Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) Applicability. This Rule applies to the
construction or reconstruction of major sources of hazardous air pollutants
unless:
(1) the major source has been
regulated or exempted from regulation pursuant to:
(A)
15A NCAC
02D .1109 or
02D .1111; or
(B) a standard issued pursuant to Section
112(d), 112(h), or 112(j) of the federal Clean Air Act and incorporated in
another Subpart of 40 CFR Part 63; or
(2) the owner or operator of the major source
has received all necessary air quality permits for the construction or
reconstruction project before July 1, 1998.
(b) Exclusions. The requirements of this Rule
shall not apply to:
(1) electric utility steam
generating units unless and until such time as these units are added to the
source category list pursuant to Section 112(c)(5) of the federal Clean Air
Act;
(2) stationary sources that
are within a source category that has been deleted from the source category
list pursuant to Section 112(c)(9) of the federal Clean Air Act; or
(3) research and development
activities.
(c)
Definitions. For the purposes of this Rule, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Affected source" means the stationary
source or group of stationary sources that, when fabricated on site, erected,
or installed meets the definition of "construct a major source" or the
definition of "reconstruct a major source" contained in this
Paragraph.
(2) "Affected States"
means all States or local air pollution agencies whose areas of jurisdiction
are:
(A) contiguous to North Carolina and
located less than D=Q/12.5 from the facility, where:
(i) Q = emissions of the pollutant emitted at
the highest permitted rate in tons per year; and
(ii) D = distance from the facility to the
contiguous state or local air pollution control agency in miles; or
(B) within 50 miles of the
permitted facility.
(3)
"Available information" means, for purposes of identifying control technology
options for the affected source, information contained in the following
information sources as of the date of approval of the MACT determination by the
Division:
(A) a relevant proposed regulation,
including all supporting information;
(B) background information documents for a
draft or proposed regulation;
(C)
data and information available from the Control Technology Center developed
pursuant to Section 113 of the federal Clean Air Act;
(D) data and information contained in the
Aerometric Informational Retrieval System including information in the MACT
data base;
(E) additional
information that can be expeditiously provided by the Division and EPA;
and
(F) for the purpose of
determinations by the Division, additional information provided by the
applicant or others and additional information available to the
Division.
(4) "Construct
a major source" means:
(A) To fabricate,
erect, or install at any greenfield site a stationary source or group of
stationary sources that is located within a contiguous area and under common
control and that emits or has the potential to emit 10 tons per year of any
HAP's or 25 tons per year of any combination of HAP; or
(B) To fabricate, erect, or install at any
developed site a new process or production unit that in and of itself emits or
has the potential to emit 10 tons per year of any HAP or 25 tons per year of
any combination of HAP, unless the process or production unit satisfies
Subparts (i) through (vi) of this Paragraph:
(i) all HAP emitted by the process or
production unit that would otherwise be subject to the requirements of this
Rule will be controlled by emission control equipment that was previously
installed at the same site as the process or production unit;
(ii) the Division:
(I) has determined within a period of five
years prior to the fabrication, erection, or installation of the process or
production unit that the existing emission control equipment represented best
available control technology (BACT) pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .0530 or lowest achievable emission rate
(LAER) pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .0531 for the category of pollutants that
includes those HAP's to be emitted by the process or production unit;
or
(II) determines that the control
of HAP emissions provided by the existing equipment will be equivalent to that
level of control currently achieved by other well-controlled similar sources
(i.e., equivalent to the level of control that would be provided by a current
BACT, LAER, or MACT determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109);
(iii) the Division determines that the
percent control efficiency for emissions of HAP from all sources to be
controlled by the existing control equipment will be equivalent to the percent
control efficiency provided by the control equipment prior to the inclusion of
the new process or production unit;
(iv) the Division has provided notice and an
opportunity for public comment concerning its determination that criteria in
Subparts (i), (ii), and (iii) of this Subparagraph apply and concerning the
continued adequacy of any prior LAER, BACT, or MACT determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109;
(v) if any commenter has asserted that a
prior LAER, BACT, or MACT determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109 is no longer adequate, the Division
has determined that the level of control required by that prior determination
remains adequate; and
(vi) any
emission limitations, work practice requirements, or other terms and conditions
upon which the above determinations by the Division are predicated will be
construed by the Division as applicable requirements pursuant to Section 504(a)
of the federal Clean Air Act and either have been incorporated into an existing
permit issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0500 for the affected facility or will
be incorporated into such a permit upon issuance.
