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Public Notice – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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Notice of Regulatory Hearing 

Adoption of Regulations and Other Matters Before the 

State Environmental Commission 

The State Environmental Commission (SEC) will hold a regulatory hearing on 

Wednesday, December 9th 2009 at 10:30 am. The hearing location is the 

Nevada Department of Wildlife's Conference Room A, 1100 Valley Road, Reno, 

Nevada. The purpose of the hearing is to receive comments from all interested 

persons regarding the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the following 

regulatory petitions and related SEC business. The following items will be 

discussed and acted upon but may be taken in different order to accommodate 

the interest and time of the persons attending. 

1) Approval of minutes: 06/17/09 and 10/06/09 SEC hearings * Action Items 

 

2) Settlement Agreements, Air Quality Violations *Action - Consent Calendar 

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Air Quality Planning / Air Pollution Control * Action Item 

3) Regulation R004-09: Nevada’s Electrical Generation Unit Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions Mandatory Reporting Requirements: This regulation was adopted as 

a temporary regulations at the State Environmental Commission’s (SEC) 

November 12, 2008 regulatory hearing. The Nevada Division of Environmental 

Protection is now proposing to convert the temporary regulation to a 

permanent regulation. The regulation requires companies that operate electric 

generating units which emit Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) and have maximum 

design output capacities of 5 megawatts or more, which is for sale, to report 

their GHG emissions. The information collected will be used to create a 

registry of GHG emissions. The regulation is required by Senate Bill 422, which 

was passed during the 2007 Legislature. The content of the permanent 

regulation is identical to that of the temporary regulation previously adopted. 

The proposed regulation does not overlap or duplicate any regulations of other 

state or government agencies; to date there are no greenhouse gas reporting 

requirements in existing federal regulations. This regulation does not address 

fees and will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic impact on 

the public or the business community. 

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Public Notice – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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4) R130-09: Changes to Motor Vehicle Emission Program: This regulation 

changes certain emission inspection and maintenance requirements contained 

in Chapter 445B of the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). The proposed 

regulation aligns the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program 

with recent changes made in statute (A.B. 414) during the 2009 Nevada 

Legislative session. 

The regulation will expand Nevada's I/M provisions to include diesel-powered 

vehicles weighing up to 14,000 pounds; it will establish standards for testing 

emissions from reconstructed vehicles and trimobiles [e.g., three wheel 

motorized vehicles]; and it will exempt certain trimobiles from emissions 

testing. The regulation also revises the definition of heavy duty motor vehicle 

to conform to the statutory changes noted above. 

While the regulation does not affect businesses directly, it will have an effect 

on certain individuals who register vehicles in Clark County or Washoe County 

(i.e., Las Vegas and Reno). Vehicles subject to the regulation (about 9,500 

diesel-powered vehicles in the 10,000 to 14,000 pound weight-range) would 

require an annual emissions test performed at a nominal cost. Otherwise, the 

proposed regulation does not overlap or duplicate any regulations of other 

state or government agencies; it does not directly assess fees, and will only 

have a nominal economic impact on the public. 

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5) R147-09: Class I Air Quality Operating Permit to Construct (OPTC): This 

regulation establishes requirements and timelines for air quality permits 

involving case-by-case determinations for maximum achievable control 

technologies (MACT) as required under federal rules governing the National 

Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. Specifically, the proposed 

regulation aligns the permit application procedures for applications requiring a 

case-by-case MACT determination with the procedures for PSD (Prevention of 

Significant Deterioration) Air Quality Permit applications. The regulation is 

needed since the current Class I OPTC regulation does not allow sufficient time 

for processing case-by-case MACT applications and is inconsistent with existing 

federal rules. 

 

This regulation will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic 

impact on the public or the business community. There is no additional cost to 

the agency for enforcement of the proposed regulation and the regulation does 

not overlap, duplicate or conflict with any regulations of other government 

agencies. The regulation does not address fees. 

