In the update, EPA intends to initiate the following actions:  1) move forward with the current designations process as soon as possible; 2) initiate stakeholder outreach in the near future to ask for input on monitoring, modeling and implementation issues, particularly for unclassifiable areas; and 3) no longer expect states’ June 2013 State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittal to contain modeling demonstrations showing attainment of the SO2 standard in unclassifiable areas.

EPA recommends that states instead focus their June 2013 SIP submittal on traditional infrastructure elements contained in Clean Air Act sections 110(a)(1) and (2).

Additional information on current SO2 regulations can be found at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirQuality/Pollutants.html#tabx4  The original EPA letter can be found on the DNR website http://dnr.wi.gov/ topic/AirQuality/SO2.html

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear about these and other waste issues:  

• Barb Bickford, DNR, will discuss Wisconsin’s regulations on different medical waste and waste reduction
• Joe Van Rossum, SHWEC, will share some of the tools that have been developed to assist businesses achieve recycling and waste reduction goals
• Rick Portz, PKK Lighting, will talk about Wisconsin’s Universal Waste Rule and the proper storage of waste
• Amy Walden, DNR, will discuss used oil management and the landfill ban on oil filters and absorbents
• Neil Peters-Michaud, Cascade Asset Management, will discuss the challenges of recycling electronics and how to mitigate exposure from improper disposal and handling of e-waste

Register today using our online registration form, or call FET at 262-437-1700.

The Waste Regulatory Seminar will review used oil, universal waste management, electronic waste and TSCA. 

The Environmental Regulatory Update will provide a general overview of the proposed revisions to NR700, GHG BACT guidance as well as modeling strategies for PM2.5.

We are currently taking registrations on all programs; visit the Upcoming Events tab to get current program agendas and registrations.

For additional information, visit the EPA’s letter, called a No Action Assurance letter: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion/compliance/index.html. 

For more information on the rule in general, and to follow any future updates, visit DNR’s small business web page: http://dnr.wi.gov/air/sb/Process_Info.html.

Comments must be received on or before April 20, 2012.

On March 27, 2012, USEPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson signed a notice proposing new source performance standards (NSPS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new fossil-fuel fired electric generating units that provide more than one-third of their potential annual output to the distribution grid with a net electrical output of greater than 25 megawatt (MW-e) capacity with certain exceptions. The “affected source” is defined to include boilers, combined cycle combustion turbines along with their duct burners and heat recovery steam generators, and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) units. Excluded from the proposed rule are simple cycle combustion turbines, units located in Hawaii and other non-continental areas, and units subject to Section 129 of the Clean Air Act. The proposed standard is 1,000 pounds of CO2 per gross megawatt-hour of electrical output (lb CO2/MWh) and is based upon the performance of natural gas fired combined cycle technology.

Excluded from the proposed emission standards are existing generating units that increase emissions due to the installation of control equipment to reduce emissions of “conventional” pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, mercury, etc.) and those that have received pre-construction permits prior to the date of the proposed rule and start construction within 12 months of the proposal. Modified and reconstructed units are also excluded from the proposed standards. At some point, the USEPA will be required to propose NSPS for existing sources which make modifications which trigger NSPS requirements and emission guidelines for existing sources (New York v. EPA, DC Cir., Case No. 06-1322 [December 23, 2010]). However, the USEPA is not expected to do this until sometime after 2012.

In an advance copy of the March 27, 2012 notice, the USEPA states that in its base case analysis of the rule, it expects that the predominant choice for new generating units will be natural gas fired combined cycle units, even without the proposed rule due to economics of the energy sector. The USEPA further indicates that without the proposed rule under its base case analysis, it does not expect that any new coal or petroleum coke fired units would be built without installing carbon capture and storage. New coal-fired or petroleum-coke fired units would need to achieve approximately a 50 percent reduction in CO2 emissions upon start up or could meet the proposed emission limit by averaging emissions over a 30-year period through later application of more effective emission control methods.

Because of the lower capital cost for natural gas combined cycle technology compared with coal-fired generation units, and the current supply and cost of natural gas, the USEPA does not expect that this proposed rule will have added costs for the utility industry. In other rulemaking (Proposed Utility NESHAP; May 3, 2011; Federal Register Volume 76, Number 85; Pages 24976 – 25147), the USEPA had projected that retail electricity costs would increase by 3.7 percent in 2015 over USEPA’s base case analysis, and that the price of natural gas would increase by less than 7 percent due to the retirement of old generating units and the shift to other fuels for generation, most significantly, a shift to natural gas.

After publication in the Federal Register, the USEPA will receive public comments and has indicated that it will hold public hearings.

Contributors to this article: David F. Seitz, PE; Principal Consultant, ENVIRON International Corp; dseitz@environcorp.com, 262.901.0093 Michael S. McCauley, Partner, Quarles & Brady, LLP; Michael.McCauley@quarles.com, 414.277.5525

We are currently taking registrations on all programs; visit the Upcoming Events tab to get current program agendas and registrations.

Under the CDR, manufacturers have from February 1, 2012 – June 30, 2012 to submit new reporting requirements to the EPA. Manufacturers are required to report information regarding the volume of commercial chemical substances and mixtures manufactured, processed and used by facilities in the United States listed on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. The determination of the need to report is based on production volume during calendar year 2011.

Affected companies include manufacturers and importers of organic and inorganic chemicals, petroleum refiners, nonferrous smelters, steel mills, fertilizer manufacturers, acid manufacturers, chemical substance users and processors who may manufacture a byproduct chemical substance, e.g., utilities, paper manufacturers, primary metal manufacturers, semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturers.

All reporting companies must report CDR data electronically, using e-CDRweb, the CDR web-based reporting tool, and EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) system.

For additional information, visit http://www.epa.gov/iur/tools/InstructionsManual.013112.pdf 

FET is planning to dedicate a session on these issues at the Environmental Regulatory Update seminar on April 4th in Brookfield and the Waste Regulations seminar on May 3rd in DeForest. Plan now to attend!

Registration is available – visit the Upcoming Events tab for an agenda.