Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) The executive director will provide
written notification to an owner or operator of a facility upon determination
that a facility has had one or more excessive emissions events. The written
notification must contain, at a minimum, a description of the emissions events
that were determined to be excessive and the time period when those excessive
emissions events were evaluated. Upon receipt of this notice, the owner or
operator of the facility must take action to reduce emissions and shall either
file a corrective action plan (CAP) or, if the emissions are sufficiently
frequent, quantifiable, and predictable, in which case the owner or operator
may file a letter of intent to obtain authorization from the commission for
emissions from such events, in lieu of a CAP.
(1) When a CAP is required, the owner or
operator must submit a CAP to the commission office for the region and local
air pollution agency with jurisdiction in which the facility is located within
60 days after receiving notification from the executive director that a
facility has had one or more excessive emissions events. The 60-day period may
be extended once for up to 15 days by the executive director. The CAP must, at
a minimum:
(A) identify the cause or causes of
each excessive emissions event, including all contributing factors that led to
each emissions event;
(B) specify
the control devices or other measures that are reasonably designed to prevent
or minimize similar emissions events in the future;
(C) identify operational changes the owner or
operator will take to prevent or minimize similar emissions events in the
future; and
(D) specify time frames
within which the owner or operator will implement the components of the
CAP.
(2) An owner or
operator must obtain commission approval of a CAP no later than 120 days after
the commission receives the first CAP submission from an owner or operator. If
not disapproved within 45 days after initial filing, the CAP must be deemed
approved. The owner or operator of a facility must respond completely and
adequately, as determined by the executive director, to all written requests
for information concerning its CAP within 15 days after the date of such
requests, or by any other deadline specified in writing. An owner or operator
of a facility may request written approval of a CAP, in which case the
commission shall take final written action to approve or disapprove the plan
within 120 days from the receipt of such request. Once approved, the owner or
operator must implement the CAP in accordance with the approved schedule. The
implementation schedule is enforceable by the commission. The commission may
require the owner or operator to revise a CAP if the commission finds the plan,
after implementation begins, to be inadequate to prevent or minimize emissions
or emissions events. If the CAP is disapproved, or determined to be inadequate
to prevent or minimize excessive emissions events, the executive director shall
identify deficiencies in the CAP and state the reasons for disapproval of the
CAP in a letter to the owner or operator. If the commission finds a CAP
inadequate to prevent or minimize excessive emissions events after
implementation begins, an owner or operator must file an amended CAP within 60
days after written notification by the executive director.
(3) If the emissions from excessive emissions
events are sufficiently frequent, quantifiable, and predictable, and an owner
or operator of a facility elects to file a letter of intent to obtain
authorization from the commission for the emissions from excessive emissions
events, the owner or operator must file such letter within 30 days of the
notification that a facility has had one or more excessive emissions events. If
the commission denies the requested authorization, the owner or operator of a
facility shall file a CAP in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection
within 45 days after receiving notice of the commission denial.
(A) If the intended authorization is a
permit, the owner or operator must file a permit application with the executive
director within 120 days after the filing of the letter of intent. The owner or
operator of a facility must respond completely and adequately, as determined by
the executive director, to all written requests for information concerning its
permit application within 15 days after the date of such requests, or by any
other deadline specified in writing.
(B) If the intended authorization is a permit
by rule or standard permit, the owner or operator must obtain authorization
within 120 days after filing of the letter of intent.
(b) The executive director, after
a review of the excessive emissions events determinations made at a regulated
entity as defined in §
101.1 of this title (relating to
Definitions), may forward these determinations to the commission requesting
that it issue an order finding that the regulated entity has chronic excessive
emissions events. Orders issued by the commission under this section will be
part of the entity's compliance history as provided in Chapter 60 of this title
(relating to Compliance History). The commission may issue an order finding
that a regulated entity has chronic excessive emissions events after
considering the following factors:
(1) the
size, nature, and complexity of the regulated entity operations;
(2) the frequency of emissions events at the
regulated entity; and
(3) the
reason or reasons for excessive emissions event determinations at that
regulated entity.
(c) If
an emissions event recurs because an owner or operator fails to take corrective
action as required and within the time specified by a CAP approved by the
commission, the emissions event is excessive and the affirmative defenses in
§
101.222 of this title (relating to
Demonstrations) do not apply.
(d)
Nothing in this section will limit the commission's ability to bring
enforcement actions for violations of the Texas Clean Air Act or rules
promulgated thereunder, including enforcement actions to require actions to
reduce emissions from excessive emissions events.
