COLORADO MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING
| Jurisdiction | United States |
(Nov 2007)
COLORADO MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING
Lesair Environmental, Inc.
Littleton, Colorado
Minor source permitting in the Western United States has grown in complexity over the years. In recent years States have promulgated or adopted requirements for minor sources that in years past would have been considered stringent for major source categories. Learning to adjust to and embrace these new requirements is a challenge for both industry and the regulatory community alike.
The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division (CAPCD) has been very active in strengthening both their minor source permitting program and the associated compliance requirements contained within these permits. The minor source permitting process within Colorado is being discussed in this paper to help the reader better understand the overall process and various regulatory aspects that affect this process. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy in the discussion of the minor source permitting program this is still just an overview of the process and should not be considered a substitute for the actual regulations themselves.
Regulations Affecting Minor Source Permitting
Colorado's minor source permitting program is covered in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 3. This regulation is made up of three parts; Part A provides the general provisions and details the air pollution emission notice (APEN) requirements, Part B covers the minor source construction permit program, and Part C is applicable to the Title V operating permit program.
A minor source permitting program is typically affected by numerous other regulations and/or compliance policies depending on what equipment is used, the location of the facility, and various other parameters. In Colorado the typical regulations that will affect minor source permitting are:
• Regulation 6; Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources. This regulation is based on federal standards that have been promulgated for new sources. This is more generally referred to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) which are standards for equipment or processes that should minimize the associated emissions from the equipment or process. Examples of these are Subpart KKK (leak detection and repair of equipment leaks), Subpart GG (Turbines), and Subpart Kb (Storage Vessels for Petroleum Liquids).
• Regulation 7; Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds. Colorado just amended this regulation in December 2006 to include state wide control requirements1 for
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emission sources applicable to the oil and natural gas industry. Regulations associated with the 8-hour ozone action area2 are also included in Regulation 7. These rules directly affect the requirements associated with minor source permits issued to oil and natural gas production facilities, gas plants, and compressor stations.
• Regulation 8; Control of Hazardous Air Pollutants. Federal Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS) now affect minor source permitting in two ways. Most generally, a minor source permit will be used to create federally enforceable permit conditions to limit emissions allowing a source to be a synthetic minor (this restricts the hazardous air pollutant emissions to keep emissions below required thresholds). On January 3, 2007 the promulgation of the Area Source MACT3 portion of 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart HH made minor source glycol dehydration units subject to a NESHAPS. This now has a direct impact on the minor source permitting of glycol dehydrators.
• Ambient Air Quality Standards. Construction of an emission source will affect the ambient or surrounding air. Specific ambient air quality standards, both Federal and State, have set minimum standards that the ambient air quality must meet. In Colorado, if a permitting action increases a facility's emission by 40 tons per year (TPY) for either nitrogen oxides (NOx) or sulfur dioxide (SO2) or 100 TPY for carbon monoxide (CO), modeling must be performed to ensure the ambient air quality standards are maintained.4
It is now evident that Colorado's minor source permitting program integrates many different regulations into a process designed to protect Colorado's air quality. Regulation 3, Stationary Source Permitting and Air Pollution Emission Notice (APEN) Requirements, takes a two phase approach to the permitting process. Phase one consists of submittal of an Air Pollution Emission Notice or APEN for applicable sources. Phase two consists of the submittal of a construction permit application for the applicable APEN sources.
Air Pollution Emissions Notices
APEN applicability and the associated requirements are found in Part A of Regulation 3. The requirement for an APEN is found in Part A.II.A which states that:
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"Except as specifically exempted in section II.D., no person shall allow emission of air pollutants from, or construction, modification or alteration of, any facility, process, or activity which constitutes a stationary source, except residential structures, from which air pollutants are, or are to be, emitted unless and until an Air Pollutant Emission Notice and the associated Air Pollutant Emission Notice fee has been filed with the division with respect to such emission. Each such notice shall specify the location at which the proposed emission will occur, the name and address of the persons operating and owning such facility, the nature of such facility, process or activity, an estimate of the quantity and composition of the expected emission and other information as required in the current Air Pollutant Emission Notice form."
An APEN is required for a source or group of sources that have uncontrolled actual emissions above an applicability threshold dependent on the source being located in an attainment or non-attainment area. The threshold for criteria pollutants (i.e., NOx, CO, VOC, etc) is 2 TPY if the area is in attainment and 1 TPY if it is in non-attainment. Currently all locations in Colorado have attainment status. However, the Denver Metro area is expected to be classified as non-attainment for ozone in November 2007.5
APEN reporting is also required for non-criteria pollutants, such as hazardous air pollutants. The applicability thresholds for non-criteria pollutants are affected by the release height or the distance to the property boundary. In addition, non-criteria pollutants are classified into different reporting "bins" (A, B, or C) which are pollutant dependent. A "step by step" methodology for determining the "De Minimis" thresholds for non-criteria pollutants is located in "Appendix A" of Regulation 3, Part A.
In addition to the applicability thresholds or "De Minimis" thresholds, there are also eighty-two (82) "categorical exemptions".6 These exemptions identify specific sources or circumstances that do not require an APEN to be filed.
Construction Permits
Any source that receives a Colorado minor source construction permit also has an APEN but not every APEN source needs to apply for a construction permit. Colorado regulations regarding the need for an air quality construction permit states:
"Except where specifically authorized by the terms of this Regulation No. 3, no person shall commence construction of any stationary source or modification of a
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stationary source without first obtaining or having a valid construction permit from the division."7
A source can be "Grandfathered" from the minor source construction permit program but it would not be exempt from the APEN program. "Grandfathered" means that the source was in existence prior to permitting regulations becoming applicable. A typical emission source in Colorado is "Grandfathered" if it was an existing prior to February 1, 1972 and has not since been modified. Condensate storage tanks and tank batteries in Colorado with a capacity of less than 952 barrels (40,000 gallons) were categorically exempt from needing an APEN thus they were exempt from permitting. However, since December 30, 2002 they are not subject to APEN requirements and thus may need a construction permit. Thus condensate tanks in existence prior to December 30, 2002 are "Grandfathered" unless they have since been modified.
There are several construction permit exemptions that could often benefit the natural resources industry. The obvious construct permit exemption is for those sources that are exempt from APEN requirements (i.e., certain oil production wastewater or produced water tanks, stationary internal combustion engines that meet certain size and operating hour limitations). There are also construction permit exemptions for:
• Stationary internal combustion engines that power portable drilling rigs (these are also APEN exempt).8
• Stationary internal combustion engines that have uncontrolled actual emissions of less than 5 TPY or manufacturer's site-rated horsepower of less than 50 if it is in a non-attainment area or 10 TPY or 100 horsepower if it is in an attainment area.9
• Each individual piece of fuel burning equipment, other than smokehouse generators, that uses gaseous fuel, and that has a design rate of less than or equal to 10 million BTU/hour.10
• Surface mining activities that mine seventy thousand (70) tons or fewer of product material per year.11
It is important to note that construction permitting exemptions do not apply if the source is subject to a New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) found in Regulation 6 Part A. Exempt sources also must be included in any emission calculation processes used for determining major source status or applicability status for other regulations.
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As mentioned earlier, all sources that receive a construction permit...
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