Air Permi>ng: A Major Piece of the Puzzle or Trying to Keep All of

Transcription

1 Air Permi>ng: A Major Piece of the Puzzle or Trying to Keep All of the Balls in the Air Insert then choose Picture select your picture. Right click your picture and Send to back. The world s leading sustainability consultancy

2 Agenda 1. Lifecycle Approach to Capital Projects 2. Air as a Piece of the Puzzle a) Clean Air Act b) Permitting c) PSD Avoidance 3. Timing Keeping the Ball From Dropping 2

3 Lifecycle Approach to the Capital Project When Do We Start the Air Permit? PHASE 1 IDENTIFY & Assess Opportunities E&S Risk Reviews Fatal Flaw Analysis PHASE 2 SELECT from Alternatives Site / Route Selection Approvals Strategy Some Baseline Studies PHASE 3 DEVELOP Preferred Alternative Process Risk and Safety Studies PHASE 4 EXECUTE (Detail EPC) PHASE 5 OPERATE & Evaluate CA Oversight of Contractors CA More Risk & Safety ESHIA and Approvals Management Plan Development Construction Management Plan Implementation Compliance Assurance Programs Stakeholder Engagement 3 SOURCE:

4 Clean Air Act 101 I. Fundamentals i. History ii. Structure iii. Fundamentals/NAAQS iv. Emissions Inventory II. Permitting i. Construction/Operating ii. Minor Source iii. Major Sources and Modifications iv. PSD/NNSR III. What to do if we can t avoid PSD? i. BACT/GHG BACT ii. PSD Air Quality Analyses 4

5 Fundamentals: History of the Clean Air Act Oldest? federal environmental regulation Air Pollution Control--Research and Technical Assistance Act of 1955 First CAA was passed in 1963 CAA Amendments of 1965 broke out law into mobile and stationary Air Quality Act of 1967: Gave EPA s predecessor authority to establish ambient air quality standards Amendments of 1970: First to resemble the CAA we know today Established concept of NAAQS, SIPs, NSPS Amendments of 1977: strengthened 70 provisions (not much progress had been made in many areas) Amendments of 1990: last major change to the CAA 5

6 Structure of the Clean Air Act TITLE I Nonattainment Issues TITLE II Mobile Sources TITLE III Maximum Achievable Control Technology for HAPs TITLE VII Enforcement TITLE IV Acid Rain TITLE VI Stratospheric Ozone Protection TITLE V Operating Permits 6

7 Structure of the Clean Air Act TITLE I Nonattainment Issues TITLE II Mobile Sources TITLE III Maximum Achievable Control Technology for HAPs TITLE VII Enforcement TITLE IV Acid Rain TITLE VI Stratospheric Ozone Protection TITLE V Operating Permits 7

8 CAA Fundamentals: NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS): maximum ambient air concentrations of six pollutants, known as criteria pollutants: Primary standards: Established to protect human health Secondary standards: Established to protect the public welfare (e.g., vegetation, livestock, building materials, etc.) 8

9 CAA Fundamentals: NAAQS Primary Standards Secondary Standards Pollutant Level (1) Averaging Time Level Averaging Time CO (carbon monoxide) 9 ppm (10 mg/m 3 ) 8-hour 35 ppm (40 mg/m 3 ) 1-hour Lead 0.15 µg/m 3 Rolling 3-month average Same as Primary NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide) PM10 (particulate matter <10 microns) PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 microns) None 1.5 µg/m 3 Quarterly average Same as Primary ppm Annual (arithmetic average) Same as Primary 100 ppb 1-hour None 150 µg/m 3 24-hour Same as Primary 12.0 µg/m 3 Annual (arithmetic average) Same as Primary 35 µg/m 3 24-hour Same as Primary Ozone ppm (2008 std) 8-hour Same as Primary 0.08 ppm (1997 std) 8-hour Same as Primary 0.12 ppm 1-hour (2) Same as Primary SO 2 (sulfur dioxide) 0.03 ppm Annual (arithmetic average) 0.5 ppm 3-hour 0.14 ppm 24-hour 9 75 ppb 1-hour None

10 CAA Fundamentals: Attainment Attainment: area determined by state and EPA (based on ambient monitoring programs) to be meeting NAAQS for a particular pollutant Nonattainment: area not meeting NAAQS for a particular pollutant Status is a pollutant-by-pollutant determination e.g., a place can be nonattainment for ozone and attainment for all other pollutants Attainment/Nonattainment status important because it forms the basis for a substantial number of regulatory and permitting programs 10

11 Attainment/Nonattainment Status EPA s most recent changes in the NAAQS that create new challenges and uncertainties: EPA revoked the 1-hour ozone standard and replaced it with an 8- hour standard EPA revised the particulate matter (PM) NAAQS from PM10 to PM2.5 (or fine PM ) Established short-term (1-hr avg) standards for SO2 and NOx Proving very difficult to meet the new standards 11

12 Other Miscellaneous Air Fundamentals The term major or major source Has many different meanings; a major PSD source isn t the same as a major HAP source or a major Title V source or a major NOx source in an ozone nonattainment area. It s hard to relate emissions from a stack to concentrations in the air that s what modelers do Emissions are in lb/hr, tpy, g/s; standards are in µg/m 3. And there are probably 10 different control technology programs: BACT, RACT, LAER, MACT, GACT, BACM, etc. 12

