Posted on March 7, 2011 by Deborah Jennings
In its first acts since GHG limits took effect under Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations, EPA has tried to walk a fine line between imposing stringent controls and not overplaying its hand in the face of Congressional reluctance.
In response to the first state-issued PSD permit with GHG controls since GHG limits went into effect January 2, EPA Region VI officials are seeking stronger GHG limits than Louisiana is requiring. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently finalized a PSD permit for a new iron and steel facility by Nucor Corp. on January 27, but declined to make any changes to GHG limits in the draft permit, including those suggested by EPA. It is unclear whether EPA will object to the permit’s issuance, but EPA was clearly dissatisfied with the permit for failing to establish a mass or CO2-equivalent limit, instead proposing a limit of “good combustion practices” based on an efficiency limit. “When determining a PSD permit limit, a permitting authority must establish a numeric emissions limitation that reflects the maximum degree of reduction achievable for each pollutant subject to BACT,” EPA stated in its January 7 letter to LDEQ. EPA also faulted the permit for failing to: include adequate monitoring for CO2 control; evaluate carbon capture and sequestration as an available technology; include a BACT analysis explaining how the control technology was selected; and provide baseline GHG emissions rates from the plant. Essentially EPA’s comments largely follow the agency’s position that GHG permitting should not differ from other air pollutants.
While EPA sought to send a strong message to Louisiana, it has taken a lighter approach on stalled permits, exempting several of them from the new GHG limits. In response to several PSD permit applications that have languished with EPA, the agency noticed its intent to exempt several permits that have yet to be issued from complying with emissions limits that took effect after the permit application date. The proposed new policy arose, as stated in EPA’s January 31 declaration in Avenal Power LLC v. EPA, exempting Avenal’s proposed 600 MW natural gas combined cycle power plant from GHG limits, the new SO2 hourly NAAQs (effective Aug. 23, 2010), and new hourly NO2 limits. The decision was made after Avenal applied for a permit in 2007 and sued EPA for failing to comply with PSD regulations requiring the agency to act on the permit within one-year of the application. EPA will issue a public notice requesting comment on the proposed policy. If the final policy is consistent with EPA’s declaration, several similarly situated entities whose permits have been delayed by EPA inaction could find themselves free from GHG limits in their newly issued permits.