EPA Proposes Changes to Clean Air Act Standards for Boilers and Incinerators

After facing criticism from industry and lawmakers, the Obama administration on Friday, December 02, 2011, proposed easing rules aimed at reducing toxic air pollution from industrial boilers and incinerators.

Background

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the EPA to develop and adopt New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for solid waste incineration units including Commercial/Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators (CISWI).

On March 21, 2011 the EPA released its latest proposed standards. However, at the same time final rules were issued, the EPA also announced that it would "reconsider" certain aspects of the boiler and commercial/industrial solid waste incinerator (CISWI) rules in order to fully address technical issues raised during the comment period.

On May 18, 2011 the EPA announced it would delay the effective date for the final rules titled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters" and "Standards of Performance for New Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units" until the proceedings for judicial review of the rules was completed or the EPA completed its reconsideration of the rules.

The agency received more than 4,800 comments from businesses, communities and other key stakeholders concerned about the high projected cost and rigorous compliance schedule. The Republican-controlled House passed a bill in October seeking to delay the boiler regulation and lower the threshold that boiler operators would have to meet from "maximum achievable" pollution control to the "least burdensome." The White House has said President Barack Obama would veto the measure lowering standards. A bipartisan bill pending in the Senate would give the EPA additional time to rewrite the rule and for industry to comply.

December 2011 Proposal

The EPA released its latest version of the boiler emission standards on December 2, 2011. The changes cut the cost of implementation by nearly 50 percent from the original 2010 proposed rule while maintaining health benefits. Some of the key changes the EPA is proposing include:

Boilers at large sources of air toxics emissions: The major source proposal covers approximately 14,000 boilers – less than one percent of all boilers in the United States – located at large sources of air pollutants, including refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities. The EPA is proposing to create additional subcategories and revise emissions limits. The EPA is also proposing to provide more flexible compliance options for meeting the particle pollution and carbon monoxide limits, replace numeric emissions limits with work practice standards for certain pollutants, allow more flexibility for units burning clean gases to qualify for work practice standards and reduce some monitoring requirements. The EPA estimates that the cost of implementing these standards remains about $1.5 billion less than the April 2010 proposed standards. Health benefits to children and the public associated with reduced exposure to fine particles and ozone from these large source boilers have increased by almost 25 percent and are estimated to be $27 billion to $67 billion in 2015.

Boilers located at small sources of air toxics emissions: The proposal also covers about 187,000 boilers located at small sources of air pollutants, including commercial buildings, universities, hospitals and hotels. However, due to how little these boilers emit, 98 percent of area source boilers would simply be required to perform maintenance and routine tune-ups to comply with these standards. Only 2 percent of area source boilers may need to take additional steps to comply with the rule. To increase flexibility for most of these sources, the EPA is proposing to require initial compliance tune-ups after two years instead after the first year.

Solid waste incinerators and revisions to the list of non-hazardous secondary materials: There are 95 solid waste incinerators that burn waste at a commercial or an industrial facility, including cement manufacturing facilities. The EPA is proposing to adjust emissions limits for waste-burning cement kilns and for energy recovery units.

The EPA is also proposing revisions to its final rule which identified the types of non-hazardous secondary materials that can be burned in boilers or solid waste incinerators. Following the release of that final rule, stakeholders expressed concerns regarding the regulatory criteria for a non-hazardous secondary material to be considered a legitimate, non-waste fuel, and how to demonstrate compliance with those criteria. To address these concerns, the EPA’s proposed revisions provide clarity on what types of secondary materials are considered non-waste fuels, and greater flexibility. The proposed revisions also classify a number of secondary materials as non-wastes when used as a fuel and allow for a boiler or solid waste operator to request that the EPA identify specific materials as a non-waste fuel.

The full versions of the proposed rule are available here:

Proposed Emissions Standards for Area Source Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers

Proposed Emissions Standards for Major Source Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters

Proposed Emissions Standards for Commercial/Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators (CISWI) and Revisions to the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule (NHSM)

The EPA will accept public comment on these standards for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. The EPA intends to finalize the reconsideration by spring 2012.

This post was authored by GLLF staff attorney Emily Kelchen.