1 

PART 71 FEDERAL OPERATING PERMIT

STATEMENT OF BASIS

South Point Energy Center 

Permit No. FM-ROP 07-01

1. Facility Information 

a. Permittee

South Point Energy Center 

3779 Courtwright Rd. 

P.O. Box 5619 

Mohave Valley, AZ 86446 

b. Facility location

The South Point Energy Center (SPEC) is located on the Fort Mojave Indian 

Reservation in Mohave Valley, Arizona. 

c. Contact information

Facility Contact and Responsible Official: James Doherty (928) 346-7000 

 

d. Description of operations, products

The facility is a 500 MW natural gas-fired, two-on-one combined cycle electrical 

generating plant. The primary power generating equipment consists of two 

combined cycle combustion turbine generating sets (Siemens Westinghouse 

Model 501FDH) and two duct fired heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) 

feeding a single steam turbine generator. The turbines are exclusively natural gasfired and are equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) units. 

e. Permitting and/or construction history

EPA issued a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit AZ-98-01 for 

the construction of the facility on May 24, 1999. Initial startup occurred in March 

2001. EPA issued a minor modification of the PSD permit on April 21, 2003. The 

modification consisted of revising two conditions to increase the emissions limit 

for carbon monoxide during startup. 

EPA issued the initial title V permit to the facility on June 19, 2003. This permit 

is the first renewal of the initial title V permit. 

f. Emission-generating units and activities
2 

Table 1 lists the permitted emission-generating units and activities at the facility. 

Table 1. SPEC Emission Units 

Emission 

Unit I.D. No. 

Unit Description Associated Control 

Equipment 

E/U 01 Combined Cycle System 1 

(natural gas-fired turbine and heat 

recovery system generator) 

Selective Catalytic Reduction 

(SCR) 

E/U 02 Combined Cycle System 2 

(natural gas-fired turbine and heat 

recovery system generator) 

Selective Catalytic Reduction 

(SCR) 

E/U 06 Mechanical-draft cooling tower Drift Eliminator 

g. Potential to emit

Potential to emit (PTE) means the maximum capacity to emit any air pollutant 

regulated under the Clean Air Act under its physical and operational design. Any 

physical or operational limitation on the maximum capacity of SPEC to emit an 

air pollutant, including air pollution control equipment and restrictions on hours 

of operation or on the type or amount of material combusted, stored, or processed, 

may be treated as part of its design if the limitation is enforceable by EPA. PTE is 

meant to be a worst case emissions calculation and is used in many, though not 

all, cases to determine the applicability of federal requirements. Actual emissions 

may be much lower than PTE, and typically do not represent the PTE of a source. 

The potential to emit presented in Table 2 below was calculated by SPEC in its 

permit application.

1

Table 2. Facility-wide PTE (in tons per year) 

Pollutant

Unit NOX VOC SO2 PM10 CO HAP 

E/U 01 135.3 219.5 19.9 72.0 648.0 1.2 

E/U 02 135.3 219.5 19.9 72.0 648.0 1.2 

E/U 06 n/a n/a n/a 12.7 n/a 0 

Total 270.6 439.0 39.8 156.7 1296.0 2.4 

 

1 These PTE calculations were provided by SPEC and have not been independently verified by EPA. Without 

further validation, they should not be overly relied upon for regulatory purposes. 
3 

The ancillary equipment at the facility (emergency generator and diesel fire 

pump) add marginal amounts (less than one ton per year for each criteria pollutant 

to these totals). 

2. Tribe Information 

a. General

The Fort Mojave Indian Reservation is located along the Colorado River and 

covers 23,699 acres of land in Arizona and 5,582 acres in Nevada, and has its 

Tribal headquarters in Needles, California. The reservation has a population of 

approximately 1,120 people. 

b. Local air quality and attainment status

All areas of the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation are currently designated as 

attainment or unclassifiable for all criteria pollutants for which a National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) has been established. 

