Regulatory Text: 
Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 33 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, Part III Air (LAC 33:III)

Chapter 6. Regulations on Control of Emissions through the Use of Emission Reduction Credits Banking

§605.  Definitions
Approved by EPA 07/02/99 (64 FR 35939) effective 08/02/99. (LAd03)

    The terms used in this Chapter are defined in LAC 33:III.111 of these regulations except as defined within the separate Subchapters or as follows:

      Actual Emissions -- the actual rate of emissions of an air contaminant from a source operation, equipment, or control apparatus.  Actual emissions shall be calculated using the actual operating hours, production rates, and types of materials used, processed, stored, or combusted during the selected time period.  In general, actual emissions as of a particular date shall equal the average rate, in tons per year, at which the unit actually emitted the pollutant during a two-year period which precedes the particular date and which is representative of normal major stationary source operation.  A different time period shall be allowed upon a determination by the department that it is more representative of normal major stationary source operation. Actual emissions shall be calculated using the unit's actual operating hours, production rates, and types of materials processed, stored, or combusted during the selected time period.  Acceptable methods for estimating the actual emissions may include, but are not limited to, any one or a combination of the following:
         a.  emission factors based on EPA's Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors (AP-42) or other emission factors approved by the department, if better source specific data is not available;
         b.  fuel usage records, production records, purchase records, material balances, engineering calculations (approved by the assistant secretary, Office of Air Quality and Radiation Protection), source tests (only if suitable emission factors are not available), waste disposal records, emission reports previously submitted to the department such as emission inventory reports, SARA Title III, or MACT compliance certifications, and other methods specifically approved by the administrative authority.

      Air Contaminant -- any substance, other than water or distillates of air, present in the atmosphere as solid particles, liquid particles, vapors, or gases.

      Allowable Emission/Potential to Emit -- the rate at which an air contaminant may be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere.  This rate shall be based on the maximum rated capacity of the equipment and 8760 hours per year of operation, unless the equipment is subject to federally enforceable limits which restrict the operating rate, hours of operations, or both.  In such cases this rate is based on the most stringent of the following:
         a.  applicable national standards of performance for new stationary sources (NSPS) as set forth in 40 CFR Part 60;
         b.  applicable national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) as set forth in 40 CFR Part 61;
         c.  applicable emission, equipment, and operating standards as set forth in this Chapter, including those with a future compliance date;
         d.  applicable emission limitations specified in a federally enforceable permit, including limitations (best available control technology [BACT] and lowest achievable emission rate [LAER] requirements) with a future compliance date;
         e.  any emission limitation in an applicable state implementation plan (SIP); and
         f.  applicable acid rain SO₂ and NO_x control requirements as defined under Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and subsequent regulations.

      Alter -- to effect an alteration of equipment or control apparatus.

      Alternative Fuel -- with respect to any source operation, any fuel whose use is not authorized by any permit or, for a source operation without a permit, any fuel not used in the source operation since December 31, 1976.

      Bankable Emission Reductions -- emission reductions of pollutants and their precursors for which ambient air quality standards exist and which meet the provisions of this rule.  Such reductions may be deposited in the ERC bank.  Once banked and certified, the emission reductions become ERCs.

      Bank -- the repository for ERCs and includes the ERC banking register/database.


      Bank Balance Sheet -- the form that is completed and submitted along with supporting information to the department to request recognition and certification of potentially bankable emission reductions.  A banking application is submitted by the owner(s) of the source creating bankable emission reductions or the owner's designated representative.

      Banking -- a system for quantifying, recording, storing, and preserving ERCs so that they may be used or transferred for use at a future date.

      Banking Register/Database -- the document/database that records all ERC deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and transactions.

      Baseline -- that level of emissions below which any additional reductions may be counted (credited) for use in trades.

      Baseline Emission Level -- the quantity of emissions during the defined baseline period that is used in calculating ERCs.

      Baseline Period -- the period of time over which the historical emissions of a source are averaged.  This period shall be a time period of at least two consecutive years within the five years immediately preceding the date the emission reduction occurred that is determined by the department to be representative of normal source operation.  The baseline period may be determined on either a calendar year or consecutive 12-month or consecutive 365-day basis.

      Bubble -- an alternative emission control plan where two or more existing emission points are regarded as being placed under a hypothetical dome, which is then regarded as a single emission point.  Stationary sources under a bubble may reallocate emission decreases and increases, so long as the net effect results in the same or better ambient air quality and the same or less air emissions.  Bubbles need not be confined to a single stationary source.  Bubbles must meet all the requirements contained in the Federal Emissions Trading Policy Statement (51 FR 43814, December 4, 1986) or other applicable regulations.

      Criteria Pollutant -- ozone (O₃), PM-10, sulfur oxides measured as sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), volatile organic compounds (VOC) measured as non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), or lead (Pb), or any other air contaminant for which national ambient air quality standards have been adopted.

      Emissions Averaging -- defined in section 112(d) of the 1990 CAAA; involves the reduction of hazardous air pollutants within a facility by at least as much as would otherwise occur if the source were controlled point by point.

      Emission Offset -- a legally enforceable reduction, approved by the department, in the rate of actual emissions from an existing facility, which reduction is used to offset the increase in allowable emissions of air contaminants from a new or altered facility.

      Emission Reductions -- the decreases in emissions associated with a physical change or change in the method of operation at a facility.

      Emission Reduction Credit -- an emission reduction certified by the administrative authority in accordance with the requirements of the current regulations that represents a decrease in the quantity of a pollutant discharged from a source.  To be valid, emission reduction credits must be surplus, enforceable, permanent, and quantifiable.

