Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Purpose, Scope and
Authority. The purpose of 310 CMR 7.72 is to assist the
Commonwealth in achieving the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals adopted
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21N, § (3)(b) by reducing sulfur hexafluoride
(SF6) emissions from gas-insulated switchgear through
the imposition of declining annual aggregate emission limits and other measures
on gas-insulated switchgear. 310 CMR 7.72 is promulgated pursuant to M.G.L. c.
21N, § 3(d) and is also promulgated pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21A,
§§ 2, 8 and 16, and M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 2C and 142A through
142E, to prevent and abate conditions of air pollution from greenhouse gas
emissions.
(2)
Definitions. The terms used in 310 CMR 7.72 are
defined in 310 CMR 7.72(2) and
7.00:
Definitions. Where a term is defined in
310 CMR
7.00: Definitions and 7.72, the
definition in 310 CMR 7.72 shall apply.
Active GIS Equipment means
non-hermetically sealed SF6 gas-insulated switchgear
that is:
(a) Connected through busbars
or cables to the GIS owner's electrical power system; or
(b) Fully-charged, ready for service, located
at the site in which it will be activated, and employs a mechanism to monitor
SF emissions.
Active GIS Equipment does not include
equipment in storage.
Electrical Power System means the
combination of electrical generators (e.g., power plants),
transmission and distribution lines, equipment, circuits, and transformers used
to generate and transport electricity from the generators to consumption areas
or to adjacent electrical power systems.
Federal Reporting GIS Owner means a
GIS Owner who has ever been required or who is currently required to report
SF6 emissions to US EPA pursuant to 40 CFR Part 98,
Subpart DD (§ 98.300 through 308).
Gas-insulated Switchgear or GIS means
all electrical power system equipment insulated with SF gas. Gas-insulated
switchgear or GIS includes switches, stand-alone gas-insulated equipment, and
any combination of electrical disconnects, fuses, electrical transmission
lines, transformers and/or circuit breakers used to isolate gas-insulated
electrical power system equipment.
GIS Owner means the person who owns,
leases, operates, or controls gas-insulated switchgear used in Massachusetts.
GIS owner excludes temporary possession by the following persons:
(a) the original equipment manufacturer
during GIS equipment transport and installation at a customer's site;
and
(b) a qualified person who
hauls the GIS for reuse, recycle or destruction.
Hermetically Sealed Gas-insulated
Switchgear means switchgear that is designed to be gas-tight and
sealed for life. This type of switchgear is pre-charged with
SF6, sealed at the factory, and cannot be refilled by
its user.
(3)
Applicability.
(a)
Any federal reporting GIS owner is subject to 310 CMR 7.72(1) through
(9).
(b) Any GIS owner that is not
a federal reporting GIS owner is subject to 310 CMR 7.72(1) through (4), (8),
and (9), and not subject to 310 CMR 7.72(5) through (7).
(4)
General Requirements for All
GIS Owners.
(a) Any newly
manufactured GIS that is placed under the ownership, lease, operation, or
control of any GIS owner on or after January 1, 2015 must be represented by the
manufacturer to have a 1.0% maximum annual leak rate.
(b) Any GIS owner that places GIS under
ownership, lease, operation, or control on or after January 1, 2015 shall
comply with any manufacturer-recommended maintenance procedures or industry
best practices that have the effect of reducing leakagle of SF.
(c) If any particular piece of active GIS
equipment placed under the ownership, lease, operation, or control of any GIS
owner on or after January 1, 2015 does not meet the 1.0% maximum annual leak
rate, the GIS owner shall, by April 15th of the year
following the calendar year during which the SF6 was
added, provide documentation to the Department demonstrating compliance with
310 CMR 7.72(4)(a) and (b) and describing any additional actions taken or
anticipated actions that are expected to reduce the emission rate in the
future.
1. GIS owners shall use data recorded
pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(8)(b) to determine whether the 1.0% maximum annual
leak rate is met.
2. For the
purpose of determining whether GIS meets the 1.0% maximum annual leak rate, GIS
owners shall determine an annual average by dividing the amount of SF added to
a piece of active GIS equipment by the number of years since the previous
addition of SF6.
3. For the purpose
of determining whether GIS meets the 1.0% maximum annual leak rate, GIS owners
may disregard the first time SF is added after the GIS becomes active GIS
equipment.
4. GIS owners may apply
the requirements of 310 CMR 7.72(4)(c) to any group of commonly owned, leased,
operated, or controlled pieces of active GIS equipment located in
Massachusetts, instead of a single piece of active GIS equipment.
