BOARD MEETING DATE: September 9, 2005
AGENDA NO. 28
Stationary Source Committee
SYNOPSIS:
The Stationary Source Committee met Friday, July 22, 2005. Following is a summary of that meeting. The next meeting will be September 23, at 10:30 a.m., in Conference Room CC8.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive and file.
Ronald O. Loveridge, Chair
Stationary Source Committee
Attendance
The meeting began at 10:40 a.m. Present were Ronald Loveridge, Jane Carney, and Dennis Yates. Absent was Gary Ovitt.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
- Rule 1156 – PM10 Emission Reductions for Cement Manufacturing Operations Update
- Rule 1118 – Emissions from Refinery Flares Update
- Rule 1401.1 – New Source Review of Toxic Air Contaminants for New and Relocated Facilities Near Schools
Lee Lockie, Director of Area Sources, presented a brief update on the status of the proposed rule affecting the two cement manufacturers in SCAQMD. Ms. Lockie explained that the purpose of this rule is to reduce particulate matter emissions from cement operations. As currently structured, the rule sets performance standards for process control equipment as well as for crushing and material storage. She noted that the facilities affected by the rule have raised concerns regarding the technical feasibility, cost effectiveness and the compliance schedule for the types of controls that are being proposed.
Ms. Lockie explained that the Executive Officer initiated separate meetings with both Riverside Cement and California Portland to discuss their concerns and has asked each company to return to staff with an alternative set of options for achieving the same level of emission reductions as projected in the current staff proposal.
Ms. Lockie stated that staff has received a proposal from one of the companies that staff is currently evaluating. There is a technical meeting next Thursday to go over their proposal and explore conventional and unconventional control measures.
She concluded by stating that staff will be asking the Board to re-schedule the public hearing from September to October to allow additional time for technical discussions.
In response to questions raised by Board Member Yates, Ms. Lockie stated that staff acknowledges certain overlaps with existing aggregate Rule 1157 and that staff is open to eliminating these overlaps.
Laki Tisopulos, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer, Planning, Rules and Area Sources, presented an update on the status of this item. Rule 1118 controls emissions from refinery flares. As a result of the existing monitoring and reporting rule, refinery flare emissions have been significantly reduced voluntarily. However, the proposed rule amendment is to ensure those reductions remain permanent and that further emission reductions are achieved. The proposed rule will require that refinery flaring occur only under certain situations, such as emergencies, and that when these significant events do occur, that a root cause analysis is conducted to identify the cause of the event and to identify steps to be taken to prevent future occurrences. Additional requirements include implementation of a flare management plan to ensure flaring emissions are minimized or, for those facilities that have already minimized flaring, an enforceable emissions cap. The proposal also includes an industry-wide emissions cap with mitigation fees if the cap is exceeded and enhanced recordkeeping, monitoring and reporting requirements. Dr. Tisopulos summarized the key comments received during and subsequent to the public workshop held on June 29, 2005, and also gave a brief discussion on the Bay Area AQMD’s recently adopted flare rule.
Mayor Yates expressed concerns over the request by industry to continue the analysis of flare gas by individual refinery staff and that the proposed mitigation fees for exceeding the emissions limits are not appropriate. Mayor Yates stated that a fine structure would be preferable and that a graduated scale for multiple exceedances should be considered by staff. In response to Mayor Loveridge’s question on the strength and significance of the Bay Area’s flare rule, Dr. Tisopulos stated that staff’s proposal will go further by establishing limits that will result in real, quantifiable and permanent emission reductions.
Comments were received from Michael Wang, Western States Petroleum Association and Kenneth Hudson, BP West Coast Products. Mr. Wang stated that staff has worked cooperatively with the industry in the development of Proposed Amended Rule 1118. He stated that the industry has already achieved the 2003 AQMP emission target of 2.1 tons per day (tpd) SOx and that WSPA has proposed an emission level of 0.7 tpd SOx to be achieved two years earlier than staff’s proposed limit of 1.0 tpd SOx. In regards to mitigation fees, Mr. Wang stated that in general the WSPA refineries do not agree with the concept of "pay to pollute." Mr. Hudson stated that flares at refineries are safety and control devices and that the amended rule should not require a refinery operator to decide between receiving a notice of violation for flaring and flaring to safely operate the refinery.
The rule development is of significant interest to both the industry and the environmental community and there have been a number of group and individual meetings to address numerous issues. Staff will continue to work with all interested parties on the outstanding issues.
Susan Nakamura, Planning and Rules Manager, provided an overview of PR 1401.1. PR 1401.1 will provide additional health protection to existing schools from new or relocated facilities emitting toxic air contaminants. The rule will be applicable to facilities locating within 500 feet of the boundary of an existing school or in some cases up to 1,000 feet. The rule will require that a facility-wide risk threshold for new and relocated facilities be used and the risk calculated at the school be less than one in a million for new facilities and for relocated facilities that there be no net increase in risk between the risk imposed by the facility at its old location relative to its new relocated location or risk < 1 in one million. In addition, the AQMD staff summarized key issues based on written comments received on the proposed rule. Representatives from the business community commented regarding conducting a socioeconomic analysis on potential impact of siting new service stations, the risk exposure for school children, and the potential impacts on new businesses that have already purchased land. In addition, a suggestion was made to develop a brochure summarizing requirements for new and relocated businesses.
WRITTEN REPORTS
All written reports were acknowledged by the Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Attachments (DOC* 49kb)
July 22, 2005 Committee Agenda (without its attachments)
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