3. Inapplicable Requirements

a. New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Stationary Combustion Turbines 

(40 CFR Part 60) 

The provisions of 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart KKKK apply to stationary combustion 

turbines with a heat input at peak load equal to or greater than 10.7 gigajoules (10 

MMBtu) per hour, which commenced construction, modification, or 

reconstruction after February 18, 2005. The two gas turbines (E/U 01 and E/U 02) 

at this facility were constructed in 2001, and have not been modified or 

reconstructed since then for purposes of NSPS Subpart KKKK. Therefore, the 

turbines are not subject to the requirements of NSPS Subpart KKKK. 

b. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for 

Combustion Turbines (40 CFR Part 63) 

The provisions of 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart YYYY apply to any existing, new, or 

reconstructed stationary combustion turbine located at a major source of 

hazardous air pollutants (HAP). A major source of HAP emissions is a source that 

emits or has the potential to emit 10 tpy of a single HAP or 25 tpy of a 

combination of HAPs. 

This facility is an existing minor source of HAP emissions. The potential to emit 

from this facility is less than 10 tpy of a single HAP and 25 tpy of a combination 

of HAPs. Therefore, the two turbines (E/U 01 and E/U 02) are not subject to the 

requirements of NESHAP Subpart YYYY. 
4 

c. Compliance Assurance Monitoring (40 CFR Part 64) 

Compliance Assurance Monitoring (CAM) applies to emission units with control 

devices that are subject to an emission limit and have a pre-control potential to 

emit greater than the major source threshold. This facility has pre-control 

emissions of NOx, CO, VOC, and PM10 that are greater than the major source 

threshold. Because SPEC does not operate control devices for CO and VOC 

emissions, CAM does not apply to these pollutants. However, SPEC utilizes a 

drift eliminator in the cooling tower to control PM10 emissions and operates 

Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems in the turbines to control NOx

emissions. A drift eliminator is not considered a control device as defined in 40 

CFR § 64.1, since the drift eliminators act as a passive control measure prevent 

release of particulate matter (i.e. drift). CAM does not apply to turbines E/U 01 

and E/U 02 for NOx because the Part 71 permit requires the use of a continuous 

emissions monitoring system (CEMS) as a compliance determination method in 

Condition II.D.1. 40 CFR § 64.2(b)(1)(vi) exempts emission limits from 

triggering CAM if the title V permit requires a “continuous compliance 

determination method.” A CEMS meets the definition of this term in 40 CFR § 

64.1. Therefore, SPEC is exempt from CAM requirements for PM10 and NOx, and 

does not require CAM for any of the other regulated pollutants. 

4. Applicable Requirements 

a. PSD permit AZ-98-01 

The PSD permit issued to the facility contains Best Available Control Technology 

(BACT) emission limits for NOx, CO, PM10, and VOC, and monitoring, reporting, 

and record-keeping requirements. 

b. All conditions of the PSD permit have been incorporated into the title V permit. 

When PSD conditions, as incorporated into the title V permit, contain references 

to conditions in “the PSD Permit,” that reference is to the PSD permit AZ-98-01 

and not the title V permit. 

c. NSPS for Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units (40 

CFR Part 60) 

The duct burners are subject to the 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart Dc, and the 

associated NSPS Subpart A General Provisions. The facility is only permitted to 

fire its turbines and duct burners on natural gas. Since the emission limits, 

monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping requirements of Subpart Dc only apply 

to facilities that burn coal, oil, or wood, there are no requirements from Subpart 

Dc that apply to SPEC. 

d. NSPS for Stationary Gas Turbines (40 CFR Part 60) 
5 

The turbines E/U 01 and E/U 02 are subject to the 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart GG, 

and the associated NSPS Subpart A General Provisions. Please see Section 6 

“Monitoring” below for further discussion. 

e. Acid Rain Regulations (40 CFR Parts 72 - 76) 

SPEC is subject to the acid rain requirements of title IV of the Clean Air Act. The 

