies, and Deviations (the "Blue Book"), US EPA, OAQPS (May 25, 1988).

• Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC and Oth er Rule Deficiencies , EPA Region IX (August 21, 2001, the “Little Bluebook”).• State Implementation Plans; General Preamble for th e Implementation of Title I of the

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, 57 FR 13498 (April 16, 1992); 57 FR 18070 (April 28, 1992).

• State Implementation Plans; Nitrogen Oxides Supplem ent to the General Preamble; Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Implementation of Title I; Proposed Rule, (the NOx Supplement) , 57 FR 55620, November 25, 1992.

• Determination of Reasonably Available Control Techn ology and Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, Institutional, a nd Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters , CARB (July 18, 1991). http://www.arb.ca.gov/ractbarc/boilers.pdf

• Alternative Control Techniques Document-- NOx Emiss ions from Industrial/Commercial/Institutional (ICI) Boilers

, US EPA 453/R-94-022 (March 1994). http://www.epa.gov/ttn/catc/dir1/icboiler.pdf

• Alternative Control Techniques Document-- NOx Emiss ions from Utility Boilers , US EPA 452/R-93-008 (March 1994). http://www.arb.ca.gov/ractbarc/boilers.pdf

Based on Table 2-3 of the Final Environmental Asses sment, the NOx emissions of the units subject to this Rule are too small to exceed the ma jor source threshold and are therefore likely not subject to RACT. Even if RACT were required, w e believe SCAQMD Rule 1147 likely implements RACT for NOx emissions for reasons inclu ding:

• As mentioned in the “Summary of Affected Equipment and Methods of Compliance” in the Environmental Assessment, compliance with emiss ion limits in the Rule would be achieved primarily by installing ultra-low NOx burn ers which is state of the art technology for small combustion.

• SCAQMD’s Rule 1147 is as or more stringent than SJV APCD Rule 4309 which covers some of the sources subject to Rule 1147. SJVAPCD h as among the most stringent stationary source requirements nationwide, and we a re not aware of other reasonably available technological or operational controls lik ely to significantly reduce additional emissions from this activity.

Since no CTG has been issued recently for this acti vity, we do not have clear national guidance defining presumptive RACT. However, we believe the analysis summarized above sufficiently demonstrates that Rule 1147 implements RACT for NOx

.

In addition, recordkeeping and other compliance pro visions in the Rule ensure that the requirements are adequately enforceable. Lastly, s ince there is no version of submitted previously approved into the SIP, the submitted rul e does not relax the SIP and complies with CAA §110(l) and §193.

Suggested Rule Improvement EPA recommends that the SCAQMD make the following i mprovement in the next revision of Rule 1147, although this is not basis for rule disa pproval at this time.

1. The terms start up in Section (d)(1)(B) and as-found operating conditions in Section (d)(1)(C) should be clearly defined in the Rule.

RecommendationEPA staff recommends approval of SCAQMD submitted R ule 1147 for incorporation into the

California Applicable SIP.

Attachments

1. Submitted Rule 1147

2. Staff Report