New Ozone Rules Could Mean Costly Changes for Companies
To help you prepare for this sweeping new regulation, here is a quick overview of the new regulatory requirements and the key milestones for its implementation.
What the new standard says
Based on a health benefit analysis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reduced the current ozone (2008) NAAQS from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. The format of standard remains same, which is the three-year average of the fourth-highest daily, maximum eight-hour average value. Both primary and secondary standards are same.
Who it Affects
Ozone is a secondary pollutant, which is mitigated by controlling its precursors, namely NOx and VOC, the most common pollutants from industrial operations as well as from mobile sources. This regulation could therefore affect the largest number of the industrial facilities than any other NAAQS regulations. Industry sectors most affected by this regulation are electric generating units, chemical and petrochemical facilities, refining facilities, pulp and paper, manufacturing facilities with combustion sources or solvent operations.
It is expected that over a hundred new areas around the country, mostly in the northeast, mid-west, and south U.S. will be designated as new NA areas. States with no NA areas will also have to develop SIPs to ensure that they stay in attainment.
What it Means for Industry
Once the areas designations are in place, new major projects and major modifications in the new NA areas will face two new significant requirements. The affected emission sources will have to: (i) install lowest achievable emission rate (LAER) controls for NOx/VOC; and (ii) buy emission offsets, if the projected emission increases cannot be compensated elsewhere within the facility. Both requirements are expensive and in many NA areas, the offsets could be hard to come by, which will make it difficult for a new project to get permit approval. Early planning for these projects is essential to avoid delays in operation. These requirements may act as deterrents in siting new sources in NA areas.
This tighter ozone standard comes with a hefty price tag for the industry for compliance. The EPA's own estimate of compliance cost is $1.4 billion in 2025 making it one of the most expensive of all NAAQS regulations. The industries are well-advised to understand how the new regulation will affect their existing operations and future growth.
What will Happen Next
This revision to the current NAAQS will likely trigger numerous state and federal regulatory actions, which will affect both current and future operations of industrial facilities around the country because of the added complexity of permitting and compliance with the lower standard. The regulation will take years to be fully implemented and many issues such as background ozone, interstate transport, and transition from current ozone standards will have to be worked by the agencies.
Thus said, the following key milestones are worth noting as the regulation is implemented at the federal and state levels.
- October 2017: This is when the areas around the U.S. are designated as either in non-attainment or attainment or unclassifiable. A non-attainment (NA) area designation will immediately trigger action by the states by way of developing state implementation plans (SIPs), which will need to list in detail the actions to be taken to control emissions of NOx/VOC.
- October 2018: This is when the states will submit their SIPs, which will need to list in detail how they will implement, maintain, and enforce the new ozone NAAQS. Based on precedence, the SIPs are expected to include new levels of NOx/VOC controls in the form of Reasonably Achievable Control Technology (or RACT) and increased operational requirements.Also in October 2018, the previous ozone NAAQS of 75 ppb is expected to be revoked, which will require major new projects and modifications in attainment/unclassified areas to demonstrate compliance with the more stringent 2015 ozone NAAQS of 70 ppb. In many permit applications, the agencies may require complex photochemical modeling for this demonstration, adding to the burden of the permit applicant.
- October 2019: The RACT requirements are expected to be in effect by this date. Control of both NOx/VOC for existing operations is expensive and requires long lead times for design, engineering, procurements, and operation. Unless planned early, this could become a challenge for newly affected facilities.
- 2020: This is when the attainment of the new ozone NAAQS will start for most of the NA areas in the country except some areas in California. The attainment will come at the cost of significant control of the NOx/VOC emissions and regulatory burden of recordkeeping, testing, monitoring, and reporting under Title V operating permit programs in all affected states for the newly affected facilities.
To learn how to prepare your company for these coming changes, join me on January 14 for the NAEM webinar on the topic, where I'll provide more detail on the regulatory update and share strategies for planning for more complex air permitting in ozone non-attainment areas.
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About the Author
Arijit Pakrasi
Arijit Pakrasi is a subject matter expert in Air Quality practice area based in the CB&I office in Houston, TX. He has 23 years of experience in diverse areas of air quality management and air quality impact assessment for industrial clients. He holds a Ph.D and is a licensed professional engineer (Ohio and Texas). He is also a board certified environmental engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.