EPA said it intended to initiate reconsideration on three issues:

• Timing for compliance with the ultra low sulfur diesel fuel requirement for emergency compression (CI) engines that operate for more than 15 hours per calendar year;
• Timing and required information for the reporting requirement for emergency engines that operate or are obligated to be available for more than 15 hours per year; and
• Conditions for operation for up to 50 hours per year in non-emergency situations as part of a financial arrangement with another entity.

Following its 28 June letter to petitioners, EPA issued a 3 July 2013 memorandum to permitting authorities providing guidance on how to process RICE NESHAP compliance extension requests on CI engines.  EPA suggests its regional managers and air directors address CI RICE compliance extension requests as follows:

• If the request was submitted before January 3, 2013 (more than 120 days before the compliance date), a compliance extension of up to one year from the compliance date may be granted.
• If the request was submitted before May 3, 2013, determine if the need for extension arose in the 120 days before the compliance date (late promulgation of the rule could be a possible cause in the circumstance discussed above).  A compliance extension of up to one year from the compliance date may be granted.
• If the request was submitted after May 3, 2013, but the requesting facility is in compliance with the rule on the date of the request, use the same process as in option 2.  Meaning, a compliance extension of up to one year from the compliance date may be granted.
• If the requested was submitted after May 3, 2013, and the requesting facility is not in compliance with the rule, consult the enforcement personnel on the appropriate next steps.

What this means to you

It appears EPA will allow up to one year compliance extensions to RICE owners of emergency engines who meet certain conditions outlined above.

MIRATECH can help

Contact MIRATECH soon to discuss your emergency engine situation and your compliance options.

The new budget decreases the number of commissioners from 19 to 15, gives the General Assembly more control over appointments, changes the qualifications for members and weakens conflict of interest provisions according to EDF.  Current EMC members will lose their positions on July 31.

Speaking to the media shortly after adjournment, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory said he was still studying the bill's numerous provisions but that some gave him concerns.  The Republican governor said he has not yet made up his mind about whether to veto the bill or sign it.  If he does neither, the measure becomes law automatically in 30 days.

"The EMC deals with critical issues that affect the health of our families, businesses and communities. It's difficult to imagine how firing an entire commission and losing that expertise and institutional knowledge will help our state be a better place to live and work," says a spokesperson for the EDF.

What this means to you

Environmental regulations could be in a state of flux in North Carolina.

How MIRATECH can help

Contact MIRATECH to discuss how this action could affect your operation's stationary engines.

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In a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that the states - along with various industry groups - did not have standing to sue because they could not show that they had suffered an injury or that a ruling throwing out the EPA plan would benefit them.   Federal environmental regulators have required states to include greenhouse gases when issuing pollution permits since 2011. Texas didn't want to comply, and the EPA took over its permitting program.  

The case began when state officials sued the EPA to prevent it from taking control of the state's regulation of carbon emissions.  The EPA has said that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health, and a large majority of scientists have linked them to global warming. But Texas officials have remained skeptical and said curbing greenhouse gases could cost state businesses and homeowners and could jeopardize jobs.

Bryan Shaw, Chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said, "The EPA has effectively re-written the Clean Air Act to impose its new standards, imposed severely restrictive time lines on the states to implement its new requirements, and then twisted the Act to immediately impose its agenda on Texas."

Cyrus Reed, conservation director with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the ruling will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon output.  "Carbon pollution protections are the law, even in Texas," Reed said in a statement.

What this means to you

In 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that greenhouse gases (GHGs) are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and the U.S. EPA must determine whether they endanger public health.  EPA's endangerment finding determined that six GHGs must be regulated.  While legal challenges continue, EPA's GHG regulatory authority remains intact.

MIRATECH can help

Contact MIRATECH to discuss GHG emission solutions for your engines.

The report - Ultrafine Particulate Matter and the Benefits of Reducing Particle Numbers in the United States - summarizes the current understanding of the potential adverse health impacts of UFPs; outlines the various control technologies that can be used to meet current and upcoming US EPA and California ARB emission standards; and documents the success story of using diesel particulate filters (DPF) to meet US and EU emission standards.

The report indicates that a particle number (PN) measurement may offer a more robust unit than PM mass for determining compliance at very low particle emission levels. In the report, MECA makes several recommendations for EPA and ARB to help achieve the maximum environmental and health benefits from their current and upcoming on-road and off-road emission standards:

• EPA and ARB should add a PN limit to its regulatory structure for mobile sources;
• EPA and ARB should consider a new set of heavy-duty diesel engine PM standards that would be equivalent in stringency to ARB's future LEV III standards for light-duty vehicles;
• EPA should increase its in-use compliance monitoring of nonroad diesel engines that are certified without DPFs;
• EPA and ARB should coordinate activities to develop a methodology for measuring UFP emissions and particle numbers;
• Environmental agencies around the world should follow the U.S. lead and tighten evaporative emission limits as a way to control secondary organic aerosols; and
• Federal and state governments should play a greater role in accelerating the retirement or retrofitting of older, dirtier diesel engines and the introduction of cleaner diesel replacements.

What this means to you

Ultrafine particulate matter continues to be a primary focus of EPA and California's ARB.  This report urges both entities to work together for tighter measurements and controls of diesel engines.

MIRATECH can help

Contact MIRATECH to learn how to make sure your diesel engines are in compliance with PM regulations and to learn more about emission solutions such as diesel particulate filters (DPF's).

Green groups, liberal Democrats and public health organizations have applauded the EPA's efforts. They say the agency's actions have helped clean up the air and water, in turn, slowing the effects of climate change and improving people's health.

What this means to you

The Obama Administration intends to bypass Congress and use the regulatory powers granted by law to the EPA to lower GHG emissions.  Power generation facilities are the primary target.  Other GHG emission sources will likely also be included.

MIRATECH can help

Contact MIRATECH to learn more about your operation and GHG compliance.