      Emission Reduction Credit Certificate -- a document certifying title to a defined quantity and type of ERCs issued by the department to the owner(s) identified on the certificate.

      Enforceable -- each transaction that revises any emission limit must be approved by the state and be federally enforceable.  Means of making emission limits federally enforceable include SIP revisions, EPA-approved generic emissions trading regulations, and permits issued by states under EPA-approved SIP regulations, as well as permits issued by EPA or by states under delegation.  ERCs due to trading activities should be incorporated in an enforceable compliance instrument which requires recordkeeping based on the averaging period of the emission limit, so that compliance may easily be determined for any single averaging period.

     Equipment -- any device capable of causing the emission of an air contaminant into the open air and any stack, chimney, conduit, flue, duct, vent or similar device connected or attached to or serving the equipment.

      Facility -- the combination of all structures, buildings, equipment, and other operations located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties owned or operated by the same person.

      Federally Enforceable -- as applied to emission reductions, all limitations and conditions which are enforceable by the U. S. EPA administrator, including the following:
         a.  requirements contained in 40 CFR Parts 60 and 61 (New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants);
         b.  requirements within any applicable SIP;
         c.  any requirements contained in permits issued pursuant to 40 CFR 52.21 (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) or comparable state regulation (LAC 33:III.509);
         d.  any requirement contained in permits issued pursuant to 40 CFR 52.24 (Nonattainment New Source Review) or comparable state regulation (LAC 33:III.504);
         e.  requirements contained in operating permits issued pursuant to Louisiana permitting programs approved by EPA as meeting the requirements of Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments; and
         f.  requirements contained in a Louisiana regulation, a Louisiana operating permit, or a Louisiana-issued enforcement instrument which is submitted to EPA and approved as a source-specific SIP revision.  ERCs must be federally enforceable before they are allowed as banked emissions credits.

      Fugitive Emissions -- any emissions of an air contaminant into the open air which do not pass through any stack or chimney.

      Hazardous Air Pollutant Offset -- the use of an ERC, which is equal or greater in quantity, and which is considered to be more hazardous, to compensate for emission increases of a hazardous air pollutant from a source to avoid being considered a modification according to the requirements of section 112(g) of the 1990 CAAA.

      Minimum Offset Ratio -- the minimum acceptable ratio of emission offsets from an existing facility to increases in allowable emissions from a new or altered facility.

      Mobile Emission Reduction Credits (MERCs) -- real, quantified emission reductions generated by a mobile source, approved by the department.

      Netting -- use of an ERC created at an existing facility to compensate for emission increases associated with a proposed modification at the same facility and to, thus, avoid the requirements of new source review.  ERCs used for netting are always internal to the source seeking credit.

      Nonpermitted Emissions -- those emissions of an air pollutant into open air from nonpermitted emission sources that are not required to have air pollution permits.  Nonpermitted emissions may include emissions from mobile sources, exempt equipment, and "grandfathered" sources that were never required to be permitted under the state's new source review rule.

      Offset -- use of an ERC obtained from an existing source or emissions unit to compensate for the increase in emissions from a new or modified source or emissions unit in a nonattainment area in order to ensure that reasonable further progress is maintained.  ERCs used for offsetting may be either internal or external to the source seeking credit but must meet the requirements specified in Section 182 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

      Permanent -- a reduction shall be guaranteed through an enforceable permit limitation confirming the amount and duration of the decrease or other enforceable mechanism including, but not limited to, permanently dismantling the emissions unit or surrendering the permit.  The department may consider an emission reduction whose quantity varies with time to be permanent by converting it to an annual equivalent emission reduction.  Only permanent reductions in emissions can qualify for credit.  

      Quantifiable -- in reference to emission reductions, the amount, rate, and characteristics of the emission reduction can be estimated through a reliable method.  Quantification may be based on emission factors, stack tests, monitored values, operating rates and averaging times, process parameters, production inputs, modeling, or other reasonable measurement practices.  The same method of calculating emissions should generally be used to quantify emission levels both before and after the reduction.

      Reasonable Further Progress -- annual incremental reductions in emissions of a given air pollutant (including substantial reductions in the early years following approval or promulgation of a SIP and regular reductions thereafter) that are sufficient in the judgment of the U.S. EPA to provide for attainment of the applicable ambient air quality standard within a specified nonattainment area by the attainment date prescribed in the SIP for such area.

      Scrapping -- the process by which a motor vehicle is permanently removed from service.

      Shutdown -- the cessation or permanent curtailment of operations or emissions.  The date of the emission reduction created by the shutdown is the date of the last actual emissions from the source.

      Shutdown Credits  -- credits resulting from the shutdown of a source.

      Stack or Chimney --  a flue, pipe, tube, conduit, channel or opening designed and constructed for the purpose of emitting air contaminants into the outdoor air.

      Surplus Emission Reductions -- emission reductions that are voluntarily created for an emissions unit and have not been required by any local, state, or federal law, regulation, order, or requirement and are in excess of reductions used to demonstrate attainment of federal and state ambient air quality standards.

      Transfer -- the conveyance of an ERC from one entity to another.  All "banking" transactions shall be recorded in the ERC banking register/database and shown as debits and credits for the appropriate entity(ies).

      Unpermitted Sources -- those sources which emit air pollutants into the ambient air and which are not required to have air permits.  Unpermitted sources may include, but are not limited to, mobile sources, area sources, and small sources not required to obtain air permits.

      Vehicle Scrappage Program -- a program in which old vehicles are scrapped in exchange for MERCs.

   AUTHORITY NOTE:  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2054.
   HISTORICAL NOTE:  Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality and Radiation Protection, Air Quality Division, LR 20:874 (August 1994).

********************* end la section 605 ******************e982**97d**