Phase II acid rain permit, which is being combined with the title V permit, 

requires the facility to have allowances for all the SO2 it emits in each year. SPEC 

submitted an acid rain renewal application to EPA on November 21, 2007. This 

title V permit renewal includes acid rain conditions that incorporate the acid rain 

application and applicable requirements by reference. 

f. NESHAP 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M - Demolition or Renovation Activity 

Based on SPEC’s application, the facility is not currently engaged in the activities 

regulated under this provision. If SPEC conducts any demolition or renovation 

activity, the permittee must assure that the project is in compliance with the 

federal rules governing asbestos including the requirement to conduct an 

inspection for the presence of asbestos. Including terms related to these 

requirements in the permit minimizes the need to reopen the permit if SPEC ever 

conducts any demolition or renovation activity. 

g. Stratospheric Ozone and Climate Protection (40 CFR Part 82) 

Based on its application, SPEC does not currently engage in the activities 

regulated under this provision. Including terms related to these requirements in 

the permit minimizes the need to reopen the permit if the facility does any 

maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of any equipment containing 

chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), or contracts with someone to do this work. 

h. Chemical Accident Prevention Program (40 CFR Part 68) 

The Chemical Accident Prevention Program requires sources that use or store 

regulated substances above a certain threshold to develop and submit a risk 

management plan (RMP) to prevent accidental releases. Based on SPEC’s 

application, this facility currently has regulated substances above the threshold 

quantities in this rule and therefore is required to develop and submit an RMP. 

SPEC has already submitted an RMP to EPA. 

i. Table 3. Incorporation of Applicable Requirements into Part 71 Permit 

Requirement Condition/

Section 

Condition in 

Pt. 71 Permit 

Description/Notes 
6 

Requirement Condition/

Section 

Condition in 

Pt. 71 Permit 

Description/Notes 

40 CFR Part 60 

NSPS Subpart A 

60.1 n/a applicability (no requirements) 

60.2 n/a definitions (no requirements) 

60.3 n/a units and abbreviations (no requirements) 

60.4(a) II.G.1 submit reports to EPA Regional office 

60.4(b) n/a submit reports to delegated agencies (Tribe 

not delegated authority for NSPS) 

60.5 n/a applicability determinations (places 

requirements on EPA, not the facility) 

60.6 n/a review of plans (places requirements on EPA, 

not the facility) 

60.7(a) n/a notification of construction or reconstruction 

(the turbines have been already constructed 

and have not been reconstructed) 

60.7(b) II.G.2 records of startup, shutdown, malfunction 

60.7(c) II.H. CEMS reporting 

60.7(d) II.H. report format for CEMS reporting 

60.7(e) n/a reporting frequency (PSD permit requires 

quarterly excess emission reports) 

60.7(f) II.E.1 maintain monitoring records (excluding 

requirements for CEMS) 

60.7(g) n/a notification required by State/local agency (no 

such notification required) 

60.7(h) II.H. disclaimer that Subpart may clarify/make 

inapplicable any General Provisions 

60.8 n/a initial performance test (initial performance 

test has been conducted) 

40 CFR Part 60 

NSPS Subpart A 

60.9 II.G.3 availability of information 

60.10 n/a state authority (no requirements) 

60.11(a) II.G.4 compliance with non-opacity standards 
7 

Requirement Condition/

Section 

Condition in 

Pt. 71 Permit 

Description/Notes 

60.11(b) n/a compliance with opacity standards (facility 

not subject to opacity standard) 

60.11(c) n/a times when opacity standards apply (facility 

not subject to opacity standard) 

60.11(d) II.G.5 good practice to minimize emissions 

60.11(e) n/a compliance with opacity standards (facility 

not subject to opacity standard) 

60.11(f) n/a special provisions in Subpart supersede 

General Provisions (no requirements) 

60.11(g) II.G.6, IV.B.2 credible evidence 

60.12 II.G.7 circumvention 

60.13 II.H. CEMS requirements 

60.14 n/a applies to modification of affected facilities 

60.15 n/a applies to reconstruction of affected facilities 

60.16 n/a priority list (no requirements) 