(5) "Control technology" means
measures, processes, methods, systems, or techniques to limit the emission of
hazardous air pollutants, including measures that:
(A) reduce the quantity of, or eliminate
emissions of, such pollutants through process changes, substitution of
materials, or other modifications;
(B) enclose systems or processes to eliminate
emissions;
(C) collect, capture, or
treat such pollutants when released from a process, stack, storage, or fugitive
emissions point;
(D) are design,
equipment, work practice, or operational standards, including requirements for
operator training or certification, as provided in
42 U.S.C.
7412(h); or
(E) are a combination of Parts (A) through
(D) of this definition.
(6) "Electric utility steam generating unit"
means any fossil fuel-fired combustion unit of more than 25 megawatts that
serves a generator that produces electricity for sale. A unit that co-generates
steam and electricity and supplies more than one-third of its potential
electric output capacity and more than 25 megawatts electric output to any
utility power distribution system for sale shall be considered an electric
utility steam generating unit.
(7)
"Greenfield site" means a contiguous area under common control that is an
undeveloped site.
(8) "HAP" means
hazardous air pollutants.
(9)
"Hazardous air pollutant" means any pollutant listed pursuant to Section 112(b)
of the federal Clean Air Act.
(10)
"List of source categories" means the source category list required by Section
112(c) of the federal Clean Air Act.
(11) "MACT" means maximum achievable control
technology.
(12) "Maximum
achievable control technology emission limitation for new sources" means the
emission limitation that is not less stringent than the emission limitation
achieved in practice by the best controlled similar source, and that reflects
the maximum degree of reduction in emissions that the permitting authority
determines is achievable by the constructed or reconstructed source, taking
into consideration the cost of achieving such emission reduction, non-air
quality health and environmental impacts, and energy requirements.
(13) "Process or production unit" means any
collection of structures or equipment that processes, assembles, applies, or
otherwise uses material inputs to produce or store an intermediate or final
product. A single facility may contain more than one process or production
unit.
(14) "Reconstruct a major
source" means the replacement of components at an existing process or
production unit that emits or has the potential to emit 10 tons per year of any
HAP or 25 tons per year of any combination of HAP, if:
(A) the fixed capital cost of the new
components exceeds 50 percent of the fixed capital cost that would be required
to construct a comparable process or production unit; and
(B) it is technically and economically
feasible for the reconstructed major source to meet the applicable maximum
achievable control technology emission limitation for new sources established
pursuant to 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart B.
(15) "Research and development activities"
means activities conducted at a research or laboratory facility whose primary
purpose is to conduct research and development into new processes and products,
where such source is operated under the close supervision of technically
trained personnel and is not engaged in the manufacture of products for sale or
exchange for commercial profit, except in a de minimis manner.
(16) "Similar source" means a stationary
source or process that has comparable emissions and is structurally similar in
design and capacity to a constructed or reconstructed major source, such that
the source could be controlled using the same control technology.
(d) Principles of MACT
determinations. The following general principles shall be used to make a
case-by-case MACT determination concerning construction or reconstruction of a
major source pursuant to this Rule:
(1) The
MACT emission limitation or MACT requirements recommended by the applicant and
approved by the Division shall not be less stringent than the emission control
that is achieved in practice by the best controlled similar source, as
determined by the Division.
(2)
Based upon available information, the MACT emission limitation and control
technology, including any requirements pursuant to Subparagraph (3) of this
Paragraph, recommended by the applicant and approved by the Division shall
achieve the maximum degree of reduction in emissions of HAP that can be
achieved by using those control technologies that can be identified from the
available information, taking into consideration the costs of achieving such
emission reduction and any non-air quality health and environmental impacts and
energy requirements associated with the emission reduction.
(3) The owner or operator may recommend a
specific design, equipment, work practice, or operational standard, or a
combination thereof, and the Director may approve such a standard if it is not
feasible to prescribe or enforce an emission limitation pursuant to the
criteria set forth in Section 112(h)(2) of the federal Clean Air Act.
(4) If the EPA has either proposed a relevant
emission standard pursuant to Section 112(d) or 112(h) of the federal Clean Air
Act or adopted a presumptive MACT determination for the source category that
includes the constructed or reconstructed major source, the MACT requirements
applied to the constructed or reconstructed major source shall have considered
those MACT emission limitations and requirements of the proposed standard or
presumptive MACT determination.
