Agenda – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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SEC Meeting Agenda December 09 2009 

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 for 06/17/09 and 10/06/09 SEC hearings * Action Item 

2) Settlement Agreements, Air Quality Violations * Action Item 

 Frehner Construction Company 

 Granite Construction Company 

 James Hardie Building Products, Inc 

 Road & Highway Builders, LLC 

 Sierra Nevada Construction, Inc. 

 Wulfenstein Construction, Inc. 

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 regulation 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. 
Agenda – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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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. 

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. 

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. 
Agenda – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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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 

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)

NDEP's Administrator will provide the Commission with informational updates 

about the Queenstake agreement, stimulus funding under the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and initial results of Mercury fugitive 

emissions research conducted by the University of Nevada, (i.e., the research 

focused on measuring mercury emissions from a variety of surfaces disturbed 

by mining activities at Newmont’s Twin Creeks Mine, the Cortez Pipeline, and a 

Barrick mining property). 

8) Public Comment * Non Action Item: (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: Copies of materials referenced in this agenda may be 

obtained by calling the Executive Secretary, John Walker at (775) 687-9308. 

The public notice and the text of materials for the meeting are also available 

on the State Environmental Commission website at: 

http://www.sec.nv.gov/main/hearing_1209.htm

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed actions on this agenda may 

appear at the scheduled public hearing or may address their comments, data, 

views, or arguments in written form to: State Environmental Commission, 901 
Agenda – SEC Regulatory Hearing 12/09/2009 

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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 no person who is directly affected by the proposed action appears to 

request time to make an oral presentation, the SEC may proceed immediately 

to act upon any written submissions. 

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. 

This agenda has been posted at the following locations: the Bryan Building 

(901 South Stewart Street, Carson City, Nevada); the State Library and Archives 

in Carson City (100 Stewart Street) at the offices of the Division of 

Environmental Protection in Las Vegas (2030 E. Flamingo Rd. Suite 230) and at 

the Department of Wildlife in Reno (11 Valley Road). 

In addition, copies of this agenda have been deposited electronically at major 

library branches in each county in Nevada. 

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 PM on 

December 01, 2009.