Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
(A) The
Department promulgated Regulation 61-62, Air Pollution Control Regulations and
Standards, and developed the South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan to
provide enforceable emission limitations; to establish an adequate enforcement
program; to require owners or operators of stationary sources to monitor
emissions, submit periodic reports of such emissions, and maintain records as
specified by various regulations and permits; and to evaluate reports and
records for consistency with the applicable emission limitation or standard on
a continuing basis over time. The monitoring data collected and records of
operations would serve as the basis for a source to certify compliance, and
could be used by the Department as direct evidence of an enforceable violation
of the underlying emission limitation or standard.
(B) The purpose of this section is:
(1) To clarify the statutory authority of
Regulation 61-62, Air Pollution Control Regulations and Standards, and the
South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan, whereby non-reference test data
and various kinds of information already available and utilized for other
purposes may be used to demonstrate compliance or noncompliance with emission
standards;
(2) To eliminate any
potential ambiguity regarding language that has been interpreted to provide for
exclusive reliance on reference test methods as the means of certifying
compliance with various emission limits; and
(3) To curtail language that limits the types
of testing or monitoring data that may be used for determining compliance and
for establishing violations.
(C) The following are applicable in the
determination of noncompliance by the Department or for compliance
certification by the owners or operators of stationary sources:
(1) Enforcement - Consistent with South
Carolina's Environmental Audit Privilege and Voluntary Disclosure Act, codified
as S.C. Code Ann. Sections
48-57-10 et
seq., and notwithstanding any other provision in the South Carolina Air Quality
Implementation Plan, any credible evidence or information relevant to whether a
source would have been in compliance with applicable requirements if the
appropriate performance or compliance test had been performed, can be used to
establish whether or not a person has violated or is in violation of any
standard in the plan; and
(2)
Compliance Certifications - Consistent with South Carolina's Environmental
Audit Privilege and Voluntary Disclosure Act, codified as S.C. Code Ann.
Sections
48-57-10 et
seq., and notwithstanding any other provision in the South Carolina Air Quality
Implementation Plan, the owner or operator may use any credible evidence or
information relevant to whether a source would have been in compliance with
applicable requirements if the appropriate performance or compliance test had
been performed for the purpose of submitting compliance
certifications.