60.17 n/a incorporation of test methods by reference 

60.18 n/a requirements for flares (facility does not use 

flares to comply with an NSPS) 

60.19 II.F.8 general notification and reporting 

40 CFR Part 60 

NSPS Subpart GG 

60.330 n/a applicability (no requirements) 

60.331 n/a definitions (no requirements) 

60.332 II.A.3 standard for nitrogen oxides 

60.333 II.B.1 standard for sulfur oxides (fuel sulfur 

standard) 

40 CFR Part 60 

NSPS Subpart GG 

60.334(a) 

and (b) 

n/a monitoring of water, fuel for NOx control (the 

turbines do not use water injection to control 

NOx) 

60.334(c) II.D.1 CEMS requirement 

60.334(d) monitoring of water, fuel for NOx control for 
8 

Requirement Condition/

Section 

Condition in 

Pt. 71 Permit 

Description/Notes 

through (g) n/a turbines constructed after July 8, 2004 (the 

turbines do not use water injection and were 

constructed in 2001) 

60.334(h) II.D.15 

monitoring of fuel sulfur content not required 

if fuel meets definition of natural gas 

60.334(j) II.D.15 

monitoring of fuel sulfur content not required 

if fuel meets definition of natural gas 

60.335 II.D.6 test methods and procedures 

PSD permit AZ-98-

01 

section I IV.M.7 expiration of PSD permit 

section II III.K.1 and 

III.K.2 

notification of commencement of construction 

and startup 

section III II.B.8 facility operation 

section IV II.F.1 and 

III.H 

malfunction 

section V IV.J right of entry 

section VI IV.K.2 transfer of ownership 

section VII IV.F severability 

section VIII III.I other applicable regulations 

section X multiple 

conditions in 

sections: 

II.A 

II.B 

II.D 

II.E 

II.F 

II.G 

II.H 

special conditions: 

certification 

air pollution control equipment 

fuel use and operation conditions 

continuous monitoring systems 

emission limits 

performance tests 

recordkeeping and reporting 

NSPS 

agency notification 

Acid Rain 

Regulations 

40 CFR 

Parts 72-76 

II.C.1 through 

II.C.4; 

Attachment A 

Acid Rain requirements 

Chemical Accident 

Prevention 

Program 

40 CFR 

Part 68 

III.E. CAA 112(r)(1) requirements 

Asbestos NESHAP 40 CFR 

Part 61 

III.F Requirements for demolition and renovation 

at facilities containing asbestos 
9 

Requirement Condition/

Section 

Condition in 

Pt. 71 Permit 

Description/Notes 

Subpart M 

Stratospheric 

Ozone Protection 

40 CFR 

Part 82 

III.D Requirements for treatment of class I and II 

substances 

EPA recognizes that, in some cases, sources of air pollution located in Indian country are 

subject to fewer requirements than similar sources located on land under the jurisdiction 

of a state or local air pollution control agency. However, in this case, the PSD program 

and its permitting and control requirements, one of the most robust CAA requirements, 

was triggered when SPEC first constructed its facility. 

To further address the regulatory gap in Indian county, EPA promulgated a Federal 

Implementation Plan for preconstruction review of major sources in nonattainment areas 

and of minor sources in both attainment and nonattainment areas, which became effective 

on August 30, 2011 (76 FR 38748, July 1, 2011). These programs, codified in Parts 49 

and 51 of the Code of Federal Regulations, establish pre-construction review 

requirements for sources that would be incorporated into Part 71 permits. The facility is 

not currently constructing new emission units or modifying existing emission units in the 

portion of the facility regulated by EPA. In the future, if the facility constructs new 

emission units or modifies existing emission units, it may be required to obtain a permit 

from EPA prior to construction, under the PSD program and/or the new tribal minor 

source program, depending on the amount of the emission increase, if any, associated 

with the project. 

