Douglas W. Domenech Secretary of Natural Resources 

# COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Street address: 629 East M ai n Street, Ric h mond

, V irginia 2321 9

Mailing address: P .O. Bo x 1 105

, Ric hm on d, Virginia 2321 8

TDD (804) 698-4021

www .deq. virginia.gov



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Diana Esher, Director

Air Protection Division (3APOO)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III

1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029 David K. Paylor
Director

(804) 698-4020

1-800-592-5482

Reference: SIP Revision for

GenOn Potomac River LLC

Dear Ms. Esher:

Pursuant to the requirements of § 11 0 of the Clean Air Act, we are officially requesting approval of a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State lmplementatjon Plan (SlP) approved and submitted under the authority of § 1 0.1-1185 of the Code of Virginia and in

accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR Part 51 (Requirements for Preparation, Adoption,

and Submittal of Implementation Plans).

The revision consists of the removal from Virginia's SIP of reference to two permits and

a consent agreement for the GenOn Potomac River, LLC (formerly PEPCO Potomac River Generating Station) located in Alexandria, Virginia. On December 21, 2012, the department and

the company entered into a mutual determination of permanent shutdown of the entire facility.

All permits were rescinded as part of the shutdown agreement. There is therefore no longer a need for reference to these documents in the SIP.

Enclosed are the following:

1. SlP revision, including the shutdown agreement, and copies of the original permits and

consent agreement.

2. Certification of public participation activities.3. Public participation record.

4. An electronic copy (CD) of the complete submittal. This electronic copy is an exact duplicate of the hard copy

.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please let us know.

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TEMPLATES\SIP-PLAN\PLNOO SRCESPEC\GenOn\GEN-SIP.DOC

Enclosures 

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Davtd K. Pay lor 'ENCLOSURE 1

1 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REVISION

REMOVAL OF TWO PERMITS AND A CONSENT AGREEMENT
FOR
GENON POTOMAC RIVER, LLC (FORMERLY PEPCO POTOMAC RIVER GENERATING STATION) ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

One of the primary goals of the federal Clea n Air Act is the attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These standards, designed to protect public health and welfare, apply to six pollutants, of which ozone is the primary focus of this action. Ozone is forme d when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO X ) in the air react in the presence of sunlight. When concentrations
of ozone in the ambient air exceed the federal standard

, the area is considered to be out of compliance and is classified as "nonattainment." A number of counties and cities within the Northern Virginia area have been identified as an ozone nonattainment area.

The Act establishes a process for evaluating the air quality in each region and identifying and classifying each no nattainment area according to the severity of its air pollution problem. Nonattainment areas are classified as marginal, moderate, serious, severe and extreme. Marginal areas are subject to the least stringent requirements and each subsequent classificat ion is subject to successively more stringent control measures. Areas in a higher classification of nonattainment must meet the mandates of the lower classifications plus the more stringent requirements of its own class. The Northern Virginia Ozone Nonat tainment Area wa s originally classified as serious for the 0.012 parts per million (ppm) standard, and is now classified as marginal for the currently effective standard of 0.075 ppm

.

Once a nonattainment area is defined, each state is obligated to submit a state implementation plan (SIP) demonstrating how it will attain the air quality standard in
each nonattainment area. As a coal

- fired electric generating facility that emitted VOC and NO X , the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Generating Station lo cated in Alexandria, Virginia

-- part of the Northern Virginia Ozone Nonattainment Area

-- has been subject to controls needed in order for the area to attain the ozone NAAQS. To this end, several enforceable mechanisms were implemented by the department and submitted to EPA as revision to the SIP. These activities are summarized in the following table, which is derived from Subpart VV o f 40 CFR Part 52

.

Source name Permit/order or registration
number State
effective
date EPA approval
date 40 CFR part 52
citation

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

- Potomac River Registration No. 70228; County

- Plant 9/18/00 12/14/00, 65 FR
78100 52.2420(d)(2).2 Generating Station [Permit to Operate] No. 510

- 0003

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

- Potomac River Generating Station [Consent Agreement] Registration No. 70228; NVRO

- 106

- 98 7/31/98 1/2/01, 66 FR 8. 52.2420(d)(3) NO X RACT requirements.

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

- Potomac River Generating Station Registration No. 70228; County Plant
No. 510

- 0003 5/8/00 1/2/01, 66 FR 8. 52.2420(d)(3) VOC
RACT requirements.

Since these controls were issued by the department to PEPCO, the facility has been purchased by GenOn and subsequently permanently shut down. The consent agreement and permits are theref ore no longer needed, and the purpose of this SIP revision is to remove these documents from the SIP.

