Regulatory Text: 
            NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT BOARD
              P. O. BOX 26110/1190 ST. FRANCIS DRIVE
                     SANTA FE, NM  87502-0110

TITLE 20       ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
CHAPTER 2      AIR QUALITY (STATEWIDE)

PART 19        POTASH, SALT OR SODIUM SULFATE PROCESSING 
                EQUIPMENT - PARTICULATE MATTER

(Approved by EPA 09/26/97 (62 FR 50518) at 52.1620(c)(66) effective 11/25/97. Dates in brackets within the regulation are State effective dates.)


100. ISSUING AGENCY:  Environmental Improvement Board. [11-30-95]

101. SCOPE:  All geographic areas within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Improvement Board. [11-30-95]

102. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:  Environmental Improvement Act, NMSA 1978, Section 74-1-8(A)(4) and (7), and Air Quality Control Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 74-2-1 et seq., including specifically, Section 74-2-4(A), (B) and (C). [11-30-95]

103. DURATION:  Permanent. [11-30-95]

104. EFFECTIVE DATE:  November 30, 1995. [11-30-95]

105. OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this Part is to establish particulate matter emission standards for potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment. [11-30-95]

106. AMENDMENT AND SUPERSESSION OF PRIOR REGULATIONS:  This Part amends and supersedes Air Quality Control Regulation ("AQCR") 508 - Potash, Salt or Sodium Sulfate Processing Equipment - Particulate Matter last filed July 16, 1986.

     A.  All references to AQCR 508 in any other rule shall be construed as a reference to this Part.

     B.  The amendment and supersession of AQCR 508 shall not affect any administrative or judicial enforcement action pending on the effective date of such amendment nor the validity of any permit issued pursuant to AQCR 508. [11-30-95]

107. DEFINITIONS:  In addition to the terms defined in Part 2 - Definitions, as used in this Part:  [11-30-95]

     A.   "Best engineering practices" means, with respect to control of fugitive particulate matter emissions, the installation and use of hoods, enclosures, ducts, covers, sprays, or other equipment or measures on potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment as necessary to prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne.  [11-30-95]

     B.   "Compactor operations" means compaction of fine muriate of potash materials and recrushing, screening or other size classification, and drying of the compacted materials.  [11-30-95]

     C.   "Commenced" means that an owner or operator has undertaken a continuous program of construction or that an owner or operator has entered into a binding contractual obligation to undertake and complete within a reasonable time a continuous program of construction.  [11-30-95]

     D.   "Existing potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment" means process equipment in which the fabrication, erection or installation was commenced prior to January 1, 1979, and includes all crushers, grinders, screens, and other size-classification units, compactors, granulators, evaporators, dryers, conveyors, storage piles (including ore, product or other storage piles), facilities for bagging and loading, and any other process units with particulate matter emissions to the atmosphere.  [11-30-95]

     E.   "Fugitive particulate matter emissions" means particulate matter emissions which escape from potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment due to leakage, materials handling, transfer and storage or other causes without being ducted through a stack.  [11-30-95]

     F.   "Good engineering practice" means, with respect to stack heights, the height necessary to insure that emissions from the stack do not result in excessive concentrations of any pollutant in the immediate vicinity of the source as a result of atmospheric downwash, eddies and wakes which may be created by the source itself, nearby structures or nearby terrain obstacles. Such height shall not exceed:

          1.   a thirty meters for stacks not influenced by the source itself, nearby structures or terrain; or

          2.   for stacks that are influenced by nearby structures or terrain, the height determined by use of the equation:

           Hg = H + 1.5 L

   where:    Hg = good engineering practice stack heights;
             H = the height of the source or nearby structure; and
             L = the lesser dimension (height or width) of the 
                   source or nearby structure.
                                                  [11-30-95]

     H.   "Modification" means a physical change or change in the manner of operation which increases the amount of any air contaminant emitted by the potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment or which results in the emission of any air contaminant not previously emitted.  [11-30-95]

     I.   "New potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment" means process equipment or process unit thereof, the fabrication, erection, installation or modification of which is commenced on or after January 1, 1979, and includes all crushers, grinders, screens and other size-classification units, compactors, granulators, evaporators, dryers, conveyors, storage piles (including ore, product or other storage piles) facilities for bagging and loading, and any other process units with particulate matter emissions to the atmosphere.  New potash, salt or sodium sulfate processing equipment does not include process equipment installed solely to replace equivalent equipment installed prior to January 1, 1979, if the replacement equipment will not result in a significant increase in capacity.  [11-30-95]

     J.   "Part" means an air quality control regulation under Title 20, Chapter 2 of the New Mexico Administrative Code, unless otherwise noted; as adopted or amended by the Board. [11-30-95]

     K.   "Potash" means muriate potash (the chemical compound potassium chloride, K Cl), sulfate of potash (the chemical compound sulfate K2SO4), and langbeinite (the chemical compound potassium magnesium sulfate, K2SO4  . 2MgSO4), or any other potassium, magnesium or mixed-potassium salts, and includes ores, intermediates, products and reaction products of such compounds.  [11-30-95]

     L.   "Salt" means the chemical compound sodium chloride (NaC1) and includes ores, intermediates, products and reaction products of this compound. [11-30-95]

     M.   "Sodium sulfate" means the chemical compound sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and includes ores, intermediates, products and reaction products of this compound.  [11-30-95]

     N.   "Standard conditions" means temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure of 29.92 inches of mercury.  [11-30-95]