(d) Upon removal of any GIS
containing SF6 from the ownership, lease, operation, or
control of a GIS owner, the GIS owner shall provide for the secure storage,
re-use, recycling, or destruction of the SF6.
(e) GIS owners are responsible for compliance
with 310 CMR 7.72(4) with respect to any GIS that is under their ownership,
lease, operation, or control in Massachusetts. Documentation provided to GIS
owners by qualified persons, such as manufacturers, suppliers, and maintenance
contractors, is sufficient to demonstrate compliance with all provisions of 310
CMR 7.72(4).
(5)
Limits to Annual SF Emissions.
(a)
Rate Limit. For
each calendar year specified below, each federal reporting GIS owner shall
ensure that the annual SF emission rate for all of its active GIS equipment, as
calculated pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(6)(b)8., shall not exceed the following:
|
Maximum Annual SF Emission
Rate |
|
Calendar Year |
Maximum Allowable SF Emission Rate |
|
2015 |
3.5% |
|
2016 |
3.0% |
|
2017 |
2.5% |
|
2018 |
2.0% |
|
2019 |
1.5% |
|
2020, and each calendar year
thereafter |
1.0% |
(b)
Mass Limit.
1. For
each calendar year specified below, each federal reporting GIS owner shall
ensure that the annual SF emissions from all of its active GIS equipment, as
calculated pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(6)(b)6., shall not exceed the following:
|
Maximum Annual SF Emissions - National
Grid |
|
Calendar Year |
Maximum Allowable SF Emissions (lbs.) |
|
2018 |
2,644 |
|
2019 |
2,082 |
|
2020 |
1,457 |
|
Maximum Annual SF Emissions -
Eversource |
|
Calendar Year |
Maximum Allowable SF Emissions (lbs.) |
|
2018 |
3,115 |
|
2019 |
2,800 |
|
2020 |
2,460 |
2. The
mass emissions limits listed in 310 CMR 7.72(5)(b) are designed such that
aggregate annual SF emissions from all active GIS equipment owned or operated
by all federal reporting GIS owners subject to 310 CMR 7.72(5), as calculated
pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(6)(b)6., shall not exceed the following:
|
Maximum Annual SF Emissions - Aggregate |
|
Calendar Year |
Maximum Allowable SF Emissions (lbs.) |
|
2018 |
5,759 |
|
2019 |
4,882 |
|
2020 |
3,917 |
(6)
Annual Reporting
Requirements.
(a) By April 15,
2016 and each year thereafter, each federal reporting GIS owner must submit an
annual report to the Department for emissions that occurred during the previous
calendar year.
(b) The annual
report shall be submitted electronically in a format specified by the
Department, and must contain all of the following information:
1. The federal reporting GIS owner's name,
physical address, and mailing address;
2. The location of records and
documents;
3. The name and contact
information including e-mail address and telephone number of the responsible
official submitting the report, and the person primarily responsible for
preparing the report;
4. The year
for which the information is submitted;
5. The authorized signature of a responsible
official of the federal reporting GIS owner, and the following certification
statement: "I certify that I have personally examined the report for this
facility and am familiar with the information contained in that report and
that, based on my inquiry of those individuals immediately responsible for
obtaining the information, I believe that the information is true, accurate,
and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting
false information, including possible fines and imprisonment."
6. The number of pounds of
SF6 emitted from GIS equipment owned, leased, operated,
or controlled by the federal reporting GIS owner and located in Massachusetts
during the year, as calculated using the equation specified in
40 CFR §
98.303 and procedures for estimating missing
data specified in
40 CFR §
98.305, adjusted to account for any emergency
events reported pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(7);
7. The total nameplate capacity of
SF6 -containing active GIS equipment owned, leased,
operated, or controlled by the federal reporting GIS owner and located in
Massachusetts at the end of the year, as calculated in a manner consistent with
the data reporting requirement specified in
40 CFR §
98.306(a)(1);
8. The annual SF6
emission rate for active GIS equipment owned, leased, operated, or controlled
by the federal reporting GIS owner and located in Massachusetts, as calculated
by dividing the number of pounds of SF6 emitted during
the year by the nameplate capacity of SF -containing active GIS equipment at
the end of the year, as calculated pursuant to 310 CMR 7.72(6)(b)6. and
7.;
9. All other related
information submitted to US EPA in accordance with
40 CFR §
98.306, except for any information that the
Department obtains directly from US EPA; and
10. Any information required to comply with
310 CMR 7.72(7)(b).
(7)
Emergency Event
Exemption.
