Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 400-499 - Environmental Protection - Air Pollution Control
Chapter NR 440 - Standards of performance for new stationary sources
Subchapter II - Standards of Performance
Section NR 440.54 - Phosphate rock plants

(a) The provisions of this section are applicable to the following affected facilities used in phosphate rock plants which have a maximum plant production capacity greater than 3.6 megagrams per hour (4 tons/hr): dryers, calciners, grinders, and ground rock handling and storage facilities, except those facilities producing or preparing phosphate rock solely for consumption in elemental phosphorus production.

(b) Any facility under par. (a) which commences construction, modification or reconstruction after September 21, 1979, is subject to the requirements of this section.

(a) "Beneficiation" means the process of washing the rock to remove impurities or to separate size fractions.

(b) "Calciner" means a unit in which the moisture and organic matter of phosphate rock is reduced within a combustion chamber.

(c) "Dryer" means a unit in which the moisture content of phosphate rock is reduced by contact with a heated gas stream.

(d) "Grinder" means a unit which is used to pulverize dry phosphate rock to the final product size used in the manufacture of phosphate fertilizer and does not include crushing devices used in mining.

(e) "Ground phosphate rock handling and storage system" means a system which is used for the conveyance and storage of ground phosphate rock from grinders at phosphate rock plants.

(f) "Phosphate rock feed" means all material entering the process unit including moisture and extraneous material as well as the following ore minerals: fluorapatite, hydroxylapatite, chlorapatite and carbonateapatite.

(g) "Phosphate rock plant" means any plant which produces or prepares phosphate rock product by any or all of the following processes: mining, beneficiation, crushing, screening, cleaning, drying, calcining and grinding.

(a) On and after the date on which the performance test required to be conducted by s. NR 440.08 is completed, no owner or operator subject to the provisions of this section may cause to be discharged into the atmosphere:

(a) Any owner or operator subject to the provisions of this section shall install, calibrate, maintain and operate a continuous monitoring system, except as provided in pars. (b) and (c), to monitor and record the opacity of the gases discharged into the atmosphere from any phosphate rock dryer, calciner or grinder. The span of this system shall be set at 40% opacity.

(b) For ground phosphate rock storage and handling systems, continuous monitoring systems for measuring opacity are not required.

(c) The owner or operator of any affected phosphate rock facility using a wet scrubbing emission control device will not be subject to the requirements in par. (a), but shall install, calibrate, maintain and operate the following continuous monitoring devices:

(d) For the purpose of conducting a performance test under s. NR 440.08, the owner or operator of any phosphate rock plant subject to the provisions of this section shall install, calibrate, maintain and operate a device for measuring the phosphate rock feed to any affected dryer, calciner or grinder. The measuring device used shall be accurate to within " 5% of the mass rate over its operating range.

(e) For the purpose of reports required under s. NR 440.07(3), periods of excess emissions that shall be reported are defined as all 6-minute periods during which the average opacity of the plume from any phosphate rock dryer, calciner or grinder subject to par. (a) exceeds the applicable opacity limit.

(f) Any owner or operator subject to the requirements under par. (c) shall report on a frequency specified in s. NR 440.07(3) all measurement results that are less than 90% of the average levels maintained during the most recent performance test conducted under s. NR 440.08 in which the affected facility demonstrated compliance with the standard under sub. (3).

(a) In conducting the performance tests required in s. NR 440.08, the owner or operator shall use as reference methods and procedures the test methods in Appendix A of 40 CFR part 60, incorporated by reference in s. NR 440.17, or other methods and procedures as specified in this subsection, except as provided for in s. NR 440.08(2).

(b) The owner or operator shall determine compliance with the particulate matter standards in sub. (3) as follows:

(c) To comply with sub. (4) (f), if applicable, the owner or operator shall use the monitoring devices in sub. (4) (c) 1. and 2. to determine the average pressure loss of the gas stream through the scrubber and the average scrubbing supply pressure during the particulate matter runs.