U.S. EPA Proposes to Withdraw Emission Comparable Fuel Exclusion
The December 8, 2009 Federal Register included a notice that U.S. EPA is proposing to withdraw certain provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) rule under Subtitle C that provide for the exclusion of comparable fuel, emission-comparable fuel (ECF), and syngas fuel (40 CFR §261.38). Specifically, U.S. EPA is proposing to eliminate the rule provisions for ECF that were promulgated in December 2008 and excluded certain hazardous secondary materials that met the requirements for ECF and that were burned in place of fuel oil from the definition of solid waste and were therefore not hazardous waste. In order to qualify as ECF, the material must have fuel value and hazardous constituent levels comparable to those found in fuel oil, such that when burned in place of fuel oil the emissions would be similar. U.S. EPA has now 
concluded that ECF “is better regarded as being a discarded material and regulated as a hazardous waste.” The proposed withdrawal of the ECF provisions will not affect the comparable fuel and syngas portions of the regulation that have been in place since 1998. U.S. EPA is seeking comment on the proposed withdrawal of the ECF provisions by January 22, 2010. The Federal Register notice can be viewed here.
First U.S. Construction Permit with CO2 Limits Issued
On November 30, 2009, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) issued the first construction permit in the U.S. containing specific limits on emissions of CO2. The permit was issued to Southeast Idaho Energy, LLC for the construction of a coal gasification plant to produce fertilizer. The original permit IDEQ issued to the facility did not address CO2 emissions. However, after the Sierra Club and the Idaho Conservation League demonstrated to the satisfaction of IDEQ that CO2 emissions from the facility were a threat to regional and national air quality, provisions were included in the permit to require a 58% reduction in CO2 emissions from baseline levels. As stipulated in the permit, the facility will have five (5) years to meet the CO2 reduction requirements and until then will be allowed to purchase equivalent carbon offsets. The facility plans to meet these required reductions by selling the generated CO2 to oil companies in Wyoming that will use it for enhanced oil recovery projects. The facility is also looking into geological sequestration as a possible CO2 control technology.
What were the “Hot” Topics at the December 1 – 2, 2009 U.S. EPA/AWMA Information Exchange?
ALL4 Senior Consultant Roy Rakiewicz attended the annual Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA)/ U.S. EPA Information Exchange that was held at Research Triangle Park, NC on December 1 and 2, 2009. The primary topics that were addressed during this year’s event are summarized below:
– Climate Change – Five sessions were related to climate change and included discussions regarding anticipated climate change impacts, the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Tailoring Rule, the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Rule, GHG Mitigation Scenario modeling, and Cost Analyses for GHG Abatement from Coal-fired Utility Boilers.
– Black Carbon – Three sessions were dedicated to Black Carbon issues including a Climate/Air Quality Science Overview, the Policy Case for Black Carbon Research, and Black Carbon Measurement techniques.
– Emissions Factor Development – One presentation focused on U.S. EPA’s overhaul of the current emissions factor systems and movement towards a single web-based system referred to as “Web-Fire.”
– Utilities – Seven sessions pertained to regulatory and technical issues around power generation and addressed upcoming Regulatory Steps, Coal Combustion Residue issues, Control of Mercury Emissions, Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) Status, Comments on the Draft Utility MACT Information Collection Request (ICR), and Mercury testing issues.
While the presentation topics didn’t introduce any real new ground, new details and plans were discussed. The attitude of the presenters and their almost universal focus on shaping industrial policy through regulatory policy was unmistakable. Industry will continue to face significant challenges as regulatory policy is developed in 2010 and beyond. Stay tuned for a more in-depth summary of the event which will be provided in a future edition of 4 The Record.