(e) Effective date of MACT determination. The
effective date of a MACT determination shall be the date of issuance of a
permit pursuant to procedures of
15A NCAC
02Q .0300 or
02Q .0500 incorporating a MACT
determination.
(f) Compliance date.
On and after the date of start-up, a constructed or reconstructed major source
that is subject to the requirements of this Rule shall be in compliance with
all applicable requirements specified in the MACT determination.
(g) Compliance with MACT determinations. The
owner or operator of a constructed or reconstructed major source that:
(1) is subject to a MACT determination shall
comply with all requirements set forth in the permit issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0300 or
02Q .0500, including any MACT
emission limitation or MACT work practice standard, and any notification,
operation and maintenance, performance testing, monitoring, reporting, and
recordkeeping requirements; or
(2)
has obtained a MACT determination shall be deemed to be in compliance with
Section 112(g)(2)(B) of the federal Clean Air Act only to the extent that the
constructed or reconstructed major source is in compliance with all
requirements set forth in the permit issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0300 or
02Q .0500. Any violation of such
requirements by the owner of operator shall be deemed by the Division to be a
violation of the prohibition on construction or reconstruction in Section
112(g)(2)(B) of the federal Clean Air Act for whatever period the owner or
operator is determined to be in violation of such requirements, and shall
subject the owner or operator to appropriate enforcement action pursuant to the
General Statutes and the federal Clean Air Act.
(h) Requirements for constructed or
reconstructed major sources subject to a subsequently-promulgated MACT standard
or MACT requirement. If EPA promulgates an emission standard pursuant to
Section 112(d) or 112(h) of the federal Clean Air Act or the Division issues a
determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109 that is applicable to a stationary
source or group of sources that is a constructed or reconstructed major source
pursuant to this Rule:
(1) before the date
that the owner or operator has obtained a final and legally effective MACT
determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0300 or
02Q .0500, the owner or operator
of the sources shall comply with the promulgated standard or determination
rather than any MACT determination pursuant to this Rule by the compliance date
in the promulgated standard; or
(2)
after the source has been subject to a prior case-by-case MACT pursuant to this
Rule, and the owner or operator obtained a final and legally effective
case-by-case MACT determination prior to the promulgation date of such emission
standard, and if the initial permit has not yet been issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0500, the Division shall issue an
initial permit that incorporates the emission standard or determination, or if
the initial permit has been issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0500, the Division shall revise the
permit according to the reopening procedures in
15A NCAC
02Q .0517, Reopening for Cause, whichever is
relevant, to incorporate the emission standard or determination.
(i) Compliance with subsequent
112(d), 112(h), or 112(j) standards. If EPA includes in the emission standard
established pursuant to Section 112(d) or 112(h) of the federal Clean Air Act a
specific compliance date for those sources that have obtained a final and
legally effective MACT determination pursuant to this Rule and that have
submitted the information required by
40 CFR
63.43 to EPA before the close of the public
comment period for the standard established pursuant to section 112(d) of the
federal Clean Air Act, the Division shall incorporate that compliance date in
the permit issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0500. If no compliance date has been
established in the promulgated 112(d) or 112(h) standard or determination
pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109 for those sources that have
obtained a final and legally effective MACT determination pursuant to this
Rule, the Director shall establish a compliance date in the permit that assures
that the owner or operator complies with the promulgated standard or
determination as expeditiously as practicable, but not longer than eight years
after the standard is promulgated or a determination is made pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109.
(j) Revision of permit to incorporate less
stringent control. Notwithstanding the requirements of Paragraph (h) of this
Rule, if the Administrator of EPA promulgates an emission standard pursuant to
Section 112(d) or Section 112(h) of the federal Clean Air Act or the Division
issues a determination pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109 that is applicable to a stationary
source or group of sources that was deemed to be a constructed or reconstructed
major source pursuant to this Rule and that is the subject of a prior
case-by-case MACT determination pursuant to
40 CFR
63.43, and the level of control required by
the emission standard issued pursuant to Section 112(d) or 112(h) or the
determination issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02D .1109 is less stringent than the level of
control required by any emission limitation or standard in the prior MACT
determination, the Division shall not be required to incorporate any less
stringent terms of the promulgated standard in the permit issued pursuant to
15A NCAC
02Q .0500 applicable to such sources after
considering the effects on air quality. The Division may consider any more
stringent provision of the prior MACT determination to be applicable legal
requirements, as necessary to protect air quality, when issuing or revising
such an operating permit.
