Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-3-14-.03

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 335-3-14-.03 - Standards For Granting Permits

(1)General Standards.

(a) The Director shall deny a permit if the applicant does not show that every article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance, the use of which may cause the issuance of air contaminants, is so designed, controlled, or equipped with such air pollution control equipment, that it may be expected to operate without emitting or without causing to be emitted air contaminants in violation of these rules and regulations.

(b) The Director shall deny a permit if the applicant does not present, in writing, a plan whereby the emission of air contaminants by every article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance described in the permit application, will be reduced during periods of an Air Pollution Alert, Air Pollution Warning, and Air Pollution Emergency in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 335-3-2, where such a plan is required.

(c) Before an Air Permit is granted, the Director may require the applicant to provide and maintain such facilities as are necessary for sampling and testing purposes in order to secure information that will disclose the nature, extent, quantity or degree of air contaminants discharged into the atmosphere from the article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance described in the Air Permit. In the event of such a requirement, the Director shall notify the applicant in writing of the required size, number, and location of the sampling platform; the access to the sampling platform; and the utilities for operating and sampling and testing equipment.

(d) The Director may also require the applicant to install, use, and maintain such monitoring equipment or methods; sample such emissions in accordance with such methods, at such locations, intervals, and procedures as may be specified; and provide such information as the Director may require.

(e) Before acting on an application for an Air Permit, the Director may require the applicant to furnish further information or further plans or specifications.

(f) If the Director finds that the article, machine, or other contrivance has been constructed not in accordance with the Air Permit, and if the changes noted are of a substantial nature in that the amount of air contaminants emitted by the article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance may be increased, or in that the effect is unknown, then he shall revoke the Air Permit. The Director shall not accept any further application for an Air Permit until the article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance has been reconstructed in accordance with said Air Permit or until the applicant has proven to the satisfaction of the Director that the change will not cause an increase in the emission of air contaminants.

(g) The Director shall deny an Air Permit where he determines that the construction and operation of such source will interfere with attaining or maintaining any primary or secondary standard established by Rule 335-3-1-.03(1). A new source or modification will be considered to interfere with attaining or maintaining a standard when such source or modification would, at a minimum, exceed the following significance levels at any locality that does not or would not meet the NAAQS:

Pollutant	Annual	24 hours	8 hours	3 hours	1 hour
SO2	1.0 µg/m3	5 µg/m3		25 µg/m3
PM10	1.0 µg/m3	5 µg/m3
PM2.5	0.3 µg/m3	1.2 µg/m3
NO2	1.0 µg/m3
CO			0.5 mg/m3		2 mg/m3

1. A proposed major source or major modification subject to this Paragraph may reduce the impact of its emissions upon air quality by obtaining sufficient emissions reductions to, at a minimum, compensate for its adverse ambient impact where this impact would otherwise cause or contribute to a violation of any national ambient air quality standard or exceed the significance levels of subparagraph (g). of this paragraph above. In the absence of such emission reductions, the Director shall deny the proposed construction.

2. The requirements of subparagraph (g) of this paragraph shall not apply to a major stationary source or major modification with respect to a particular pollutant if the owner or operator demonstrates that, as to that pollutant, the source or modification is located in an area designated as nonattainment pursuant to Section 107 of the federal Clean Air Act.

(h)Exceptions to violations of emissions limits.

1. The Director may, in the Air Permit, exempt on a case by case basis any exceedances of emission limits which cannot reasonably be avoided, such as during periods of start-up, shut-down or load change.

2.Emergency provision.

(i) An "emergency" means any situation arising from sudden and reasonably unforeseeable events beyond the control of the facility, including acts of God, which situation require immediate corrective action to restore normal operation, and that causes the facility to exceed a technology based emission limitation under the permit, due to unavoidable increases in emissions attributable to the emergency. An emergency shall not include noncompliance to the extent caused by improperly designed equipment, lack of preventative maintenance, careless or improper operation, or operator error.

(ii) Exceedances of emission limitations during emergencies (as defined above) at a facility may be exempted as being violations provided that:

(I) the permittee can identify the cause(s) of the emergency;

(II) the permitted facility was at the time being properly operated;

(III) during the period of the emergency, the permittee took all reasonable steps to minimize levels of emissions that exceeded the emission standards, or other requirements of the permit;

(IV) the permittee submitted notice of the emergency to the Department within 2 working days of the time when the emissions limitations were exceeded due to the emergency; and

(V) the permittee immediately documented the emergency exceedance in an "Emergency Log", which shall be maintained for 5 years in a form suitable for inspection upon request by a representative of the Department.

(iii) The Director shall be the sole determiner of whether an emergency has occurred.

(iv) This provision is in addition to any emergency or upset provision contained in any applicable requirement.

3. ADEM Admin. Code r. 335-3-14-.03(1)(h)1. and 2. are repealed effective upon the EPA's final approval of this provision.

