Document ID: EPA-R09-OAR-2016-0262-0006
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2016-08-01T04:00Z

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                            REGION IX AIR DIVISION

                          Technical Support Document 
                                      for
                              EPA's Rulemaking
                                    for the
                     California State Implementation Plan
                                       
          Ventura County Air Pollution Control District Rule 74.15.1
                Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters

                              
                            Prepared by: Kevin Gong

                                 April 1, 2016

RULE IDENTIFICATION  
Agency
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District  (VCAPCD)

SIP Approved Rule
Rule 74.15.1  -  Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters
Revised  -  September 11, 2012
Submitted  -  April 22, 2013
EPA Approved - May 19, 2014 (79 FR 28612)

Subject of this TSD
Rule 74.15.1  -  Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters
Revised  -  June 23, 2015
Submitted  -  November 13, 2015
 
Completeness Finding
Determination of Completeness Letter: January 19, 2016

BACKGROUND 
VCAPCD regulates the Ventura County nonattainment area, which is classified as a "Severe" nonattainment area (NAA) for the 1994 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), and as "Serious" for the 1997 8-hour ozone and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (see 40 CFR part 81). The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that for areas classified as moderate or above nonattainment, the State must submit revisions to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) requiring the implementation of reasonably available control technology (RACT) (see sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)). This rule was revised in part to ensure continued compliance with the CAA RACT requirement and to fulfil the commitment for additional emission reductions from this category found in VCAPCD's 2007 Air Quality Management Plan.

RULE SUMMARY 
Rule 74.15.1 establishes emission limits for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) for boilers, steam generators and process heaters with a rated heat input capacity between 1 million BTU and 5 million BTU. It also describes related recordkeeping, reporting, and monitoring requirements. Changes from the approved SIP rule include:

1.	Clarifications to section A to define units as fired by certain gaseous or liquid fuels, and to include both stationary and portable process heaters.
                                          
2.	Revisions at section B.2 to include new emission limits for new or replacement units installed after January 1, 2016 broken down by fuel type.

3.	Revisions at section B.4 to reduce testing frequency for units with a rated heat input capacity of greater than 2 million BTU/hr, and subject to the new emission limits at B.2 to no less than once every 48 months, provided they meet annual screening requirements.

4.	A new exemption at C.2 for low use portable oil well dewaxing process heaters from emission limits in B.1.

5.	Additional recordkeeping requirements at D.3 for the maintenance of records from annual screenings required under B.4.

6.	Additional approved test method at E.1, South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) "Compliance Protocol for the Measurement of Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, and Oxygen from Sources Subject to SCAQMD Rules 1146 and 1146.1" dated March 10, 2009, to ensure compliance with requirements in B.

7.	Clarified definition for the term "process heater" to clearly exclude specified combustion sources from applicability to this rule.

8.	Additional definitions for terms previously undefined in this rule.

9.	Various corrections to update references changed due to re-numbering of rule provisions, and several grammatical changes for clarity.

EVALUATION CRITERIA 
The following criteria were used to evaluate the submitted rule. 

1.	Enforceability - The Bluebook (Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations, EPA, May 25, 1988) and the Little Bluebook (Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies, EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001) were used to help evaluate compliance with the CAA §110(a)(2)(A) requirement for enforceability. 

      2.	Stringency - SIPs must require RACT for each category of sources covered by a Control Technique Guideline (CTG) document as well as each major source in ozone nonattainment areas (see sections 182(b)(2) and 182(f)). EPA's CTGs titled "Control Techniques for Nitrogen Oxides Emissions from Stationary Sources  -  Second Edition" (EPA-450/1-78-001, January 1978), and "Alternative Control Techniques Document  -  NOx Emissions from Process Heaters (Revised)" (EPA-453/R-93-034, September 1993), CARB's RACT/BARCT guidance titled, "Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters" (July 18, 1991), and other state and local rules for this category were used to help evaluate the RACT requirements of CAA §182(b)(2) and §182(f). 

      3.	SIP Relaxation - CAA §110(l) prohibits EPA from approving any SIP revision that would interfere with any applicable requirement concerning attainment and reasonable further progress (RFP) or any other applicable requirement of the CAA. In addition, CAA §193 prohibits the modification of any SIP-approved control requirement in effect before November 15, 1990, in a nonattainment area.
      
EPA EVALUATION 
A summary of our evaluation of the three criteria follows.