13 Emissions Inventories: Pollutants Criteria Pollutants (those for which EPA has developed NAAQS) Particulate Matter (PM): comes in TSP, PM10, PM2.5 Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): often generally referred to as NOx Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Carbon Monoxide (CO) Ozone: not emitted directly; generated in the atmosphere from NOx and VOCs Lead (Pb): there s a push to remove the standard since Pb emissions nearly 0 after removing it from gasoline) Hazardous Air Pollutants/Toxic Air Pollutants PSD pollutants Greenhouse gases (GHGs) 13

14 Clean Air Act 101: Permitting Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world

15 Air Permits: Two Types Construction Permits Operating Permits 15

16 Air Permits: Two Types Construction Permits Operating Permits Minor Source Major Source NSR State or Local Permit PSD Permit (attainment) BACT Modeling NNSR Permit (nonattainment) LAER Offsets 16

17 Air Permits: Two Types Construction Permits Operating Permits Minor Source Major Source NSR State Operating Permit Title V State or Local Permit PSD Permit (attainment) BACT Modeling NNSR Permit (nonattainment) LAER Offsets 17

18 Construction Permitting Minor source permitting: Purpose: attainment and maintenance of NAAQS Can avoid being major by taking limitations (through pollution control devices, limits on hours of operation, limits on fuel usage) 18

19 Construction Permitting: NSR* Major new sources & major modifications Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) (Part C of the CAA) Applies to attainment area pollutants EPA s goal: protect clean air Nonattainment NSR (NNSR or NA-NSR) (Part D of the CAA) Applies to nonattainment area pollutants EPA s goal: make progress toward attainment of NAAQS *Note: NSR is often used to mean both PSD and NNSR 19

20 PSD/NNSR Applicability Applicability with PSD and/or NNSR is based on source s potential to emit (PTE) vs. regulatory ( major source ) thresholds Thresholds are different for different pollutants and different areas of the county (depending on attainment/nonattainment status) Involves complex netting analyses to determine what the net emissions increase from a project will be Some of our most complex air work revolves around determining net emissions increase 20

21 If We Can t Avoid PSD/NNSR 21 PSD Apply Best Available Control Technology (BACT) Demonstrate no deterioration of air quality ( increment and NAAQS) through modeling Show no other adverse impacts to soils, vegetation, visibility including in Class I pristine areas NNSR Demonstrate Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) Obtain offsets at a ratio greater than 1:1 (and up to 1.3:1) Certify that all other company operations in that state are in compliance with all CAA requirements Demonstrate through an alternatives analysis that the site is the most appropriate

22 BACT " An emissions limitation (including a visible emission standard) based on the maximum degree of reduction for each pollutant subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act which would be emitted from any proposed major stationary source or major modification which the Administrator [EPA], on a case-by-case basis taking into account energy, environmental, and economic impacts and other costs...determines is achievable" 22

23 The Case-by-Case BACT Analysis Energy impacts Environmental impacts Economic impacts Other costs No less stringent than NSPS and NESHAPs 23

24 BACT Applicability Once PSD applies, BACT applies to all pollutants with a significant net emissions increase For each individual or modified emissions unit at which a net emissions increase occurs PSD applications thus may include Multiple BACT analyses for multiple pollutants Multiple BACT analyses for multiple emissions units 24

25 The Top Down BACT Process Step 1: Identify all control technologies Step 2: Eliminate technically infeasible options Step 3: Rank remaining technologies by control effectiveness Step 4: Evaluate most effective controls and document results Step 5: Select BACT 25

26 Air Dispersion Modeling NAAQS & PSD increment compliance PM2.5/10 SO 2 NO X & NO 2 CO Lead Class I Modeling Visibility NO x /SO x Deposition Air Toxics Program Modeling 26

27 Basic Steps in Air Quality Analysis 27

28 Class I Modeling Governed by the Federal Land Managers (FLMs) FLMs Air Quality Related Values Work Group (FLAG) Phase I Report Revised (2010) Applicability: Within 50 km Q/D < 10 FLM Discretion

29 Timing Keeping the Ball From Dropping Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world

30 Permitting: What You Need to Do 30 Permitting projects involve: Site Selection Begin Agency Coordination Emissions inventories Regulatory analysis, Control technology assessments, Modeling, Forms! Submit Permit Application Agency Review and Coordination Consider expedited permitting programs? Draft Permit and Public Notice/Comment Final Permit Submitted Construction!

31 Permitting: When Do You Need to Do It? Construction! Final Permit Submitted Draft Permit and Public Notice/Comment 30+ days Agency Review and Coordination days Submit Permit Application Regulatory analysis, Control technology assessments, Modeling, Forms 10?? days Emissions inventories 5?? days Begin Agency Coordination Site Selection 31 Total 75 (innumerable) days

32 The Importance of Site Selection Air permitting might not dictate location selection, but could eliminate! Attainment vs. Non-attainment Is the size of the property adequate for air dispersion modeling? Consider background concentration for air dispersion modeling Evaluating surrounding sources Other reasons?

33 Any Questions? 33

34 Thank You! Jeff Twaddle Brad Arnold