(a) If a federal
reporting GIS owner wishes to exempt a particular release of SF emissions from
its annual calculation of the emissions limit (rate or mass), the federal
reporting GIS owner must meet its burden of proof to demonstrate, and the
Deparment must determine, that such release of SF6 was:
1. Caused by a sudden, unforeseeable
emergency event, including, but not limited to: fire, flood, earthquake, or act
of vandalism; and could not have been prevented by the exercise of prudence,
diligence, and care; and was beyond the control of the federal reporting GIS
owner; or
2. Necessary to avoid an
immediate electrical system outage.
(b) In order for the Department to determine
that an emergency event exemption is warranted, a federal reporting GIS owner
must submit the following information in its annual report:
1. A detailed, chronological, narrative
description of the sudden, unforeseeable, emergency event or of the specific
circumstances necessitating a release of SF in order to avoid an electrical
system outage. Such description shall include, but is not limited to, the
following:
a. The nature of the event
(e.g., fire, flood, earthquake);
b. The date and time the event
occurred;
c. The location of the
event;
d. The equipment that was
affected by the event;
e. The
function of the affected equipment within the facility's system;
f. The amount of SF6
released (in pounds);
g. The
specifc event which resulted in the release of SF6; and
h. The precautions taken to
prevent the reported release of SF.
2. Information and documentation (including,
but not limited to, witness statements, photographs, analysis of damaged
equipment, accident reconstruction, or other evidence) that can demonstrate by
a preponderance of evidence the requirements for exemption set forth in 310 CMR
7.72(7)(a); and
3. Any other
information specified in the Department's annual reporting
form.
(c) If the
Department determines that the federal reporting GIS owner has failed to
demonstrate that the event meets the criteria provided at 310 CMR 7.72(7)(a),
the Department will notify the federal reporting GIS owner, and the federal
reporting GIS owner shall amend the relevant annual emission report to include
SF emissions resulting from the event.
(8)
Monitoring, Q/A, and
Recordkeeping Requirements.
(a)
All federal reporting GIS owners shall comply with all requirements of
40 CFR §
98.304 and 307 with respect to equipment and
containers used in Massachusetts.
(b) All GIS owners shall record, no less than
annually, the amount of SF added, if any, to each piece of active GIS equipment
that was placed under their ownership, lease, operation, or control on or after
January 1, 2015.
(c) All GIS owners
shall retain for five years documentation sufficient to demonstrate compliance
with 310 CMR 7.72 and shall provide such documentation to the Department on
request. The documentation shall be submitted in a format and within the time
limit requested by the Department.
(9)
Compliance Verification and
Enforcement.
(a) If a federal
reporting GIS owner exceeds the applicable Maximum Annual SF Emissions limits
set forth in 310 CMR 7.72(5)(b)1.: Table, any such excess
emissions shall be deemed a release into the environment without the
authorization or approval of the Department and shall be presumed to constitute
a significant impact to public health, welfare, safety, and the environment. A
federal reporting GIS owner shall be deemed to be in non-compliance only if
such owner exceeds the applicable individual limit provided in 310 CMR
7.72(5)(b)1.
(b) The Department
shall enforce the requirements of 310 CMR 7.72 in accordance with applicable
federal and Massachusetts law, including but not limited to M.G.L. c. 21A,
§ 16, and
310 CMR
5.00: Administrative Penalty; M.G.L.
c. 111, § 2C; M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 142A through 142M; and M.G.L. c.
21N, § 7(d).
(c)
Compliance Verification. The Department may verify
compliance with 310 CMR 7.72 by conducting inspections, requesting information
and records and requiring the collection of information not previously
required; provided that this section does not limit the authority of the
Department as otherwise provided by law or in an authorization, determination,
modification, permit, or other approval, or by the terms of any order or other
enforcement document.
1.
Access
to Information. Where necessary to ascertain compliance with 310
CMR 7.72, including actual or potential SF emissions, the Department may
request of a GIS Owner information or records. The GIS Owner shall, within ten
business days of the request, furnish the requested information or records and
shall permit Department personnel or authorized representatives to have access
to and to take images of such records.
2.
Requirement to Collect
Information. When the Department has reason to believe that a GIS
Owner has exceeded its SF emissions limit or violated any other condition in
310 CMR 7.72, the Department may require a GIS Owner to submit the necessary
information or records to determine compliance. In doing so, the Department may
require a GIS Owner to:
a. Perform audits on
SF6 emissions records using standard procedures and
methods;
b. Quantify SF emissions
in accordance with the procedures, and methods as the Department may
prescribe;
c. Make periodic reports
to the Department, as necessary, to assure continuous compliance with 310 CMR
7.72; and
d. Maintain other records
and provide any other information as the Department might reasonably
require.