     O.   "Submerged combustion evaporators" means vessels inwhich combustion occurs beneath the surface of a solution ofdissolved potash, salt or sodium sulfate materials for thepurpose of evaporating water.  [11-30-95]

108. DOCUMENTS:  Documents cited in this Part may be viewed atthe New Mexico Environment Department, Air Quality Bureau,Runnels Building, 1190 Saint Francis Drive, Santa Fe, NM  87505.[11-30-95]

109. ALLOWABLE EMISSIONS:

     A.   The owner or operator of new potash, salt or sodiumsulfate processing equipment shall not permit, cause, suffer orallow particulate matter emissions to the atmosphere:

          1.   to exceed 0.10 grains per dry cubic foot ofdischarge gas adjusted to standard conditions from dryers; or

          2.   to exceed 0.04 grains per dry cubic foot ofdischarge gas adjusted to standard conditions from all otherprocessing equipment. [11-30-95]

     B.    The owner or operator of existing potash, salt orsodium sulfate processing equipment shall not permit, cause,suffer or allow particulate matter emissions to the atmosphere:

          1.   in excess of a total of 90 pounds per hour fromall stacks serving equipment used in drying muriate of potash andall associated compactor operations;

          2.   in excess of a total of 90 pounds per hour fromall stacks serving equipment used in drying langbeinite;

          3.   in excess of a total of 35 pounds per hour fromall stacks serving equipment used in drying sulfate of potash andassociated screening operations;

          4.   in excess of a total of 15 pounds per hour fromall stacks serving equipment used in dry milling of finelangbeinite; and

          5.   in excess of a total of 50 pounds per hour fromall stacks serving equipment used in drying salt or sodiumsulfate.  [11-30-95]

     C.   The owner or operator of existing potash, salt orsodium sulfate processing equipment shall not permit, cause,suffer or allow particulate matter emissions to the atmosphere inexcess of a total of 30 pounds per hour from all stacks servingevaporators.  [11-30-95]

     D.   The owner or operator of existing potash, salt orsodium sulfate processing equipment shall not permit, cause,suffer or allow particulate matter emissions from any equipmentnot regulated by Sections 109.A, B, or C above to exceed theallowable rates specified within Table 1.  Interpolation of ratesnot specified within the table shall be accomplished by use ofthe equation:

               E = 0.045 times q raised to the 0.62 power

where E is the allowable emission rate expressed in pounds perhour and q is the stack volumetric flow rate expressed in drycubic feet per minute adjusted to standard conditions.

          TABLE 1 - ALLOWABLE PARTICULATE EMISSION RATES
             FOR SPECIFIC STACK VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATES

Volumetric Flow Rate (dscfm)       Allowable Emission Rate  (lb/hr)

           1,000 or less                                3.3
           2,000                                        5.0
           4,000                                        7.7
           6,000                                        9.9
           8,000                                       11.8
          10,000                                       13.6
          20,000                                       20.9
          30,000                                       26.9
          40,000                                       32.1
          50,000                                       36.9
          60,000                                       41.3
          70,000 or greater                            45.4
[11-30-95]

110. PROCESSING EQUIPMENT AND STACKS

     A.   The owner or operator of potash, salt or sodium sulfateprocessing equipment shall not install or utilize any equipmentor mechanism which increases the volume of gases emitted from astack or stacks so as to decrease the apparent concentration ofparticulate matter within the gas stream so as to circumvent therequirements of Section 109.A above or increase the allowableemission rate as specified within Section 109.D.  [11-30-95]

     B.   The owner or operator of potash, salt or sodium sulfateprocessing equipment shall not permit, cause, suffer or allowemissions of particulate matter to the atmosphere except throughstacks equipped with sampling ports and platforms in such number,location and size to allow accurate sampling to be performed.Stack height shall meet standards for good engineering practice. When it is not feasible to direct certain emissions through astack, the owner or operator must utilize best engineeringpractices to minimize the release of fugitive particulate matteremissions to the atmosphere.  [11-30-95]

     C.   Where a stack or stacks regulated by Sections 109.B orC. also carry discharge gases from equipment regulated by Section109.D, the allowable emission limit for the stack or stacks shallbe increased by the allowable emission rate for the volume ofdischarge gases arising from the equipment regulated by Section109.D.  The additional allowed emissions shall be calculated asspecified within Section 109.D based upon a determination of thevolume of discharge gases prior to the point at which they arecombined with discharged gases from equipment regulated bySections 109.B or C.  In no case shall the allowable emissionsfrom a stack or stacks which carry combined discharge gasesexceed the sum of the allowable emission if the discharge gaseswere not combined.  [11-30-95]

110. TEST METHODS:  Compliance with Section 109 of this Partshall be determined consistent with the method for manual stacktesting set forth by the US EPA at 40 CFR, Part 60, Appendix A,Methods 1 through 5, or any other method receiving prior approvalfrom the Department.  Upon request of the Department, the owneror operator of potash, salt or sodium sulfate processingequipment shall perform stack testing according to the methodstated above and report the results of such tests in the formatand time period specified by the Department.  The Departmentshall not require testing of a stack or stacks more frequentlythan annually unless the Department has reason to believe thatthe emissions from the stack or stacks may be in violation ofapplicable emission limits, or a test is necessary to demonstratecompliance after the completion of measures intended to gaincompliance on a stack or stacks previously determined to be inviolation of applicable emission limits.  The owner or operatorshall inform the Department of the dates and times of suchtesting so that the Department may have the opportunity to havean observer present during testing.  [11-30-95]