      1. 	The provisions of VCAPCD Rule 74.15.1 are generally clear and enforceable. 
      
      	VCAPCD reduced the testing frequency of full source tests for newer large units (2 million BTU/hr and larger, constructed or replaced after January 1, 2016), to align with the same testing regime for smaller units. The District has justified this reduction in frequency with the requirement that all applicable units undergo annual emissions screenings with portable analyzers for each year that a full source test is not conducted. Operators are required to maintain records of these screenings, and to inform the District when they are conducted. We believe that this change is an overall improvement to the enforceability of the requirements in this rule as it requires more frequent testing overall. EPA has determined that testing conducted by trained operators with properly calibrated portable analyzers is credible evidence (although somewhat less accurate) in determining compliance with emission limits. More frequent screenings are more robust overall as a warning mechanism for operators or the District against non-compliance with emission limits.

      2. 	The submitted rule is as stringent as other California district's rules for this category, including SCAQMD Rule 1146.1 for units fueled by natural gas, landfill gas and biogas, and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) Rule 4307 for natural gas sources. It is also more stringent than CARB's RACT/BARCT guidance. The District's staff report estimated that the more stringent emission limits for new and replacement units for most fuel categories would reduce NOx emissions by 9.3 tons per year.
      
      3. 	Revisions to section C.2 exempt portable oil well dewaxing process heaters with an annual heat input rate of less than 2.8 million BTUs from the emission limits for existing units in B.1. The District estimates that this exemption (which currently applies to a single existing source) would result in 0.29 tons per year of uncaptured NOx. This is a small increase in comparison to the estimated reductions, and would not interfere with overall progress towards attainment.
      
      	Additionally, section G.13 is amended to clarify the types of combustion sources that are excluded from the definition of "process heater," including kilns, ovens, open heated tanks, dehydrators, dryers (including tenter frame, fabric, and carpet dryers), crematories, incinerators, calciners, cookers, roasters, and furnaces (including metal heat treating or metal furnaces, and glass melting furnaces). The District states that this clarifies existing policy. We agree that sources such as kilns, dryers, cookers, calciners, and incinerators are generally exempt from similar process heater rules in other Districts. These Districts regulate these sources in other SIP-approved rules specifically applicable to these sources.
      
      	The District has clarified via phone and email that they have never considered any of these exempted sources to be "process heaters" and have never regulated any such sources under Rule 74.15.1. The District also confirmed that units defined under subsections G.13 e and f do not currently exist in Ventura County. Thus, this clarification does not constitute backsliding under §110(l).
      
      	We propose to determine that our approval of the submittal would comply with CAA §§110(l) and 193 because (1) the proposed SIP revision would not interfere with the ongoing process for ensuring that requirements for RFP and attainment of the NAAQS are met, and (2) the emission limits in the submitted rule are more stringent than the existing SIP-approved control requirements that they would replace.
      
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEXT RULE REVISION 
The following revisions are not currently the basis for rule disapproval, but are recommended for the next time the rule is amended. 

1.	Consider standardizing the use of scientific notation or the term "million" in reference to BTU terms, for example in sections B.1 and B.2.

EPA ACTION 
The submitted Rule 74.15.1 strengthens the SIP, and the associated District staff report projects it will reduce yearly NOx emissions. The rule largely fulfils the relevant CAA §110 and part D requirements. Therefore, EPA staff recommends approval of Rule 74.15.1 pursuant to CAA §110(k)(3) and §301(a). 

REFERENCES 
 "Issues Relating to VOC Regulation Cutpoints, Deficiencies, and Deviations," (a.k.a., Bluebook) EPA OAQPS, May 25, 1988.
 "Guidance Document for Correcting Common VOC & Other Rule Deficiencies," (a.k.a., Little Bluebook), EPA Region 9, August 21, 2001.
 "Control Techniques for Nitrogen Oxides Emissions from Stationary Sources  -  Second Edition," EPA-450/1-78-001, January 1978.
 "Alternative Control Techniques Document  -  NOx Emissions from Process Heaters (Revised)," EPA-453/R-93-034, September 1993.
 "Determination of Reasonably Available Control Technology and Best Available Retrofit Control Technology for Industrial, Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters," California Air Resources Board RACT/BARCT guidance, July 18, 1991.
 SJVUAPCD Rule 4307, "Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters  -  2.0MMBtu/hr to 5.0 MMBtu/hr," as amended October 16, 2008.
 SJVUAPCD Rule 4309, "Dryers, Dehydrators, and Ovens," as adopted December 15, 2005.
 SJVUAPCD Rule 4313, "Lime Kilns," as adopted March 27, 2003.
 SJVUAPCD Rule 4354, "Glass Melting Furnaces," as amended May 19, 2011.
 SCAQMD Rule 1117, "Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen from Glass Melting Furnaces," as amended January 6, 1984.
 SCAQMD Rule 1146.1 "Emissions from Small Industrial, Institutional, and Commercial Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters," as amended November 1, 2013.
 SCAQMD Rule 1147, "NOx Reductions from Miscellaneous Sources," as adopted on December 5, 2008.