4/14 RULE 54: 1

VENTURA COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

RULE 54 - SULFUR COMPOUNDS (Adopted 7/2/68, Revised and Renumbered 10/22/68, R evised 6/24/69, 5/23/72, 7/5/83, 06/14/94, 01/14/14)

A. Applicability

This rule is applicable to any person who discharg es sulfur compounds into the atmosphere from any source whatsoever.

B. Requirements

No person shall discharge sulfur compounds which wo uld exist as a liquid or gas at standard conditions, in excess of the concentration s listed below.

1. Sulfur compounds calculated as sulfur dioxide (S O 2 ) by volume at the point of
discharge:

a. Exceeding 300 ppm by volume, on a dry basis, fro m any combustion operation, corrected to exhaust gas oxygen content as follows:

1) For sources subject to Rule 59 Electrical Power Gen erating Equipment – Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions, corrected to 3%

oxygen;

2) For sources subject to Rule 74.9 Stationary Interna l Combustion Engines, corrected to 15% oxygen;

3) For sources subject to Rule 74.11 Natural Gas-Fired Water Heaters, corrected to 3% oxygen;

4) For sources subject to Rule 74.11.1 Large Water Hea ters and Small Boilers, corrected to 3% oxygen;

5) For sources subject to Rule 74.15 Boilers, Steam Ge nerators and Process Heaters (5MMBTUs and greater), corrected to 3% oxygen;

6) For sources subject to Rule 74.15.1 Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters (1 to 5 MMBTUs), corrected to 3% ox ygen;

7) For sources subject to Rule 74.17.1 Municipal Solid Waste Landfills or 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart WWW – Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills:

a. Boilers corrected to 3% oxygen;4/14 RULE 54: 2 b. Process heaters corrected to 3% oxygen;

c. Enclosed flares corrected to 3% oxygen;

d. Internal combustion engines corrected to 15% oxygen ;

e. Turbines corrected to 15% oxygen;

f. All other sources corrected to 3% oxygen;

8) For sources subject to Rule 74.23 Stationary Gas Tu rbines, corrected to 15% oxygen;

9) For all other flares, corrected to 15% oxygen;

10) For all other combustion operations, corrected to 1 5% oxygen; or;

b. Exceeding 500 ppm by volume from any other opera tion.

2. Sulfur dioxide which results in average ground o r sea level concentrations at any point at or beyond the property line in excess of t he amounts shown below:

Concentration Averaging Time

0.25 ppm (Vol) 1 hour

0.04 ppm (Vol) 24 hours

a. Sulfur dioxide which results in ground or sea le vel concentrations at any point at or beyond the property line such that the 1-hour average design value exceeds 0.075 ppm (Vol).

1) For purposes of Subsection B.2.a of this Rule, t he design value is derived from the 3-year average of annual 99th perc entile daily

maximum 1-hour values. At the District’s discretio n, compliance with the ground or sea level concentration limit in Subsection B.2.a of this rule may be demonstrated using EPA-approved dispersion models or ambient air monitoring. If the District requires ambient air monitoring, the test method(s) listed in Subsec tion D.2 of this rule must be employed.

2) To demonstrate compliance using dispersion model ing, the annual

99 th percentile daily maximum at each receptor is deter mined from model results as follows: for each year of meteorol ogical data modeled, select from each day the maximum hourly mo deled SO 2 concentration value and sort all these daily maximu m hourly values by descending value. The 99 th percentile is the 4 th highest value for each modeled year. Calculate the average of the 99 th
percentile values for three consecutive years of mo deling data for each receptor. Compliance is demonstrated if this average value is4/14 RULE 54: 3 less than or equal to the design value concentratio n limit in Subsection B.2.a of this Rule at each receptor.

3) Compliance with the limit in subsection B.2.a ma y also be demonstrated using EPA-approved screen models. Com pliance is

demonstrated if the 1-hour SO 2 ground or sea level concentration
does not exceed 0.075 ppm (Vol) at or beyond the pr operty line.

4) If ambient air monitoring data is used to demons trate compliance, the design value must be calculated in accordance w ith 40 CFR Part 50 Appendix T – Interpretation of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Sulfur (Sulfur Dioxide).

3. Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2 S) exceeding 10 ppm, by volume, at the point of dis charge.

4. Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) which results in average ground or sea level
concentrations at any point at or beyond the proper ty line in excess of the amounts shown in the following table:

Concentration Averaging Time

0.06 ppm 3 minutes

0.03 ppm 1 hour

For purposes of Subsections B.1 and B.2 of this Rul e, all sulfur present in gaseous molecular compounds containing oxygen shall be calc ulated as SO 2 . For purposes of

Subsections B.3 and B.4 of this Rule, all reduced s ulfur compounds present shall be

calculated as H 2 S.

C. Exemptions

1. Unplanned Flaring: The provisions of Subsection s B.1 and B.2 shall not apply to the unplanned burning of gas for emergency or safet y concerns provided all the following conditions have been met:

a. The flaring is not the result of an intentional or negligent act or omission on the part of the operator or owner.

b. The flaring is not the result of improper mainte nance or improper setting

of:

1) High-pressure, high-temperature or high-level sh ut-in sensors. A proper setting for a high-pressure shut-in sensor i s one which is4/14 RULE 54: 4 greater than 90 percent of the maximum allowed by a pplicable safety regulations.

2) Low-pressure, low-temperature, or low-level shut -in sensors. A proper setting for a low-pressure shut-in sensor is one which is less than 110 percent of the minimum allowed by applicab le safety regulations.

c. The flaring event results from operational probl ems, including but not limited to: emergency blowdowns, process upsets, p ower outages, and equipment breakdown.

d. Records or logs of each flaring event shall be k ept which include the following information:

1) Operator initials, date, time, duration, volume of gas flared.

2) Reason for flaring including description of any equipment

involved.

3) If involved in flaring, setting of high-pressure , high-temperature, or high-level shut-in sensor or pressure relief val ve, and maximum allowed high-pressure shut-in sensor setting by app licable safety regulations.

4) If involved in flaring, setting of low-pressure, low-temperature, or low-level shut-in sensor, and minimum allowed low-p ressure shutin sensor setting by applicable safety regulations.

5) Description of corrective measure taken to come into compliance

with Subsections B.1 and B.2 of this Rule.

6) For flaring events lasting one hour, or longer, description of actions to be taken to prevent the flaring event fr om recurring.

All records shall be retained for a minimum of two years from the date of each entry and shall be made available to District personnel upon request.

e. The owner or operator immediately undertakes app ropriate corrective measures to come into compliance with Subsections B .1 and B.2 of this

Rule.

f. The unplanned flaring event shall not exceed 24 hours in duration. If the flaring event exceeds 1 hour in duration, the opera tor shall:4/14 RULE 54: 5 1) Notify the APCO as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than four hours after its detection by the operator.

2) Within one week after the flaring event, submit a written report to

the APCO which contains records from Subsection C.1 .d, an estimate of sulfur emissions, and pictures or descr iptions of the equipment or controls that failed.

g. Sulfur emissions are minimized.

2. Planned Flaring Events: The provisions of Subse ctions B.1 and B.2 shall not apply to the planned burning of gas provided all of the following conditions have

been met:

a. A notice to flare has been submitted in writing at least 72 hours prior to such work being done, which justifies that such wor k shall be done. This written notice may be submitted less than 72 hours prior to the event provided that it is justified in writing by the ope rator for at least one of the following reasons: imminent hazardous situation, c onsiderable economic harm to the company, or excess emissions. This wri tten notice shall contain the following information:

1) Description of the safety, maintenance or produc tion work that requires the proposed flaring event.

2) Expected date and time marking the start and end of the proposed flaring event.

3) Expected gas volume (MCF) and expected sulfur em issions (as pounds of SO 2 ).

4) Description of steps to be taken or equipment mo difications to be

made to minimize sulfur emissions.

b. Each operator shall submit a planned flaring man agement plan to the APCO for approval no later than 180 days after June 14, 1994. This plan shall include at least the following:

1) A description of all measures to be implemented to decrease flare gas volume and reduce sulfur emissions. One measur e that shall be included in the Plan involves a method of depres surizing vessels, compressors and pipelines to prevent flari ng.