Attainment Plan Permit to Operate

In order to demonstrate attainment of the 0.012 ppm standard, air quality modeling was performed which indicated that the implementation of certain control measures in
concert with EPA measures controlling long

- range transport would enable the area to attain the standard . One of the state

- specific controls wa s the limiting of NO X emissions from the area electric utility plants to 0.15 pounds per million Btus of heat (fuel) input to the boilers. The PEPCO facility was identified as a source subject to this control, and a state operating permit was created as a vehicle for implementing this

measure. The permit was submit ted to EPA as a revision to the Virginia SIP on September 1 9, 2000 , and was subsequently approved into the SIP on December 14, 2000 (65 FR 78100)

.

RACT Consent Agreement and Permit

The Act mandates that ozone attainment plans require the implementation of all reasonably available control measures (RACM). For the Northern Virginia a rea, the Act defined several RACMs. One of the RACMs i s to require emission controls for the precursors of ozone (VOCs and NO X ) on presently uncontrolled major stationary sou rces. Thus, in order to have a fully approvable plan, control methods for this category of sources must be analyzed and, if found to be reasonable, implemented.

In order to implement the mandate of the Act, the State Air Pollution Control Board adopted a regulation (Rule 4

- 4) which provide d that the department must, on case

- by

case basis, determine whether there is reasonably available control technology (RACT) to reduce VOC emissions and NO X emissions from major (>50 tons per year potential)
sources loca ted in the Northern Virginia Nonattainment Area for which EPA has not issued a control techniques guideline (CTG), which defines RACT for a particular source category. EPA has defined RACT as the lowest emission limit that a particular source is3 capable o f meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and economic feasibility.

The PEPCO facility was identified as a source subject to the RACT requirements. The legally enforceable mechanism to ensur e compliance with the RACT determination for the control of VOC was issued as a state operating permit on May 8, 2000, submitted to EPA on May 9, 2000 and subsequently approved into the SIP on January 2, 2001 (66 FR 8).
The legally enforceable mechanism t o ensure compliance with the RACT determination
for the control of NO X was issued as a consent agreement on July 31, 2002, submitted to EPA on October 26, 2000 and subsequently approved into the SIP on January 2, 2001 (66 FR 8)

.

Shutdown Agreement

On De cember 21, 2012

, GenOn (formerly PEPCO) and DEQ joined a mutual determination of permanent shutdown of the Alexandria, Virginia facility in accordance with 9VAC5

- 20

- 220, s hutdown of a stationary source:

A. Upon a final decision by the board that a statio nary source or emissions unit is shut down permanently, the board shall revoke any permits by written notification to the owner and remove the stationary source or emissions unit from the emission inventory or consider its emissions to be zero in any air q uality analysis conducted; and the stationary source or emissions unit shall not commence operation without a permit being issued under the applicable provisions of 9VAC5 Chapter 80 (9VAC5

- 80

- 10 et seq.).
B. The final decision shall be rendered as follows : 1. Upon a determination that the stationary source or emissions unit has not operated for a year or more, the board shall provide written notification to the owner (i) of its proposed decision that the stationary source or emissions unit is considered to be shut down permanently and (ii) that if the owner fails to provide within three months of the notice written response to the board that the shutdown is not to be considered permanent, the
decision shall become final within six months of the notice. T he response from the owner
shall include the basis for the assertion that the shutdown is not to be considered permanent and a projected date for restart

- up of the stationary source or emissions unit.
2. If the board should find that the basis for the as sertion is not sound or the projected

restart

- up date allows for an unreasonably long period of inoperation, the decision to consider the shutdown permanent shall become final one year after the date of the notice of the proposed decision. C. Nothing in a ny regulation of the board shall be construed to prevent the board and the owner from making a mutual determination that a stationary source or emissions unit is shut down permanently prior to any final decision rendered under subsection A of this section.

The state operating permit regulations also require, in accordance with subsection L of 9VAC5

- 80

- 1210 (Permit invalidation, suspension, revocation and enforcement) , that

" nothing in the regulations of the board shall be construed to prevent the board and the owner from making a mutual determination that a permit is rescinded because all of the statutory or regulatory requirements (i) upon which the permit is based or (ii) that necessitated issuance of the permit are no longer applicable. "4 Because all un its at the facility are permanently shut down, DEQ is requesting that EPA

remove reference to the rescinded consent order and permit s from the SIP. Removal of these documents will have no effect on the ability of the Northern Virginia
Nonattainment Area t o meet its nonattainment and attainment plan responsibilities; indeed, the permanent shutdown of this facility will contribute toward improvement of air quality in the area. There is therefore no need to make any changes to any other components of the SIP at this time. Finally, it is important to note that t he permanent
shutdown of this facility will also generate much needed emissions offsets that are

necessary to support the development of clean power and other new , more environmentally protective proje cts in the area

.

