New Source Performance Standards under the Clean Air Act

New Source Performance Standards under the Clean Air Act

Introduction

On November 15, 1990, President Bush signed into law sweeping revisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The new law contains titles that:

strengthen measures for attaining air quality standards,

set forth provisions relating to mobile sources,

expand the regulation of hazardous air pollutants,

require substantial reductions in power plant emissions for control of acid rain,

establish operating permits for all major sources of air pollution,

establish provisions for stratospheric ozone protection, and

expand enforcement powers and penalties.

The CAA Amendments will have far-reaching effects not only on environmental activities at DOE facilities, but also on procurement, maintenance, and motor vehicle operation activities.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The original 1970 CAA authorized EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to limit levels of pollutants in the air. EPA has promulgated NAAQS for six criteria pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone, lead, and particulate matter (PM-10). All areas of the United States must maintain ambient levels of these pollutants below the ceilings established by the NAAQS; any area that does not meet these standards is a "nonattainment" area (NAA).

The 1990 Amendments require that the boundaries of serious, severe, or extreme ozone or CO nonattainment areas located within Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs) be expanded to include the entire MSA or CMSA unless the governor makes certain findings and the Administrator of the EPA concurs. Consequently, all urban counties included in an affected MSA or CMSA, regardless of their attainment status, will become part of the NAA.

Under previous law "major sources" were those with the potential to emit more than 100 tons per year (tpy). The CAA Amendments reduced the size of plants subject to permitting and stringent retrofitting or offsetting requirements:

In serious ozone NAAs "major sources" include those with the potential to emit more than 50 tpy of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In severe ozone NAAs "major sources" include those that emit 25 tpy or, in extreme areas, 10 tpy.

For serious CO NAAs a "major source" is now one that emits 50 tpy.

For serious PM-10 NAAs a "major source" is now one that emits 70 tpy.

New Source Performance Standards

The New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) set minimum nationwide emission limitations for classes of facilities. The NSPS are set at levels that reflect the degree of control achievable through the application of the best system of continuous emission reduction that has been adequately demonstrated for that category of sources. The NSPS must take into consideration the cost of achieving such emissions reductions and any non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements.

The facility classes of most interest to DOE are those applicable to fossil-fuel-fired steam generators for which construction was begun after August 17, 1971 (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart D), and electric utility steam generating units for which construction was begun after September 18, 1978 (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart Da).

Hazardous Air Pollutants

The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) aim to ...