Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. This
section applies to any new utility unit that serves one or more generators with
total nameplate capacity of 25 MWe or less and burns only fuels with a sulfur
content of 0.05% or less by weight, as determined in accordance with
subdivision D 1 of this section.
B.
The designated representative, authorized in accordance with Subpart B of 40
CFR Part 72, of a source that includes a unit under subsection A of this
section may petition the department for a written exemption, or to renew a
written exemption, for the unit from the requirements of the acid rain program
as described in subdivision C 1 of this section. The petition shall be
submitted on a form approved by the department that includes the following
elements:
1. Identification of the
unit.
2. The nameplate capacity of
each generator served by the unit.
3. A list of all fuels currently burned by
the unit and their percentage sulfur content by weight, determined in
accordance with subsection A of this section.
4. A list of all fuels that are expected to
be burned by the unit and their sulfur content by weight.
5. The special provisions in subsection D of
this section.
C. The
department shall issue, for any unit meeting the requirements of subsections A
and B of this section, a written exemption from the requirements of the acid
rain program except for the requirements specified in this section,
40
CFR 72.2 through
72.7, and
40 CFR 72.10 through 72.13
(general provisions); provided that no unit shall be exempted unless the
designated representative of the unit surrenders, and the administrator deducts
from the unit's allowances tracking system account, allowances pursuant to
40 CFR 72.7(c)(1)(i) and
(d)(1) (new units exemption).
1. The exemption shall take effect on January
1 of the year immediately following the date on which the written exemption is
issued as a final agency action subject to judicial review, in accordance with
subdivision 2 of this subsection, provided that the owners and operators, and,
to the extent applicable, the designated representative, shall comply with the
requirements of the acid rain program concerning all years for which the unit
was not exempted, even if such requirements arise, or must be complied with,
after the exemption takes effect. The exemption shall not be a defense against
any violation of such requirements of the acid rain program whether the
violation occurs before or after the exemption takes effect.
2. In considering and issuing or denying a
written exemption under this subsection, the department shall apply the
permitting procedures in
9VAC5-80-510
C by:
a. Treating the petition as an acid rain
permit application under such provisions;
b. Issuing or denying a draft written
exemption that is treated as the issuance or denial of a draft permit under
such provisions; and
c. Issuing or
denying a proposed written exemption that is treated as the issuance or denial
of a proposed permit under such provisions, provided that no provision under
9VAC5-80-510
C concerning the content, effective date, or term of an acid rain permit shall
apply to the written exemption or proposed written exemption under this
section.
3. A written
exemption issued under this section shall have a term of five years from its
effective date, except as provided in subdivision D 3 of this
section.
D. The following
provisions apply to units exempted under this section:
1. The owners and operators of each unit
exempted under this section shall determine the sulfur content by weight of its
fuel as follows:
a. For petroleum or petroleum
products that the unit burns starting on the first day on which the exemption
takes effect until the exemption terminates, a sample of each delivery of such
fuel shall be tested using methods found in the following American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) publications: "Standard Practice for Manual
Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Products" and "Standard Test Method for
Sulfur in Petroleum Products (General Bomb Method)," "Standard Test Method for
Sulfur in Petroleum Products by Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry" or
"Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products by Energy-Dispersive
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy" (see
9VAC5-20-21).
b. For natural gas that the unit burns
starting on the first day on which the exemption takes effect until the
exemption terminates, the sulfur content shall be assumed to be 0.05% or less
by weight.
c. For gaseous fuel
(other than natural gas) that the unit burns starting on the first day on which
the exemption takes effect until the exemption terminates, a sample of each
delivery of such fuel shall be tested using methods found in the following ASTM
publications: "Standard Test Method for Total Sulfur in Fuel Gases" and
"Standard Practice for Sampling Liquefied Petroleum (LP) Gases (Manual Method)"
(see
9VAC5-20-21);
provided that if the gaseous fuel is delivered by pipeline to the unit, a
sample of the fuel shall be tested, at least once every quarter in which the
unit operates during any year for which the exemption is in effect, using the
method found in ASTM publication, "Standard Test Method for Total Sulfur in
Fuel Gases" (see
9VAC5-20-21).
2. The owners and operators of each unit
exempted under this section shall retain at the source that includes the unit,
the records of the results of the tests performed under subdivisions 1 a and 1
c of this subsection and a copy of the purchase agreements for the fuel under
subdivision 1 of this subsection, stating the sulfur content of such fuel. Such
records and documents shall be retained for five years from the date they are
created.
3. On the earlier of the
date the written exemption expires, the date a unit exempted under this section
burns any fuel with a sulfur content in excess of 0.05% by weight (as
determined in accordance with subdivision 1 of this subsection), or 24 months
prior to the date the unit first serves one or more generators with total
nameplate capacity in excess of 25 MWe, the unit shall no longer be exempted
under this section and shall be subject to all requirements of the acid rain
program, except that:
a. Notwithstanding
9VAC5-80-430 C, the
designated representative of the source that includes the unit shall submit a
complete acid rain permit application on the later of January 1, 1998, or the
date the unit is no longer exempted under this section.
b. For purposes of applying monitoring
requirements under 40 CFR Part 75, the unit shall be treated as a new unit that
commenced commercial operation on the date the unit no longer meets the
requirements of subsection A of this section.
Statutory Authority: § 10.1-1308 of the Code of
Virginia.