The shutdown agreement between GenOn and DEQ are provided in Attachment A. The original permit s and consent order are included as Attachment B.

TEMPLATES \ RACT \ PLN01

- WVA
SRCESPEC \ GenOn \ G EN

- SIP1

- PRO .DOCATTACHMENT A

5 LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE MECHANISM ( M UTUAL DETERMINATION OF PERMANENT SHUTDOWN )
TO EN ABLE RE S C I SSION OF THE PERMIT S AND CONSENT AGREEMENT
FOR

GenOn Potomac River, LLC
F ormerly Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Potomac River Generating Station City of Alexandria , Virginia

Registration No

. 70228

Under the authority provided in 9VAC5

- 20

- 220 , the Director of the Northern Regional Office signed a mutual determination of permanent shutdown with GenOn (formerly PEPCO) on December 12, 2012 , to be effective that same day. The determination was issued following the procedural requirements of 9VAC5

- 20

- 220 of Part I I of 9VAC5

- 2 0 (General Provisions)

.ATTACHMENT B

7 ORIGINAL PERMIT S AND CONSENT AGREEMENT TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH
ATTAINMENT PLAN AND RA CT REQUIREMENTS
FOR

GenOn Potomac River, LLC
F ormerly Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Potomac River Generating Station City of Alexandria , Virginia

Registration No. 70228

The permit s and consent agreement were approved and issued following the

pr ocedural requirements of Article 5 (9VAC5

- 80

- 800 et seq.) of Part II of 9VAC5

- 80 (Permits for Stationary Sources)

.

Because the affected units are permanently shut down, DEQ is requesting that EPA remove the permit s and consent agreement from the SIP.

Onl y the original permit and consent agreement documents are provided here for
reference

, because the original engineering analyses that accompanied th e se documents are very lengthy. All related materials in support of the development of
these documents are available on request.ENCLOSURE 2

CERTIFICATION OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ACTIVITIES

As required by 40 CFR 51.102(a), a public comment period to provide the opportunity to submit written comments concerning a proposed revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia State Implementation Plan was held from April 8 to May 8, 2013

.

As required by 40 CFR Part 51.102(a) and (d)(1) and (2), the public was given notice of the public comment period in the Virginia Register of Regulations, along with the location of the proposal for public inspection, on April 8, 2013 . The notice included procedures to af ford the public the opportunity to request that a hearing be held pursuant to 40 CFR 51.102(a); no such request was received. The attached copy of the notice provides the evidence required by Section 2.1(f) of Appendix V of 40 CFR Part
51.

The Regional A dministrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was notified
of the public comment period , as was each local air pollution control agency which will be significantly affected by the revision and is located in the affected Air Quality Control Regi ons. In addition, the District of Columbia and Maryland, which share affected interstate Air Quality Control Regions with Virginia, were notified of the public comment period . These notifications follow the requirements of 40 CFR Part 51.102(d).

The comp lete record of the public comment period , along with any comments received and responses thereto, is located at the Air Division of the Department of Environmental Quality. The d epartment contact to access this information is the Director, Air Division

. A summary of the comment received and responses thereto is attached.

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- PLAN \ PLN02 SRCEPEC \ GenOn \ GEN

- SIP

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## GENERAL NOTICES/ERRATA

Volume 29, Issue 16 Virginia Register of Regulations April 8, 2013

2080 GENERAL NOTICES/ERRATA STATE AIR POLLUTION CONTROL B OARD

State Implementation Plan Revision

Notice of action: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on a revision to the Commonwealth's state implementation plan (SIP) to attain and maintain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone in the Northern Virginia Ozone
Nonattainment Area. The Commonwealth intends to submit the plan revision in accordance with the requirements of § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act. The SIP is the plan developed by th e Commonwealth in order to fulfill its responsibilities under the federal Clean Air Act to attain and maintain the ambient air quality standards promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Act.

Purpose of notice: DEQ is seeking comments on the overall plan revision.

Public comment period: April 8, 2013, to May 8, 2013.

Public hearing: A public hearing will be conducted if a request is made in writing to the contact listed below. In order to be considered, the request must include the full name, address, and telephone number of the person requesting the hearing and be received by DEQ by the last day of the comment period. Notice of the date, time, and location of any requested public hearing will be announced in a separate
notice a nd another 30

- day comment period will be conducted.

