presented by piyush srivastav, president - ethanol ace presentation aug 2015.pdf · 2015-08-24 ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Emerging Environmental Topics
and
Air Quality Permitting:
Staying One Step Ahead
American Coalition for Ethanol
August 20, 2015
Presented by
Piyush Srivastav, President
NAQS Environmental Experts
ORGANIZATIONAL POSITION
• Our Vision: The preeminent leader in air quality, water quality, risk
management plans, and climate change.
• Our Purpose: Partner with clients to provide value added
environmental solutions that ensure:
– Regulatory Compliance
– Increased Operational Flexibility
– Successful Project Planning
– Liability Identification, Reduction
• Our Mission: Bridge the gap between industry and regulators by
engaging employees with undisputable expertise, excellent critical
thinking abilities, and strong communication skills.
SERVICES
• Permitting –
– Applications
– Strategies
– Draft Permits
– Permit Reviews
• Compliance Assistance
• Regulatory Analysis
• Emissions Inventories
• Compliance Certifications
• Deviation Reports
• Stack Testing Assistance
• Litigation Support
• Training
• Audits
• Compliance Management
• Executive Training
• Risk Management Planning
• GHG Inventories and
Management
• Strategic Project Planning
• Dispersion Modeling
SELECT CLIENTS
Partnering with a spectrum of clients
ranging from small municipalities to
Fortune 500 Companies
Cargill/Polyols
ABENGOA BIOENERGY
Topics
• Changes to NSPS Subpart DD and Proposed
Subpart DDa
• Effective Permitting
•
Subpart DD and Subpart DDa
Standards of Performance
for Grain Elevators
Subpart DD and Subpart DDa
• Background
– Both Standards Apply to “grain elevators”.
– Can apply to ethanol plants if they have more than
2.5 million bushels of storage.
– “Affected sources” under the standards are the
grain handling equipment (receiving pits, conveyors,
dryers, etc.), not the storage bins
Changes to Subpart DD
• Proposed Rule to make changes to existing
Subpart DD published on July 9, 2014
• Facilities covered by Subpart DD are those
that commence “construction,
modification, or reconstruction after
August 3, 1978, and on or before July 9,
2014”.
Changes to Subpart DD
• Revised Definitions– “Grain unloading station” includes the equipment from
the point grain is received “to a receiving hopper or to the grain handling equipment that connects the unloading station to the rest of the grain elevator.” By definition, the dust control equipment and aspiration systems for receiving activities are considered part of the unloading station.
– “Grain loading station” “means that portion of a grain elevator where the grain is transferred from the elevator to a truck, railcar, barge, or ship.” This definition also includes the dust control equipment and aspiration systems.
Changes to Subpart DD
• Particulate Matter Standards
– Section 60.302(d)(1) now includes the following
language for barge or ship unloading stations,
“Where aspiration of the casing provides dust
control at the boot of the conveyor and a receiving
hopper is not used, the unloading leg must be
enclosed from the top to the center line of the
bottom pulley and ventilation to a control device
must be maintained on both sides of the leg.”
Proposed Subpart DDa
• Proposed Rule to establish new Subpart DDa also published on July 9, 2014
• Covers sources that are new, reconstructed, or modified after July 9, 2014
• The Proposed standard mirrors existing Subpart DD, with a few changes
Proposed Subpart DDa
• An additional method for determining
applicability that includes the storage
capacity of temporary storage facilities (TSFs)
• Ten percent opacity standards for barge or
ship unloading stations not using an
unloading leg and for column dryers using a
wire screen
Proposed Subpart DDa
• Particulate Matter (PM) and opacity standards
for affected facilities associated with TSFs
(except portable equipment) consistent with
those associated with permanent storage units
• Particulate Matter performance tests
conducted every 60 months, opacity tests
conducted annually, and weekly visual
inspections for affected facilities, and visual
inspections of fabric filters every 6 months
Proposed Subpart DDa
• Records for the new applicability calculation method, excess emissions events, fabric filter inspections, opacity tests, weekly visual inspections and particulate matter (PM) tests, and the type of grain processed during performance tests must be kept
• Requirement to submit electronic copies of performance tests reports to the EPA using the EPA’s electronic reporting tool (ERT)
Proposed Subpart DDa
• New definitions for ‘‘permanent storage
capacity,’’ ‘‘temporary storage facility,’’
‘‘wire screen column dryer,’’ and ‘‘en-masse
drag conveyor’’
• Establishing that the PM standards are
applicable at all times
Subpart DD and Subpart DDa
• One Upside
– Some States that were including all of the
temporary storage capacity in their applicability
determinations are using the calculation
proposed in Subpart DDa.
– Will result in fewer regulated facilities in those
States.
Subpart DD and Subpart DDa
• The comment period ended December
22, 2014
• Final rule projected for August 2015
Effective Permitting
Effective Permitting
• What is effective permitting?
