2024 Look Ahead: Chemical Industry Rules and RMP Revisions

Chemical Industry Rules

This year is going to be a big year for the chemical manufacturing industry. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is under a consent decree to finish revisions to several National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) applicable to facilities in the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and Group I and II Polymers and Resins (P&R) Industries by March 29, 2024. Their proposal from April 25, 2023, contained revisions to 40 CFR Part 63, Subparts F, G, H, I (Hazardous Organic National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants or HON), 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart U (P&R I), and 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart W (P&R II). Additionally, U.S. EPA has proposed the creation of four new subparts under 40 CFR Part 60: VVb (SOCMI Equipment Leaks), IIIa (SOCMI Air Oxidation Unit Processes), NNNa (SOCMI Distillation Operations), and RRRa (SOCMI Reactor Processes) and some revisions to existing NSPS subparts VV and VVa. ALL4 published an article on May 24, 2023 that summarized many of the changes included in the proposed rulemaking.

The HON, P&R I, and P&R II rules were last revised over a 5-year period between 2006 – 2011. With the expectation that a new Notice of Compliance Status (NOCS) will need to be submitted that will put the existing compliance program in the spotlight, many facilities are conducting comprehensive gap analyses of their compliance plans to confirm all requirements are addressed. Additionally, there is a need to evaluate the impact that the proposed changes will have on applicability and whether additional monitoring and controls will be required. We have been partnering with several clients on these types of analyses. These evaluations have included both looking at the impact across the entire organization as well as considering individual process units at a specific facility. Based on this experience, a few consistent areas of concern have been identified.

The removal of delay of repair for leaking equipment, prohibition on pressure relief devices (PRDs) releases, and the limits on maintenance vents and flares present a unique set of restrictions that may require operational changes or new controls in order to comply. The ethylene oxide standards should be considered collectively when evaluating your compliance options as these limitations influence each other. Additionally, there are limited options for devices that can control ethylene oxide (EtO) to 99.9% or less than 1 part per million by volume (ppmv).

All HON flares will now need to comply with the Refinery Sector Rule (40 CFR Part 63, Subpart CC) flare requirements. Although many of these flares are used to comply with other rules that already reference these requirements, there are many that are not. Compliance with these requirements can require substantial capital to upgrade relevant monitoring systems. The Modified El Paso Method has been added as a requirement for heat exchange systems. The method will require new lab equipment for those who plan to conduct the monitoring in-house or the hiring of a third party. There are new monitoring requirements for pressure relief devices (PRDs), and a requirement to estimate emissions  associated with both PRDs releases and control device bypasses. Any historically exempted release associated with startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) will no longer be allowed and regular or semi-regular SSM events that occur at a facility will need to be evaluated for control options moving forward. Fenceline monitoring will be required for sites that use, produce, store, or emit benzene, 1,3-butadiene, chloroprene, ethylene dichloride, EtO, or vinyl chloride. The fenceline monitoring method proposed by EPA results in several logistical concerns related to sampler deployment, field quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), and laboratory QA/QC. Additionally, the generic use of the word “site” when prescribing which chemical manufacturing processing units (CMPUs) must conduct fenceline monitoring has generated confusion for situations where multiple companies operate at the same “site”. Finally, the new dioxin and furan standards for chlorinated process vents are going to result in testing at multiple facilities to determine whether they can comply without additional control.

The new NSPS subparts IIIa, NNNa, and RRRa include several changes from their predecessors. Similar to HON, P&R I, and P&R II, changes that may be the most impactful include requirements for flares to meet the Subpart CC requirements, limitations and monitoring on PRDs, and prohibition of control device bypasses.

It is expected that U.S. EPA will sign a final rule by the March 29, 2024 deadline. Compliance deadlines for the NESHAP subparts vary by requirement. Facilities must start conducting fenceline monitoring one year after the final rule and are required to comply with the root cause and corrective action analyses provisions three years after the final rule.  Compliance is required within two years for ethylene oxide standards, and three years for everything else. Sources that were constructed, reconstructed, or modified after April 25, 2023 (the date of the proposed rule) will be subject to the new NSPS requirements. Facilities should evaluate projects that occurred after that date to determine whether those would be considered modifications and confirm whether they would be subject to the new NSPS subparts. They are required to comply with those requirements upon startup or within 60 days of publication of the final rule.

Volatile Organic Liquid Storage Vessels

U.S. EPA recently completed its review of the NSPS for Volatile Organic Liquid Storage Vessels (Including Petroleum Storage Vessels). As a result, on October 4, 2023 they proposed the new Subpart Kc. This new subpart will apply to volatile organic liquid (VOL) storage vessels that were constructed, modified, or reconstructed after October 4, 2023. It contains many new requirements that are different than the existing Subparts K, Ka, and Kb. ALL4 published an article that went into detail on the changes included in the proposed rule. The change that seems to be generating the most concern is the proposal that introducing and storing a VOL with a higher maximum true vapor pressure than the VOL previously stored will be considered a modification and result in the storage vessel being subject to the new Subpart Kc requirements. This means that any VOL storage vessels that have changed the product stored since October 4, 2023 would need to be evaluated to determine whether an NSPS modification occurred. There are several other changes in the proposed rule that could impact your VOL storage vessels, compliance will need to be demonstrated upon publication of the final rule. U.S. EPA has indicated in the regulatory agenda that they intend to finalize this rule by September 30, 2024.

RMP Revisions

The risk management program (RMP) provisions are included in 40 CFR Part 68 and include provisions that require facilities with extremely hazardous substances to develop a plan that identifies what types of incidents could occur, steps that are being taken to prevent chemical accidents, and procedures for how to respond to an incident should it occurs. On August 18, 2022, U.S. EPA proposed revisions to the existing program. ALL4 published an article on August 30, 2022 that summarized the changes that were included in the proposal. This included substantial changes to both the prevention program and emergency response program and RMP facilities will need to make revisions to their programs to align with the new requirements. It is expected that the publication of the final rule is imminent. It has been under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) since September 25, 2023, and the original target date according to the regulatory agenda was December 2023. The program requirements will need to be implemented within three years of publication of the final rule, with four years for associated plans to be updated.

What Else is Next?

U.S. EPA activities in 2024 will also include reviewing the Chemical Manufacturing Area Source (CMAS) rule and the polyether polyols NESHAP. We will keep on top of activity related to these upcoming proposals. U.S. EPA must also finalize 2023 proposed revisions to the petroleum and chemical sector rules as a result of its reconsideration of tank degassing, PRDs, and other provisions. See ALL4’s article that describes the changes that were proposed.

ALL4 is assisting clients with evaluating the impact of the proposed SOCMI rules changes discussed above and will be actively reviewing the final rules when they are signed. We will be hosting in-person workshops in 2024 where we will provide a summary of the language contained in the final SOCMI rules. We also have extensive experience with the risk management program and are available to support reviews of existing programs and can help with updating existing plans. Look for an article on the final revised RMP requirements soon after signature of the final rule. We have created a chemical industry resources page that aggregates all related content in a single location and can help you to stay up to date with regulatory activity relevant to the chemical industry. For more information about how ALL4 can help you prepare for the chemicals rules revisions or comply with the new RMP requirements, contact Chris Ward at cward@all4inc.com or (770) 557-2798.