Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 116 - CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION BY PERMITS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION OR MODIFICATION › Subchapter C - PLANT-WIDE APPLICABILITY LIMITS › Division 1 - PLANT-WIDE APPLICABILITY LIMITS › Section 116.186 - General and Special Conditions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 The plant-wide applicability limit (PAL) will impose an annual emission
					 limitation in tons per year, that is enforceable for all facilities, or
					 emissions units at a major stationary source, that emit the PAL pollutant. For
					 each month during the PAL effective period after the first 12 months of
					 establishing a PAL, the major stationary source owner or operator shall
					 demonstrate that the sum of the monthly emissions from each facility under the
					 PAL for the previous 12 consecutive months is less than the PAL (a 12-month
					 average, rolled monthly). For each month during the first 11 months from the
					 PAL effective date, the major stationary source owner or operator shall
					 demonstrate that the sum of the preceding monthly emissions from the PAL
					 effective date for each facility under the PAL is less than the PAL. Each PAL
					 must include emissions of only one pollutant. The PAL must include all
					 emissions, including fugitive emissions, to the extent quantifiable, from all
					 facilities or emissions units at a major stationary source included in the PAL
					 that emit or have the potential to emit the PAL pollutant.
(b) The following general conditions are
					 applicable to every PAL permit.
(1)
					 Applicability. This section does not authorize any facility to emit air
					 pollutants but establishes an annual emissions level below which new and
					 modified facilities, or emissions units at a major stationary source, will not
					 be subject to major new source review for that pollutant.
(2) Sampling requirements. If sampling of
					 stacks or process vents is required, the PAL permit holder shall contact the
					 commission's Office of Compliance and Enforcement prior to sampling to obtain
					 the proper data forms and procedures. All sampling and testing procedures must
					 be approved by the executive director and coordinated with the appropriate
					 regional office of the commission. The PAL permit holder is also responsible
					 for providing sampling facilities and conducting the sampling operations or
					 contracting with an independent sampling consultant.
(3) Equivalency of methods. The permit holder
					 shall demonstrate the equivalency of emission control methods, sampling or
					 other emission testing methods, and monitoring methods proposed as alternatives
					 to methods indicated in the conditions of the PAL permit. Alternative methods
					 must be applied for in writing and must be reviewed and approved by the
					 executive director prior to their use in fulfilling any requirements of the
					 permit.
(4) Recordkeeping and
					 reporting.
(A) A copy of the PAL permit along
					 with information and data sufficient to demonstrate continuous compliance with
					 the emission caps contained in the PAL permit must be maintained in a file at
					 the plant site and made available at the request of personnel from the
					 commission or any air pollution control program having jurisdiction. For
					 facilities that normally operate unattended, this information must be
					 maintained at the nearest staffed location within Texas specified by the permit
					 holder in the permit application. This information must include, but is not
					 limited to, emission cap and individual emission limitation calculations based
					 on a 12-month rolling basis and production records and operating hours.
					 Additional recordkeeping requirements may be specified in special conditions
					 attached to the PAL permit.
(B) The
					 owner or operator shall retain a copy of the PAL permit application and any
					 applications for revisions to the PAL, each annual certification of compliance
					 under §
													122.146
					 of this title (relating to Compliance Certification Terms and Conditions), and
					 the data relied on in certifying the compliance for the duration of the PAL
					 plus five years.
(C) A semiannual
					 report shall be submitted to the executive director within 30 days of the end
					 of each reporting period that contains:
(i)
					 the identification of owner and operator and the permit number;
(ii) total annual emissions (in tons per
					 year) based on a 12-month rolling total for each month in the reporting
					 period;
(iii) all data relied upon,
					 including, but not limited to, any quality assurance or quality control data,
					 in calculating the monthly and annual PAL pollutant emissions;
(iv) a list of any facility modified or added
					 to the major stationary source during the preceding six-month period;
(v) the number, duration, and cause of any
					 deviations or monitoring malfunctions (other than the time associated with zero
					 and span calibration checks), and any corrective action taken. This may be
					 satisfied by referencing the PAL permit number in the semiannual report for the
					 site submitted under §
														122.145
					 of this title (relating to Reporting Terms and Conditions);
(vi) a notification of a shutdown of any
					 monitoring system, whether the shutdown was permanent or temporary, the reason
					 for the shutdown, the anticipated date that the monitoring system will be fully
					 operational or replaced with another monitoring system, and whether the
					 emissions unit monitored by the monitoring system continued to operate, and the
					 calculation of the emissions of the pollutant or the number determined by
					 method included in the permit; and
(vii) a signed statement by the responsible
					 official, as defined in §
														122.10 of
					 this title (relating to General Definitions), certifying the truth, accuracy,
					 and completeness of the information provided in the report.
(D) The owner or operator shall
					 submit the results of any revalidation test or method to the executive director
					 within three months after completion of such test or method.
(5) Maintenance of emission
					 control. The facilities covered by the PAL permit will not be operated unless
					 all air pollution emission capture and abatement equipment is maintained in
					 good working order and operating properly during normal facility
					 operations.
(6) Compliance with
					 rules. Acceptance of a PAL permit by a permit applicant constitutes an
					 acknowledgment and agreement that the holder will comply with all rules and
					 orders of the commission issued in conformity with the Texas Clean Air Act and
					 the conditions precedent to the granting of the permit. If more than one state
					 or federal rule or PAL permit condition is applicable, the most stringent limit
					 or condition will govern and be the standard by which compliance must be
					 demonstrated. Acceptance includes consent to the entrance of commission
					 employees and agents into the permitted premises at reasonable times to
					 investigate conditions relating to the emission or concentration of air
					 contaminants, including compliance with the PAL permit.
(7) Effective period. A PAL is effective for
					 ten years.
(8) Absence of
					 monitoring data. A source owner or operator shall record and report maximum
					 potential emissions without considering enforceable emission limitations or
					 operational restrictions for a facility during any period of time that there is
					 no monitoring data, unless another method for determining emissions during such
					 periods is specified in the PAL permit special conditions.
(9) Monitoring system requirements. Failure
					 to use a monitoring system that meets the requirements of this section renders
					 the PAL permit invalid.
(10)
					 Revalidation. All data used to establish the PAL pollutant must be revalidated
					 through performance testing or other scientifically valid means approved by the
					 executive director. Such testing must occur at least once every five years
					 after issuance of the PAL.
(11)
					 Renewal. If a PAL renewal application is submitted to the executive director in
					 accordance with §
												116.196
					 of this title (relating to Renewal of a Plant-wide Applicability Limit Permit),
					 the PAL shall not expire at the end of the PAL effective period. It shall
					 remain in effect until a renewed PAL permit is issued by the executive director
					 or the application is voided.