In Louisiana, EDGE has been monitoring several regulatory developments with the potential to impact businesses there. The regulatory updates range from proposed state legislation to new permitting application policies. Below is a brief summary. For more details, contact George Holder in our Baton Rouge office.
Proposed Air Monitoring Requirements
Louisiana lawmakers have proposed a bill that would require real-time air monitoring at Part 70 major sources, as defined under the federal Clean Air Act. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) would use the resulting data to detect exceedance of air quality standards or the existence of a public health threat. In those situations, the LDEQ would send real-time data to the public via phone, text, or community alerts. The monitoring system must be capable of measuring all applicable criteria pollutants and Louisiana toxic air pollutants.
If this bill is approved, facility owners or operators would be required to implement an air-monitoring system by June 1, 2021, at their cost and under the direction of LDEQ. Reports, based on the equipment’s monitoring results, would be sent to the LDEQ bi-annually for five years.
Operating Permits Workgroup Meeting
LDEQ announced several key updates during its recent Operating Permits Workgroup meeting. They include changes to the public and EPA comment periods under the Title V Permitting Program. If significant comments are received during the public comment period, then the EPA and LDEQ public comment periods cannot run concurrently. The LDEQ Air Permit Department must respond to the public comments, and the EPA comment period will begin upon receipt of LDEQ’s response to those public comments.
The EPA also has revised its policy for defining “ambient air” which is important when determining receptor placement during air modeling exercises. The policy specifies which areas can be excluded from the scope of ambient air under the Clean Air Act and other EPA regulations. The changes can be found on the EPA website. The key takeaway is that the atmosphere over land owned or controlled by a source may be excluded from ambient air where the source employs measures, which may include things other than physical barriers like video surveillance, to prevent the general public’s access to the land.
LDEQ provided updates on several permits:
- The Minor Source Air General Permit for Surface Coating and Fabrication was renewed and became effective on December 1, 2019.
- The Minor Source Air General Permit for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production is being renewed. The effective date will be September 16, 2020. Facilities currently covered under the general permit are automatically covered by the renewed general permit.
- Regulatory permits for Boilers and Process Heaters and Cooling Towers were promulgated on December 20, 2019. A regulatory permit for Stationary Combustion Turbines was proposed on December 20, 2019 and was finalized on April 20, 2020.
LDEQ also is in the process of consolidating several of its regulatory permit forms. They include:
- Regulatory Permit Notification Form
- Instructions for the Regulatory Permit Notification Form
- Request to Relocate a Facility Authorized by a Regulatory Permit (for 313, 315, and 317)
Also announced during the meeting, LDEQ is working with industry representatives to codify several leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs into rules. The programs address fugitive emissions at chemical manufacturing facilities and in refineries.
TANKS Software
Louisiana businesses no longer can use the EPA’s TANKS software to help them complete applications for organic liquid storage tanks. Now, because the software is outdated and unreliable, the LDEQ’s Air Permits Division no longer accepts emissions calculated with it. The Windows-based software was used for years to estimate volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from fixed- and floating-roof storage tanks.
Businesses still have the option of using different software programs for their calculations, but they must choose a solution that utilizes the equations from the most recent version of Chapter 7.1 from the EPA’s Compilation of Air Pollutant Emissions Factors (AP-42). EDGE has used the most recent version of Chapter 7.1 in air permit application and has developed spreadsheet templates that can be used for projects in Louisiana and beyond.
EDGE consultants are available to help companies stay on top of regulatory developments like these. The company’s team works regularly with businesses to help them determine how new laws and policies could impact their operations and make informed business decisions.