5. Streamlining NOX Emission Limits

The two gas turbines at the facility are subject to 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart GG, Standards 

of Performance for Stationary Gas Turbines. The NOx limit required by Subpart GG for a 

turbine with a heat input at peak load greater than 100 million Btu/hour is 75 ppm (40 

CFR 60.332(a)(1)). In addition, SPEC is also subject to a BACT emission limit for NOx

from its PSD permit. This limit, 3.0 ppmdv at 15 percent oxygen, is more stringent than 

what Subpart GG requires. Therefore, EPA is streamlining the two emission limits, and 

subsuming the 75 ppm NSPS limit to the more stringent BACT limit. 

Both the PSD permit and the NSPS General Provision require that an initial source test be 

conducted within 60 days after achieving the maximum production rate of the affected 

emission units, but no later than 180 days after the initial startup of equipment. The 

NSPS does not require any on-going performance testing for NOx. The PSD permit 

requires the facility to maintain and operate a CEMS, and to conduct an annual 

performance test for NOx. Thus, the monitoring associated with the streamlined emission 

limit is more stringent than the monitoring required by the subsumed NSPS emission 

limit, and will be retained in the title V permit. 

6. Monitoring
10 

With one exception, the monitoring in the title V permit is identical to the monitoring in 

the EPA-issued PSD permit. The additional monitoring requirement included in the Title 

V permit comes from NSPS Subpart GG. Subpart GG was revised on July 8, 2004 and 

included changes to the monitoring requirements for sulfur content in fuel. Subpart GG 

revisions state that the owner or operator may elect not to monitor the total sulfur content 

of the gaseous fuel combusted in the turbine if the gaseous fuel is demonstrated to meet 

the definition of natural gas in 40 CFR § 60.331(u). The initial permit contains a custom 

fuel monitoring schedule for sulfur content. For this permit renewal, the custom fuel 

monitoring schedule has been removed as a result of the Subpart GG revisions and 

because SPEC has opted to demonstrate compliance with the sulfur content provisions 

according to 40 CFR § 60.334(h)(3). This provision requires annual fuel sampling per 40 

CFR Part 75 Appendix D, Section 2.3.1.4. The monitoring in the permit is summarized in 

Table 4 below. 

Table 4. Monitoring in the title V permit 

Requirement Requirement 

Condition # 

Monitoring from 

Underlying 

Requirement 

Monitoring 

Added to Part 

71 Permit 

Monitoring 

Condition # 

NOx limits II.A.1 through 

II.A.3 

CEMS & annual 

source test 

none II.D.1 & 6 

CO limits II.A.1, 2 & 4 CEMS & annual 

source test 

none II.D.1 & 6 

SO2 limits II.A.1 and 2 annual source test none II.D.6 

Fuel sulfur 

content limit 

II.B.1 annual fuel sampling 

plus certification that 

only natural gas is 

used 

none II.C.15 

VOC limits II.A.1 and 2 annual source test none II.D.6 

PM10 limits II.A.1, 2 & 5 annual source test none II.D.6 

6. Use of All Credible Evidence

Determinations of deviations, continuous or intermittent compliance status, or violations 

of the permit are not limited to the testing or monitoring methods required by the 

underlying regulations or this permit; other credible evidence (including any evidence 

admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence) must be considered by the source and 

EPA in such determinations. 
11 

7. EPA Authority

Title V of the Clean Air Act requires that EPA promulgate, administer, and enforce a 

Federal operating permits program when a State, local, or Tribal agency does not submit 

an approvable program within the time frame set forth by title V. Unlike States, Tribes 

are not required to develop title V operating permits programs for EPA’s approval (See 

40 CFR § 49.4), and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe has still not done so. To implement 

Title V in areas where there is not an EPA-approved State, local or Tribal operating 

permits programs, such as on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, EPA has promulgated 

regulations codified at 40 CFR Part 71 setting forth the procedures and terms under 

which the Agency will administer the program. As a result, the 40 CFR Part 71 operating 

permits program regulations are the Title V regulations that apply to this permit.