Recap of Agency Updates from the 2024 Spring CAPCA Technical Workshop and Forum

The 2024 Spring Carolinas Air Pollution Control Association (CAPCA) technical workshop and forum hosted in Asheville, NC was packed full of regulatory updates given the recent activity in the environmental space. The regulatory update from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) focused on New Source Review (NSR) rules and guidance. The air directors from South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) gave us a sneak peek at how they expect to move forward with assessing the reduced annual particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM_2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). These updates and more are highlighted below.

New Source Review

U.S. EPA provided updates on multiple elements of the NSR program. A few of which are highlighted below.

• Project Emissions Accounting Rule Reconsideration (PEAR) – the proposed rule was signed on February 22, 2024, addressing the definition of “project” which would require that project changes be substantially related to each other (technically or economically dependent), requiring enforceability of Step 1 emissions decreases, and expansion of reasonable possibility recordkeeping and reporting requirements. If finalized as proposed, this rule will reframe how facilities think about and perform NSR applicability evaluations, potentially limiting flexibility in grouping projects and resulting in permit limits for Step 1 decreases. U.S. EPA will accept comments for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.
• Fugitive Emissions Rule Reconsideration Proposal – this 2022 action proposed to require existing non-listed major sources to include fugitive emissions in their NSR applicability determinations for planned modifications. The comment period ended February 14, 2023 and comment summary and review is in process. U.S. EPA is researching commenters’ concerns, including the environmental benefit associated with the proposed change, and has postponed the anticipated signature date until 2025.
• Minor NSR Program Guidance – U.S. EPA has developed guidance in response to a report issued by the Office of the Inspector General that outlines concerns related to how states implement their minor NSR programs. The guidance will address minor NSR legal authorities, provide U.S. EPA’s interpretation of and clarifications to existing requirements, and provide best practices for implementing the program. The guidance may impact how agencies deal with general permits, permits by rule, and synthetic minor permits. U.S. EPA expects to provide the draft guidance for public comment in Fall 2024.

PM_2.5 Annual NAAQS

During the fireside chat, we received a hopeful message from the air directors on how NC DEQ and SC DHEC expect to move forward to assess the ambient monitoring data with regards to the finalized rule that reduced the annual PM_2.5 NAAQS from 12 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) to 9 µg/m³. Both agencies will propose to exclude exceptional events (fireworks, Canadian wildfires, etc.) from ambient monitor data and are working with U.S. EPA to implement the bias adjustments of the Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) Teledyne Advance Pollution Instrumentation 640x monitor data. The preliminary design values (2021-2023) for five monitors (Mecklenburg, NC; Forsyth, NC; Davidson, NC; Wake, NC; Augusta GA [impacting SC)]) are expected to be above the annual PM_2.5 NAAQS without these adjustments; however, all design values are expected to be below the annual PM_2.5 NAAQS if the proposed adjustments are approved by the U.S. EPA, meaning the Carolinas would remain in attainment. These adjustments will also create a small amount of headroom for use as the background dataset for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) modeling. Exceptional events demonstrations and attainment status recommendations are due to U.S. EPA by February 7, 2025.

Electronic Reporting Tool Update

Certain industrial facilities are required to submit emissions test results required by federal air regulations electronically through the Electronic Reporting Tool (ERT). ERT Version 7 was released March 12, 2024 and allows for all U.S. EPA test methods to be entered into the ERT via the miscellaneous method table and import sheet, where the list of available methods was previously limited. Facilities should double-check their reporting obligations to determine if they are impacted by this change.

South Carolina Specific Updates

SC DHEC will divide into two separate agencies: Department of Environmental Services (DES) and Department of Public Health (DPH), effective July 1, 2024. There will be changes to the website, logo, and email addresses but services, phone numbers, and the agency’s physical location will stay the same for now.

The ePermitting air program external “go live” is complete for Title V facilities. As of January 1, 2024, all Title V facility submittals should go through ePermitting. Note, submittals that are also required to go to U.S. EPA (e.g., annual Title V compliance certifications, 502(b)(10) notifications, etc.) still must be submitted directly to U.S. EPA in addition to in ePermitting. Non-Title V facilities are currently being added to ePermitting based on industry sector.

Conclusion

ALL4 is tracking regulatory developments related to these and other topics and looks forward to seeing you in the fall at the CAPCA technical workshop and forum in Myrtle Beach, SC! If you have questions about how these regulatory changes might affect you or need help with environmental permitting and compliance in North or South Carolina, please reach out to Claire Corta at ccorta@all4inc.com or 919-578-4195.