2) A description of all planned operational or main tenance procedures that may cause flaring.4/14 RULE 54: 6 3) A description of each flare system including des ign features such as type, dimensions, flow or pressure capacity, pro cess flow diagrams, flow monitoring systems, sulfur measureme nt procedures, and pilot and purge gas features.

4) A description of any sulfur reduction system, in cluding process name, process flow diagrams, design capacity, and e mission control efficiency.

5) A description of all measures to be implemented to reduce the number of planned flaring events including changes to maintenance or production schedules or installation of new procedures or equipment.

6) Any other information determined by the APCO tha t is necessary for evaluating the qualifications of a source for t his exemption.

c. Records of the date, time, duration, flare volum e and estimated sulfur emissions (as pounds of SO 2 ) are kept during the entire flaring event.

These records shall be retained for a minimum of tw o years from the date of each entry and shall be made available to Distri ct personnel upon

request.

d. The District is notified in writing when work is completed. This notice shall include all updated information from Subsecti on C.2.a.1 through

Subsection C.2.a.4.

e. Sulfur emissions are minimized during the operat ion.

f. No flaring shall occur unless an excess emission fee of $5.00 per pound of sulfur compounds (calculated as SO 2 ) emitted is paid to
the District per calendar year (Section N of Rule 4 2). For each source, an SO 2 emission is excess when and after the source's
flare gas volume allowance has been exceeded during the calendar year. The flare gas volume allowance is 9 1 percent of the average of the two highest, consecutive, annual flare gas volumes in the applicable six year period as specif ied below.

These excess emissions shall be determined by the o perator and the records of those measurements, including gas fl ows and

calculated SO 2 concentrations, shall be submitted to the District
no later than 15 days after the end of each calenda r year.

1) For sources operating prior to January 1, 1988, the flare gas volume allowance is calculated from the planned fla ring conducted4/14 RULE 54: 7 during the period from January 1, 1988 through Dece mber 31, 1993; or

2) For sources constructed after January 1, 1988, the flare gas volume allowance is calculated from the planned flaring co nducted during the first six whole calendar years of operation.

D. Test Methods

1. Sulfur compounds at the point of discharge shall be determined by EPA Test Methods 6, 6A, 6C, 8, 15, 16A, 16B, or South Coast AQMD Test Method 307-91 (Determination of Sulfur in a Gaseous Matrix), as a ppropriate. Hydrogen sulfide emissions from a point of discharge may be determin ed using a portable monitor provided the instrument is operated and calibrated according to manufacturer's instructions. The portable monitor shall meet the following minimum specifications:

a. Resolution of 1 ppm H 2 S.
b. Accuracy of +/- 5 ppm at 50 ppm H 2 S.
c. Drift of 1.5 percent of span over 200 days. d. Intrinsically safe power source.

2. Ground or sea level concentrations of H 2 S and SO 2 shall be determined by Bay
Area Air Quality Management District Manual of Proc edures, Volume VI, Section 1, Ground Level Monitoring for Hydrogen Sul fide and Sulfur Dioxide (July 20, 1994) with the following amendments:

a. The wind direction shall be continuously measure d and recorded to within 5 degrees of arc, and wind speed shall be continuou sly measured and recorded to within 0.25 miles per hour (mph) at win d speeds less than 25 mph and with a threshold no greater than 0.2 mph.

b. The meteorological instruments and siting requir ements shall comply with the guidelines in "Quality Assurance Handbook for A ir Pollution Measurements Systems, Volume IV, Meteorological Mea surements Version 2.0," EPA-454/B-08-002, March 2008.

c. The gas standards shall be restandardized agains t the reference wet chemical method at a minimum of once every 12 month s, or be standardized using National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard gases.

E. Definitions

1. "Flaring Event": A flaring event is any flaring that occurs for 10 minutes or longer.4/14 RULE 54: 8

2. "Planned-Flaring Event": A planned-flaring even t is one which results from operations identified in the operator's Planned Fla ring Management Plan.

3. "Unplanned-Flaring Event": Any flaring event th at occurs as a result of an unforeseen process upset or an equipment malfunctio n or breakdown.