(i) A determination may be made by the Director to deny a permit application if the applicant operates other permitted facilities or sources within the state which are in substantial noncompliance as determined by the Director, until such noncompliance is corrected or if the Director determines that a permit that results in compliance with applicable air pollution control standards could not be issued, or if issued, could not be complied with.

(2)Stack Heights.

(a)Definitions. For purposes of this paragraph, the following words and phrases, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:

1. "Emission limitation" and "emission standard" mean a requirement, established by ADEM or the EPA Administrator, which limits the quantity, rate, or concentration of emissions of air pollutants on a continuous basis, including any requirements which limit the level of opacity, prescribe equipment, set fuel specifications, or prescribe operation or maintenance procedures for a source to assure continuous emission reduction.

2. "Stack" means any point in a source designed to emit solids, liquids, or gases into the air, including a pipe or duct but not including flares.

3. "A stack in existence" means that the owner or operator had (1) begun, or caused to begin, a continuous program of physical on-site construction of the stack or (2) entered into binding agreements or contractual obligations, which could not be canceled or modified without substantial loss to the owner or operator, to undertake a program of construction of the stack to be completed in a reasonable time.

4. "Dispersion technique" means any technique which attempts to affect the concentration of a pollutant in the ambient air by:

(i) Using that portion of a stack which exceeds good engineering practice stack height;

(ii) Varying the rate of emission of a pollutant according to atmospheric conditions or ambient concentrations of that pollutant; or

(iii) Increasing final exhaust gas plume rise by manipulating source-process parameters, exhaust gas parameters, stack parameters, or combining exhaust gases from several existing stacks into one stack; or other selective handling of exhaust gas streams so as to increase the exhaust gas plume rise.

(iv) The preceding sentence does not include:

(I) The reheating of a gas stream, following use of a pollution control system, for the purpose of returning the gas to the temperature at which it was originally discharged from the facility generating the gas stream;

(II) The merging of exhaust gas streams where:

I. The source owner or operator demonstrates that the facility was originally designed and constructed with such merged gas streams:

II. After July 8, 1985, such merging is part of a change in operation at the facility that includes the installation of pollution controls and is accompanied by a net reduction in the allowable emissions of a pollutant. This exclusion from the definition of "dispersion techniques" shall apply only to the emission limitation for the pollutant affected by such change in operation; or

III. Before July 8, 1985, such merging was part of a change in operation at the facility that included the installation of emissions control equipment or was carried out for sound economic or engineering reasons. Where there was an increase in the emission limitation or, in the event that no emission limitation was in existence prior to the merging, an increase in the quantity of pollutants actually emitted prior to the merging, the Director shall presume that merging was significantly motivated by an intent to gain emissions credit for greater dispersion. Absent a demonstration by the source owner or operator that merging was not significantly motivated by such intent, the Director shall deny credit for the effects of such merging in calculating the allowable emissions for the source:

(III) Smoke management in agricultural or silvicultural prescribed burning programs:

(IV) Episodic restrictions on residential woodburning and open burning; or

(V) Techniques under subparagraph (a)4.(iii) of this paragraph which increase final exhaust gas plume rise where the resulting allowable emissions of sulfur dioxide from the facility do not exceed 5,000 tons per year.

5. "Good engineering practice" (GEP) stack height means the greater of:

(i) 65 meters measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack:

(ii) For stacks in existence on January 12, 1979, and for which the owner or operator had obtained all applicable permits or approvals required under 40 CFR 51 and 52, provided the owner or operator produces evidence that this equation was actually relied on in establishing an emission limitation;

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(I) For all other stacks,

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H_g = good engineering practice stack height measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack,

H = height of nearby structure(s) measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack,

L = lesser dimension, height or projected width of nearby structure(s), provided that the Director may require the use of a field study or fluid model to verify GEP stack height for the source; or

(iii) The height demonstrated by a fluid model or a field study approved by the Director, which ensures that the emissions from a stack do not result in excessive concentrations of any air pollutant as a result of atmospheric downwash, wakes, or eddy effects created by the source itself, nearby structures, or nearby terrain features.

6. "Nearby" as used in subparagraph (a)5. of this paragraph is defined for a specific structure or terrain feature and

(i) for purposes of applying the formulas provided in subparagraph (a)5.(ii) of this paragraph means that distance up to five times the lesser of the height or the width dimension of a structure, but not greater than 0.8 km (1/2 mile); and

(ii) for conducting demonstrations under subparagraph (a)5.(iii) of this paragraph means not greater than 0.8 km (1/2 mile), except that the portion of a terrain feature may be considered to be nearby which falls within a distance of up to 10 times the maximum height (ht) of the feature, not to exceed 2 miles if such feature achieves a height (ht) 0.8 km from the stack that is at least 40 percent of the GEP stack height determined by the formula provided in subparagraph (a)5.(ii)(I) of this paragraph or 26 meters, whichever is greater, as measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack. The height of the structure or terrain feature is measured from the ground-level elevation at the base of the stack.

