What’s Going on with NSR?...permit in 1983 and more recently has played an integral role in many...
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The business of sustainability © Copyright 2018 by ERM Worldwide Group Limited and/or its affiliates (‘ERM’). All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of ERM. What’s Going on with NSR? Air Quality Policy Changes in the US Ken Weiss, PE, BCEE Principal Partner ERM October 22, 2018
Transcript of What’s Going on with NSR?...permit in 1983 and more recently has played an integral role in many...
The business of sustainability
© Copyright 2018 by ERM Worldwide Group Limited and/or its affiliates (‘ERM’). All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of ERM.
What’s Going on with NSR?Air Quality Policy Changes in the US
Ken Weiss, PE, BCEEPrincipal PartnerERM
October 22, 2018
www.erm.com
Today’s Topics
How did we get here?
New approach to actual to projected actual applicability test
Source Aggregation
Project Aggregation
NSR Project Emissions Accounting
ACE Rule – proposed revisions to NSR applicability for EGUs
What’s Going on with NSR? 2
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Growth of EPA Regulations
What’s Going on with NSR? 3
Over 27,000 pages in 2017; Increase of almost 700 pages
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Pages in 40 CFR
Others(5%)
Waste(8%)
Pesticides(3%)
Toxics(6%)
Water(12%)
Air(66%)
Source: U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
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The Case for Change
What’s Going on with NSR? 4
Environmental Law InstituteJanuary 2017
Access the article here
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The Case for Change
The time required to obtain a permit is unreasonably long and varies across the country
~45% of industry NSR permits > 1 year to process
Range 1 month to 7.5 years.
14 month average
Rule complexity and uncertainty
95% of refining capacity has entered into settlement agreements since March 2000
112 refineries in all, at present
NSR was a primary issue in the vast majority
What’s Going on with NSR? 5
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Lessons from the 2002 NSR Reforms
What’s Going on with NSR? 6
Scorecard In Effect
Abandoned, Stayed Vacated or Revoked
10 yr Baseline Emissions Lookback
Actual to Future Actual Methodology
Actual PALS
Clean Unit Test X
Pollution Control Project Exclusion X
Flexible Permitting and NSR Green Groups X
RMRR Bright-Line Test X
Project Aggregation Rule X
Source Aggregation Policy
Reasonable Possibility Rule
Fugitive Emissions Rule X
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Bill Wehrum on NSR Reform
What’s Going on with NSR? 7
BNA Energy and Climate Report (November 27, 2017)
“I'm not so sure full-scale reform is what we need to do. The analogy I use is we're going to try to hit a few singles, maybe a couple of doubles, but we're not going to swing for the fences . . . ” “If we do enough of these more
targeted things, then I think over time we will have a big impact on the program.”
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Tools for NSR Reform
What’s Going on with NSR? 8
01 02 03 04
Guidance memos
Source determinations
Applicability determinations
Rulemaking
05
Legislation
A New Approach to ATPA
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Actual-to-Projected-Actual Applicability Test
December 7, 2017 - Guidance memorandum titled “New Source Review Pre-construction Permitting Requirements: Enforceability and Use of the Actual-to-Projected-Actual Applicability Test in Determining Major Modification Applicability.”
New approach to EPA enforcement regarding the ATPA Test
EPA will not “substitute its judgment for that of the owner or operator” concerning a source’s emissions projections, unless there is clear error.
Projections may include intent to actively manage post project emissions
Enforcement focus will be on post project emissions
Use of demand growth exclusion is explicitly recognized and allowed
What’s Going on with NSR? 10
Source Aggregation Guidance
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Aggregation – The Updated 3-Part Test
What’s Going on with NSR? 12
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Two Key Updates
1. April 30, 2018 Meadowbrook Energy Source Determination – Addressing the term “Common Control”. Control means the power to dictate decisions impacting compliance.
2. September 4, 2018 Draft Guidance – Interpreting “Adjacent” for New Source Review and Title V Source Determinations in all Industries Other Than Oil and Gas
A. Adjacency solely based on proximity
B. No bright line rather “Nearby” is the test
C. Functional Interrelatedness is not a factor
What’s Going on with NSR? 13
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Understanding “Control” and Source Aggregation
What’s Going on with NSR? 14
Does KSL Support or Control Meadowbrook? Does Meadowbrook Support or Control KSL?
Keystone Sanitary Landfill
MeadowbrookEnergy
LLC
Landfill Gas Pipeline
Project Aggregation Rule (w/ OMB since July 6th)
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What is Project Aggregation?
What’s Going on with NSR? 16
Should two separate projects be combined into a single permit application rather than permitted individually?
Project A Project BJanuary 201730 tons per year VOC
November 201725 tons per year VOC
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What Has Been Historic Approach to Project Aggregation?
