An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Louisiana SIP: LAC 33:III Ch. 6 Section 613. ERC Bank Balance Sheet; SIP effective 1999-08-02 (LAd03) to 2002-09-26

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

§613.  ERC Bank Balance Sheet
Approved by EPA 07/02/99 (64 FR 35939) effective 08/02/99. (LAd03)

    A.  ERC Bank Balance Sheet.  For each applicable pollutant (VOC and NOx), each owner or operator shall maintain an ERC Bank Balance Sheet which shall include the minimum information of company name, physical location, pollutant, date of latest transaction, permit numbers affected, date of ERC transaction, date of emissions increase/decrease, ERCs deposited (TPY), ERCs relied upon for netting (TPY) ERCs used for offsets (TPY), ERCs available for netting (TPY) and ERCs available for offsets (TPY).

   B.  Netting and Offsets.  In order to keep track of all transactions and the ERC balances and to prevent an ERC from being used for both netting and offsets, the following procedures shall be followed:
      1.  each ERC that is created is assigned an item number;
      2.  each transaction is shown on a separate line under the appropriate item number;
      3.  ERCs that are relied upon for netting are deducted from the balance available for offsets but not from the balance available for netting (since all emission increases and decreases are included in the contemporaneous period); and
      4.  ERCs that are used for internal or external offsets are deducted from both balances.

   C.  Recordkeeping Requirements.  Each owner or operator shall maintain records on all ERCs deposited in the ERC banking database.   This information shall be available, upon request, for inspection by the administrative authority.  The records shall be maintained for the life of the ERC and shall include the minimum information:  permit number, date permit issued, date of start-up of the increase/decrease, emissions (actual) before the start-up (TPY), emissions (allowable) after the project (TPY), emission change for the project, creditable increases/decreases (TPY), brief description of project, and creditability of project.  Creditability of projects shall be defined by all applicable regulations (RACT, NSPS, etc.),  emissions before the project (baseline period, hours/year average, percentage of capacity, fuel usage), and emissions after the project (lower of potential or allowable emissions).

   D.  Schedule.  All applications for banking ERCs where the emission reductions occurred prior to the date this banking rule was adopted shall be submitted within six months after the date of promulgation of the final rule. All applications for banking ERCs where the emission reductions occurred after the date this banking rule was adopted shall be submitted on March 1 following the year in which the reduction occurred.  The larger of the two balances (i.e., the balance available for netting or the balance available for offsets) from the ERC Bank Balance Sheets of Subsection A of this Section shall be submitted to the department on March 1 of each year together with the certification specified in Subsection E of this Section.  All emission reductions must meet the timing restrictions set forth in LAC 33:III.607.D in order to be eligible for banking as ERCs.

   E.  Certification.  A certifying statement is to be signed by the owner(s) or operator(s) and shall accompany each ERC bank balance that is submitted to attest that the information contained in the balance is true and accurate to the best knowledge of the certifying official.  The certification shall include the full name, title, signature, date of signature, and telephone number of the certifying official.

   F.  Inclusion of ERC Bank in the Emissions Inventory.  The administrative authority shall be responsible for including the banked ERCs in the current emissions inventory so that the credits are considered to be "in the air" for air quality planning purposes.  Any failure by the regulatory agency to fulfill this responsibility shall not affect the validity of the ERCs in any manner.

   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 20:877 (August 1994).