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6) R148-09: Revision to Air Emissions Limits at NV Energy’s Reid-Gardner 

Generating Station: This regulation would revise the requirement for SO2

emission limits at NV Energy's Reid-Gardner [electrical power] Generating 

Station located northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The regulation would lower the 

emission limits from 0.25 lb/106 Btu to 0.15 lb/106

 Btu, 24-hour average, for 
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Public Notice – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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units 1, 2 and 3. Both the 0.25 lb/106 Btu and the proposed limit would become 

effective on January 1, 2015 or 5 years after approval of Nevada's Regional 

Haze State Implementation Plan by the U.S. EPA. 

As way of background, the federal Regional Haze Regulations Final Rule (RHR) 

(64FR35714, July 1999) requires states to establish emission reduction 

strategies for improving visibility in all 156 mandatory Class I national parks and 

wilderness areas in the United States. One of the strategies required by the 

RHR is the application of best available retrofit technology (BART) to certain 

existing sources. Electrical generating units 1, 2 and 3 at NV Energy's ReidGardner Generating Station are subject to the BART requirement. 

This regulation will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic 

impact on the public or the business community. There is no additional cost to 

the agency for enforcement of the proposed regulation and the regulation does 

not overlap, duplicate or conflict with any regulations of other government 

agencies. The regulation does not address fees.

Other SEC Business 

7) Administrator's Briefing to the Commission *Non Action Item

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8) Public Comment * Non Action Items: (Public comment may be limited to ten 

minutes per person at the discretion of the chairperson; See AG Reference @ 

Pages 58 & 81) at http://ag.state.nv.us/publications/manuals/omlmanual.pdf

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Additional Information: 

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed actions of the State 

Environmental Commission (SEC) may appear at the scheduled public hearing or 

may address their comments, data, views, or arguments in written form to: 

State Environmental Commission, 901 South Stewart Street, Suite 4001, Carson 

City, Nevada 89701-5249. The SEC must receive written submissions at least 

five days before the scheduled public hearing. 

If a person that may be directly affected by a proposed action does not appear 

and request time to make an oral presentation at the above referenced 

hearing, the SEC may proceed immediately to act upon any written submissions 

described in this notice. 

Members of the public can inspect copies of the regulations to be adopted at 

the State Library and Archives in Carson City (100 Stewart Street), and at the 

offices of the Division of Environmental Protection in Carson City and Las 

Vegas. The Carson City office is located at 901 South Stewart Street, Suite 

4001 and the Las Vegas office is located at 2030 E. Flamingo Rd. Suite 230. 
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Public Notice – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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In addition, copies of this public notice and the accompanying regulations have 

been deposited electronically at major library branches in each county in 

Nevada. This notice and the text of the proposed regulations are available on 

the State Environmental Commission’s website at http://www.sec.nv.gov/index.htm

All of the proposed regulations denoted in this notice, including previous 

drafts, are also posted on the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s website at 

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Register/

Members of the public who are disabled and require special accommodations or 

assistance at the meeting are requested to notify, in writing, the Nevada State 

Environmental Commission, in care of John B. Walker, Executive Secretary, 901 

South Stewart Street, Suite 4001, Carson City, Nevada 89701-5249, facsimile 

(775) 687-5856, or by calling (775) 687-9308, no later than 5:00 p.m. on 

December 1st 2009. 

As required by the provisions of chapters 233B and 241 of Nevada Revised 

Statutes, this public notice has been posted at the following locations: The 

Bryan Building in Carson City (901 S. Stewart Street), the State Library and 

Archives in Carson City (101 North Carson Street), the Nevada Department of 

Wildlife in Reno (1100 Valley Road) and the Offices of the Division of 

Environmental Protection in Carson City and Las Vegas. Copies of this notice 

and the proposed regulations will also be mailed to members of the public upon 

request. A reasonable fee may be charged for copies if deemed necessary. 

Upon adoption of any regulation, the SEC, if requested to do so by an 

interested person, either before adoption or within 30 days thereafter, will 

issue a concise statement of the principal reasons for and against its adoption 

and incorporate therein its reason for overruling the consideration urged 

against its adoption.