What’s Going on with NSR? 17
Historic approaches established through guidance memos
January 2009 final rulemaking
under Bush administration withdrawn by Obama EPA
Further defined under previous administration -
“case by case” determination based on
multiple factors
Guidance memos
Bush final rulemaking
Back to historic
guidance docs
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What is Happening Now?
What’s Going on with NSR? 18
Projects should be combined that are “substantially related”Have more in common than simply supporting the overall basic function of the facility
0201
03Approach expected
to be similar to 2009 rulemaking
EPA has drafted rulemaking which is currently under OMB review
Projects presumed to be separate if they are three or more years apart
March 13th NSR Project Emissions Accounting Guidance
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Project Emissions Accounting
What’s Going on with NSR? 20
1 2 3New
CT/HRSG
Project Description:• Construct New CT/HRSG• Remove Boiler #1
Emissions Increase due
to Natural Gas Combustion
Emissions Decrease due
to Boiler 1 Removal
Scope of Step 1 significant emissions increase evaluation under previous guidance – all shutdown credits in Step 2Current guidance allows shutdown credits that are part of the project
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Project Background
Source Description: University with central powerhouse for steam and electric generation
Proposed project:
Construct new natural gas-fired CT/HRSG
Remove existing coal-fired spreader stoker boiler (Boiler 1)
What’s Going on with NSR? 21
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PSD Applicability Under Previous Policy
What’s Going on with NSR? 22
Step 1 – Does project result in a significant emissions increase?PM PM10 PM2.5 NOx
CT/HRSG 40.6 40.6 40.6 66.0
Above PSD? Yes Yes Yes Yes
PM PM10 PM2.5 NOx
Boiler 1 -84.0 -61.2 -38.1 -70.7
Other Changes +3.6 +3.6 +3.6 +49.5
Net Change -38.8 -17.0 6.1 +44.8
Above PSD? No No No Yes
Step 2 – Does project result in a significant net emissions increase (accounting for contemporaneous increases and decreases)?
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PSD Applicability Under March 13, 2018 Policy
What’s Going on with NSR? 23
Step 1 – Does Project result in a significant emissions increase?
PM PM10 PM2.5 NOx
CT/HRSG 40.6 40.6 40.6 66.0
Boiler 1 -84.0 -61.2 -38.1 -70.7
Project Emissions -43.3 -20.6 2.5 -4.7
Above PSD? No No No No
Project does not trigger PSD
NSR Reforms in Proposed ACE Rule
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What Triggers NSR
What’s Going on with NSR? 25
NSPS – Will it result in any increase the maximum achievable hourly emissions
NSR – Will it result in a significant increase in actual annual emissions
A modification is “any physical change in, or change in the method of operation of, a stationary source which increases the amount of any air pollutant emitted by such source.”
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Major Issues with NSR Annual Test
What’s Going on with NSR? 26
Very subjective Many things affect annual emissions
According to EPA:• Replacing components (even with identical components) will
almost always cause an increase in annual emissions• Improving the efficiency of a plant will almost always cause
an increase in annual emissions
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NSR Reform Proposed for EGUs in ACE Rule
What’s Going on with NSR? 27
Will the project result in an increase in maximum hourly emissions? (Some version of the current NSPS test)
If so, will the project result in a significant increase in actual annual emissions? (The current NSR test)
Step 1 Step 2
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Issues to be Resolved
What’s Going on with NSR? 28
Achieved vs. Achievable
01
What’s the baseline?• Highest hour in last
year? 5 years? 10 years?
• Statistical Approach (e.g. Upper Tolerance Limit)
• Hourly rate averaged over a representative period. 24 hours? A week? 30 days?
02
How to deal with pollutants not monitored by CEMs
03
How to deal with post project emissions data
04
The business of sustainability
Thank you Ken WeissPrincipal Partner, [email protected]
Mr. Weiss is the founding Partner of ERM’s Air Quality Practice. He has spent a 44 -year career addressing the environmental challenges facing the private sector. Mr. Weiss obtained his first PSD permit in 1983 and more recently has played an integral role in many of the energy sector NSR enforcement cases that the EPA has brought over the past decades. He is a frequent lecturer on New Source Review and is well known to AWMA. Mr. Weiss is a contributing author to the latest revision to Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook as well as the recently released (June 2017) AWMA update of the New Source Review Manual previously published by USEPA.
ERM is a leading global provider of environmental, health, safety, risk, social and sustainability consulting services. ERM has more than 4,500 people in over 40 countries and territories working out of more than 160 offices.
Over the past three years ERM has worked for more than 50 percent of the Global Fortune 500 delivering innovative solutions for business and selected government clients to help them understand and manage the sustainability challenges that the world is increasingly facing.