Description of proposal: The proposed revision consists of the removal from Virginia's SIP of reference to two permits and a consent agreement for the GenOn (formerly PEPCO) Potomac River Generating Stati on, Alexandria, Virginia. On December 12, 2012, the department and the company entered into a mutual determination of permanent shutdown of the entire facility. All permits and consent agreements, including the two permits and consent agreement that had be en previously approved by EPA into SIP, were rescinded as part of the shutdown agreement. There is, therefore, no longer a
need for reference to these documents in the SIP.

Federal information: This notice is being given to satisfy the public participation requirements of federal regulations (40 CFR 51.102). The proposal will be submitted as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia's SIP under § 110(a) of the federal Clean Air Act in accordance with
40 CFR 51.104. It is planned to submit all provisions of the proposal as a revision to the Commonwealth of Virginia's
SIP.

How to comment: DEQ accepts written comments by email, fax, and postal mail. In order to be considered, comments must include the full name, address, and telephone number of the person comm enting and be received by DEQ by the last day of the comment period. All materials received are part of the public record. To review proposal: The proposal and any supporting documents are available on the DEQ Air Public Notices for Plans website: http://w ww.deq.state.va.us/Programs/Air/ PublicNotices/airplansandprograms.aspx. The documents may also be obtained by contacting the DEQ representative named below. The public may review the documents between
8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. of each business day until the close of the public comment period at the following DEQ locations:

1. DEQ Main Street Office, 629 East Main Street, 8th Floor, Richmon d, VA, telephone (804) 698

- 4070 and

2. Northern Regional Office, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA, telephone (703) 583

- 3800.

Contact Information: James B. LaFratta, Department of Environmental Quality, 13901 Crown Court, Woodbridge, VA 22193, telephone (703) 583

- 3928, FAX (703) 583

- 3821, TDD (804) 698

- 4021, or email james.lafratta@deq.virginia.gov.

DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVAT ION AND RECREATION

Notice of Public Meeting

- Elk Creek

The Department of Conservation and Recreation will host a public meeting to discuss the development of a water quality improvement plan for reducing fecal bacteria contamination
in Elk Creek within Gr ayson County, Virginia. The purpose of the meeting is to provide an overview of the process for developing the plan and solicit feedback from local stakeholders regarding the residential and agricultural practices that are needed in order to improve water quality.

The public meeting will be held at the Elk Creek Rescue Squad Building located at 9109 Elk Creek Parkway, Elk Creek, VA, on April 11, 2013, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Fecal bacteria levels in Elk Creek do not meet state water quality standards d esigned to protect the recreational use (e.g., swimming, wading, kayaking, etc.) of this water body. Due to this water quality impairment, a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for fecal bacteria has been developed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Q uality (DEQ). A TMDL describes the amount of pollution that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. The bacteria TMDL study for Elk Creek was completed in September 2009. The Bacteria TMDL Development for Elk Creek study report can be found on DEQ's website at: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/portals/0/DEQ/Water/TMDL/ap ptmdls/newrvr/elkec.pdf

.
Section 62.1

- 44.19:7 C of the Code of Virginia req uires the development of a plan for water bodies that have approved TMDLs, that when implemented, will result in the achievement of TMDLs and attainment of water quality standards. The Virginia Department of Conservation and
Recreation has been authorized to develop water qualityENCLOSURE 3

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION RECORD

As required by 40 CFR 51.102(e), the complete record of the public comment period

, along with the text of the written comments , is located at the Air Division of the Department of Environmental Quality. The Department contact to access this information is the Director, Air Division

.

As required by Section 2.1(h) of Appendix V of 40 CFR Part 51, below is a summary of
the comments received and responses thereto . Included is a brief statement of the subject, the identification of the commenter, the summary of the comment and the response (analysis and action taken). Each issue is discussed in light of all of the
comments received that affect that issue. All co mments have been reviewed and responses developed based on an evaluation of the issues raised in consideration of the overall goals and objectives of the air quality program and the intended purpose of
the document under review.

1. SUBJECT: Support for the proposal.

COMMENTER: Sierra Club

TEXT: In light of the fact that the GenOn p lant has now shutdown permanently, the presence of the three enforceable mechanisms in the SIP is unnecessary. Accordingly, DEQ’s proposed action to remove these items fro m the Virginia SIP is entirely appropriate. Further ensuring that ozone

- causing pollution from the Potomac River Plant is prevented is a salutary step towards protecting air quality in the region.

The Sierra Club commends DEQ for working with GenOn and E PA to officially shut down the Potomac River Generating Station last yea r. The Sierra Club hopes that DEQ will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that air quality in the state improves in order to attain the ozone and all other NAAQS.

RESPONSE : Support for the proposal is appreciated.

TEMPLATES \ SIP

- PLAN \ PLN03

- PC SRCESPEC \ GenOn \ GEN

- SIP

- 3.DOC