7. "Excessive concentration" is defined for the purpose of determining GEP stack height under subparagraph (a)5. (iii) of this paragraph and means:

(i) for sources seeking credit for stack height exceeding that established under subparagraph (a)5. (ii) of this paragraph, a maximum ground-level concentration due to emissions from a stack due in whole or part to downwash, wakes, and eddy effects produced by nearby structures or nearby terrain features which individually is at least 40 percent in excess of the maximum concentration experienced in the absence of such downwash, wakes, or eddy effects and which contributes to a total concentration due to emissions from all sources that is greater than a NAAQS. For sources subject to the PSD program (Rule 335-3-14-.04), an excessive concentration alternatively means a maximum ground-level concentration due to emissions from a stack due in whole or part to downwash, wakes, or eddy effects produced by nearby structures or nearby terrain features which individually is at least 40 percent in excess of the maximum concentration experienced in the absence of such downwash, wakes, or eddy effects and greater than a prevention of significant deterioration increment. The allowable emissions rate to be used in making demonstrations under this Rule shall be prescribed by the new source performance standard that is applicable to the source category unless the owner or operator demonstrates that this emission rate is infeasible. Where such demonstrations are approved by the Director, an alternative emission rate shall be established in consultation with the source owner or operator;

(ii) for sources seeking credit after October 11, 1983, for increases in existing stack heights up to the heights established under subparagraph (a)5.(ii) of this paragraph, either:

(I) a maximum ground-level concentration due in whole or part to downwash, wakes, or eddy effects as provided in subparagraph (a)7.(i) of this paragraph, except that the emission rate specified elsewhere in these regulations (or, in the absence of such a limit, the actual emission rate) shall be used, or

(II) the actual presence of a local nuisance caused by the existing stack, as determined by the Director; and

(iii) for sources seeking credit after January 12, 1979, for a stack height determined under subparagraph (a)5.(ii) of this paragraph where the Director requires that use of a field study or fluid model to verify GEP stack height, for sources seeking stack height credit after November 9, 1984, based on the aerodynamic influence of cooling towers, and for sources seeking stack height credit after December 31, 1970, based on the aerodynamic influence of structures not adequately represented by the equations in subparagraph (a)5.(ii) of this paragraph, a maximum ground-level concentration due in whole or part to downwash, wakes, or eddy effects that is at least 40 percent in excess of the maximum concentration experienced in the absence of such downwash, wakes, or eddy effects.

(b) Before acting on any Air Permit, the Director shall require that the degree of emission limitation required of any source for control of any air pollutants shall not be affected by so much of any source's stack height that exceeds GEP or by any other dispersion technique, except as provided in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph below.

(c) The provisions of subparagraph (b) above shall not apply to stack heights in existence, or dispersion techniques implemented, prior to December 31, 1970, except where pollutants are being emitted from such stacks or using such dispersion techniques by sources, as defined in Section 111(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act, which were constructed, or reconstructed or for which major modifications, as defined pursuant to Rules 335-3-14-.05(2)(d) and 335-3-14-.04(2)(b), were carried out after December 31, 1970.

(d) If any existing source, after appropriate application of the preceding limitations and provisions, is found to exceed or potentially exceed a NAAQS or PSD increment, when operating within previously established emission limitations, the emissions limitations applicable to that source shall be modified so as to eliminate and prevent the exceedance.

(e) If any new source or source modification, after appropriate application of the preceding limitations and provisions, is predicted to exceed a NAAQS or PSD increment when evaluated under emission limitations consistent with other applicable rules and regulations, the emission limitations considered shall be deemed inadequate and different emission limits, based on air quality considerations, shall be made applicable.

(f) If any source provides a field study or fluid modeling demonstration proposing a GEP stack height greater than that allowed by subparagraphs (a)5.(i) and (a)5.(ii) of this paragraph, then the public will be notified of the availability of the study and provided the opportunity for a public hearing before any new or revised emission limitation or permit is approved.

(g) The actual stack height used or proposed by a source shall not be restricted in any manner by requirements of this paragraph.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-3-14-.03

Effective January 18, 1972. Amended: April 3, 1979; February 13, 1980; March 24, 1981; March 23, 1982; February 13, 1985; November 13, 1985; September 18, 1986; June 9, 1987; May 4, 1988; September 21, 1989; November 1, 1990; October 30, 1992. Amended: Filed November 23, 1993; effective December 28, 1993. Amended: Filed October 17, 1996; effective November 21, 1996. Amended: Filed August 3, 2000; effective September 7, 2000. Amended: Filed June 6, 2006; effective July 11, 2006. Amended: Filed April 18, 2011; effective May 23, 2011.

Amended by Alabama Administrative Monthly Volume XLII, Issue No. 03, December 29, 2023, eff. 2/12/2024.

Author: James W. Cooper, John E. Daniel, Ronald Gore

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-28-14, 22-22A-5, 22-22A-6, 22-22A-8.