CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD 

APCD/AQMD RULE EVALUATION FORM -- Page 1

(Electronic Format) 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 

District: Placer County Air Pollution Control District 

Rule No(s): 233 Date adopted/Amended/Rescinded: June 14, 2012 

Rule Title(s): Biomass Boilers 

Date Submitted to ARB: 

If an Amended Rule, Date Last Amended (or Adopted): June 10, 2009 

Is the Rule Intended to be Sent to the U.S. EPA as a SIP Revision? Yes No (If No, do not complete remainder of form)

District Contact: John Finnell Phone Number: (530) 745-2324 E-mail Address: jfinnell@placer.ca.gov 

Narrative Summary of New Rule or Rule Changes: New Rule Amended Rule 

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a formal limited approval and limited disapproval of the 

Rule 233, Biomass Boilers, in the Federal Registry, Volume 77, Number 12, on January 10, 2012. The limited 

disapproval indicated that the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission limit in Section 301 of 115 ppmv corrected to 12% 

CO2 three-hour rolling average did not represent current Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) and 

should be lowered. 

 

In response to the limited disapproval, the District amended the Rule to add a NOx limitation of 68 ppmv corrected 

to 12% CO2 twenty-four hour block average. This is equivalent to the NOx limit of 90 ppmv correct to 3% O2 

adopted by Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District and San Joaquin Valley Unitified Air Pollution Control 

District. 

The Rule is applicable to two existing biomass boilers in Placer County. Ammonia injection is used to control 

NOx emissions. The NOx limit is considered achievable. Continuous emissions monitors (CEMS) measure NOx, 

CO and CO2 and will be utilized to enforce the new NOx limit. 

Pollutant(s) Regulated by the Rule (Check): ROG (NOx) SO2 

 (CO) PM TAC (name): 

II. EFFECT ON EMISSIONS 

Complete this section ONLY for rules that, when implemented, will result in quantifiable changes in emissions. Attach reference(s) for emission factor(s) 

and other information. Attach calculation sheet showing how the emission information provided below was determined. 

Net Effect on Emissions: Increase Decrease N/A 

Emission Reduction Commitment in SIP for this Source Category: Adoption of this rule was was originally required by the 

Federal Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, required adoption of source specific regulations for major sources of 

nitrogen oxides (NOx) pursuant to Sections 182(b)(2)(C) and 182 (f) and subsequently adopted into the SIP in 1996, 

When the rule was amended in 2009 to address startup and shutdown issues the EPA declined to approve it into the 

SIP unless the NOx limit met current RACT. This amendment was adopted to satisfy the limited disapproval by EPA 

of Rule 233 and obtain approval into the State Implementation Plan (SIP). 

Inventory Year Used to Calculate Changes in Emissions: N/A Area Affected: N/A 

N/A 

Future Year Control Profile Estimate (Provide information on as many years as possible): 

N/A 
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CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD 

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5/1/2002 

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Baseline Inventory in the SIP for the Control Measure: N/A 

Emissions Reduction Commitment in the SIP for the Control Measure: None 

Revised Baseline Inventory (if any): N/A 

Revised Emission Reduction Estimate (if developed): N/A 

Note that the district’s input to the Rule Evaluation Form will not be used as input to the ARB’s emission forecasting and 

planning. 

III. SOURCES/ATTAINMENT STATUS 

District is: Attainment Nonattainment Split 

Approximate Total Number of Small (<100 TPY) Sources Affected by this Amendment: 0

Percent in Nonattainment Area: 0% 

Number of Large (> 100 TPY) Sources Controlled: 2 Percent in Nonattainment Area: 100% 

Name(s) and Location(s) (city and county) of Large (> 100 TPY) Sources Controlled by Rule (Attach additional sheets as 

necessary): Sierra Pacific Industries (Lincoln) and Rio Bravo (Sunset Whitney) 

IV. EMISSION REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY 

Does the Rule Include Emission Limits that are Continuous? Yes No 

If Yes, Those Limits are in Section(s) 301 of the Rule. 

Other Methods in the Rule for Achieving Emission Reductions are: NA 

V. OTHER REQUIREMENTS 

The Rule Contains: 

Emission Limits in Section(s): 301, Limitations Work Practice Standards in Section(s): NA 

Recordkeeping Requirements in Section(s): 501, Recordkeeping Reporting Requirements in Section(s): 502, 

 Continuous Emissions Monitoring 
CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD 

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VI. IMPACT ON AIR QUALITY PLAN 

 No Impact Impacts RFP Impacts attainment 

Discussion: There is no impact on current air quality plans.