– Effective Permitting covers the following:
– Pre-project activities, e.g., planning, application development, etc.
– Being active in the permit development stages
– Being active during the public notice process
– Not settling for what the permitting authority gives you, if it does not work for you or is not accurate
– What about existing permits?
– Using the services of a firm with air permitting expertise
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Why is effective permitting important?
– Permitting can slow the implementation of the project
– A permit is a legally binding document
– The permit can hinder operational flexibility and increase liability
– Helps prevent permit conditions that are overly prescriptive and/or stringent
– Assures the permit conditions are consistent with the regulations
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Pre-Project Activities
• Plan projects well in advance; allow time to
• Prepare the application
• Model the project
• Make adjustments to the project due to modeling or change in project scope
• Permitting is a very lengthy process
• Application preparation
• Permit development
• Public Notice
Effective Permitting
• Pre-Project Activities• Pre-Application Meeting
•Present and discuss the project with the agency
• Gets them familiar with the project
• They can advise if there are new developments that may impact the project
• They may be able to provide additional tips
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– Prepare and Submit Draft Permit Documents
• Clearly explain the regulatory basis for proposed permit conditions
– Identify potential liabilities (i.e., stringent conditions that an agency may try to establish) and be prepared to address why there is no regulatory basis for such a condition
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– Request opportunity to review agency draft
documents, including various iterations of the draft
documents
– Request meetings
– Provide comments in writing
– Request responses in writing to Agency conditions
that you disagree with and comment on
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– Strategize which issues are worth sticking to, which
are open to compromise
– Keep focus on underlying regulatory requirements
– Use hypothetical scenarios during negotiation
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– What to look for in draft permits
– An effective permit contains permit conditions that:
– Have a sound regulatory basis
– Provide operational flexibility
– Are clear
– Are concise
– Are enforceable
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– What to look for in draft permits
– An effective permit does NOT contain permit
conditions that are:
– Unnecessary
– More stringent than the regulations require
– Unclear
– These types of conditions inhibit operational flexibility
and increase liability
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– What to look for in draft permits
– Unnecessary permit conditions
–Redundant limits
– Pound per hour (lb/hr) AND lb/MMBtu limits
– Emission limits AND throughput limits (can be
exceptions)
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– What to look for in draft permits
– Unnecessary permit conditions (cont.)
– Conditions that are more prescriptive than the
regulations
– Spare bags requirement for baghouses
– Size (i.e. hp) of boiler or engine
– Specific material types
– Daily observations
Effective Permitting
• Being active in the permit development stages
– For Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
and Title V sources,
– Do not be afraid to involve and meet with the
EPA if no progress is being made with agency on
important issues
Effective Permitting
• Being active during the public notice process
– Comment during the formal public notice period
• If you disagree, voice your opinion even if it is
something discussed during the permit
development stage
• The assumption is: If you do not comment on an
issue, you are in agreement with the issue.
– Comment on response summary
• Same as above
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Not settling for what the permitting authority
gives you
– You have the right to appeal a permit if you
believe a permitting authority has overstepped
their authority
– Appeal rules vary from state to state
• NE – Title 115, Chapter 7
• EPA Direct Delegation States - Environmental
Appeals Board (EAB)
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Not settling for what the permitting authority
gives you
– Permit appeal
• In most states, the appeal must be based on issues
that were brought up during the public notice
process
• If appealing to the EAB, the appeal must be based
on issues that were brought up during the public
notice process
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• What about existing permits?
• Permit Revisions
– Much easier to provide input on conditions before
the permit is issued; however, permits can be
revised at the source’s request
– Evaluate potential value of permit revision
– Use data from previous testing
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• What about existing permits?
• Permit Revision (cont.)
– Submittal includes:
• Portions of the application
• Application fee (if necessary)
• Explanation and regulatory basis for proposed
revisions
• Revised draft permit documents
• Revised modeling (if necessary)
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Using the services of a firm with air permitting
expertise throughout the process
• Air Quality (AQ) regulations are extensive
• Permitting can have pitfalls for someone not
familiar with the process
• The Environmental Manager (EM) at a source
cannot be expected to be familiar with all AQ
regulations and the permitting process
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Using the services of a firm with air permitting
expertise throughout the process (cont.)
• The EM generally (almost always) wears more
than one hat
• Allows EM to concentrate on day to day
responsibilities
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Effective Permitting
• Summary
– Plan early
– Be active in the permit development stages
– Be active during the public notice process
– Do not settle
– Review existing permits
– Use the services of a firm with air permitting
expertise throughout the process
DRAFT 2/14/2012
Questions?
NAQS-Environmental Experts
QUESTIONS
Srivastav at:
402-310-5321 (cell)
Piyush Srivastav
402-489-1111 (office)
402-310-5321 (cell)