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Texas SIP: 30 TAC 117.540. Phased Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT); SIP effective 2001.12.14

Regulatory Text: 
TNRCC Chapter 117 – Control of Air Pollution from Nitrogen Compounds

SUBCHAPTER E:  ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS


§117.540.  Phased Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT).
As adopted by TNRCC February 24, 1999, effective March 21, 1999

(As approved by EPA September 1, 2000 (65 FR 53172) effective October 31, 2000)

     (a)  The owner or operator of a source located in the Beaumont/Port Arthur or Houston/Galveston ozone nonattainment area affected by the provisions of this chapter (relating to Control of Air Pollution from Nitrogen Compounds) who determines that compliance by November 15, 1999, is not practicable may submit a petition for phased reasonably available control technology (RACT).  The process for submitting a petition and receiving approval shall be based on the following.

          (1)  The petition shall be submitted by March 15, 1999, or as soon as possible after such date upon a demonstration by the owner or operator that the petition was not submitted by March 15, 1999 due to unforeseen circumstances.

          (2)  The owner or operator of the affected unit or units shall submit information in the petition to the executive director and a copy to the EPA regional office in Dallas which will demonstrate all of the following:

               (A)  emission reduction credits (ERCs) or discrete emission reduction credits (DERCs), in accordance with §101.29 of this title (relating to Emission Credit Banking and Trading), are not reasonably available in an amount equal to the quantity of emission reductions required under this chapter.  If ERCs or DERCs are reasonably available, they shall be applied to meet the emission reductions required under this chapter, in accordance with §117.570 of this title (relating to Trading) and §101.29 of this title.

               (B)  compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to the unavailability of nitrogen oxides (NOx) abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor; system unreliability; manufacturing unreliability; equipment unreliability; or other technological and economic factors as the executive director determines are appropriate;

               (C)  there is a proposed stage-by-stage program for compliance and clearly specified compliance milestones for each unit;

               (D)  there is a commitment to implement the portion of the phased RACT petition that can be implemented by November 15, 1999; and

               (E)  the final compliance date specified in the petition shall be as soon as practicable, but in no case later than February 15, 2001, except as approved by the executive director.

          (3)  Each petition for phased RACT shall contain the information required by at least one of the following criteria.

               (A)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to the unavailability of NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  a list of the company names, addresses, and telephone numbers of vendors who are qualified to provide the services and equipment capable of meeting the applicable emission limitation under this chapter and who have been contacted to obtain the required services and equipment.  A copy of the request for bids along with the dates of contact shall also be provided to show a good-faith effort to obtain the required services and equipment necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter by November 15, 1999; and

                    (ii)  copies of responses from each of the vendors listed in clause (i) of this subparagraph showing that they cannot provide the necessary services and install the appropriate equipment in time for the unit to comply by November 15, 1999.  Such responses shall include the reasons why the services cannot be provided and why the equipment cannot be installed in a timely manner.

                    (iii)  if work on the project will be provided by the owner or operator, the petition for phased RACT shall include documentation that the necessary NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor could not be obtained in a timely manner from either in-house or external sources, as well as a detailed design or installation schedule for the required services or equipment to be provided by the owner or operator.

               (B)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to system unreliability for sources in the utility industry, defined as the inability or threatened inability of a utility grid system to fulfill obligations to supply electric power, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  standard load forecasts, based on standard forecasting models available throughout the utility industry, applied to the period November 15, 1997 - November 14, 1999;
                    (ii)  outage schedule for all units in the utility grid to which the subject unit belongs; and

                    (iii)  specific reasons why an outage for the purpose of installing NOx emission control equipment cannot be scheduled by November 15, 1999.

               (C)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to manufacturing unreliability, defined as the inability or threatened inability of a source to fulfill contractual obligations to supply a product or products, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  certification by an authorized official of the company showing manufacturing obligations for which the company is contractually obligated.  Manufacturing obligation information shall include copies of contracts signed by an authorized official of the company or similar documentation and shall exclude commercially sensitive information;

                    (ii)  historical and planned outage schedules for all units whose manufacturing capacity would be affected by the outage of the affected unit; and

                    (iii)  specific reasons why an outage for the purpose of installing NOx emission control equipment cannot be scheduled by November 15, 1999.

               (D)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to equipment unreliability, defined as the reduced availability and operating reliability of a unit resulting from the operation of NOx control equipment on that unit, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  specific reasons why the new NOx control equipment will reduce the current reliability of the operating unit;

                    (ii)  historical availability and forced outage data expressed as annual percentages and the differences in each expected with the new NOx control equipment.  Availability is defined as the sum of hours the equipment is in service plus the hours the equipment is not in service, but available for service, divided by the number of hours in the reporting period. A forced outage is defined as down time which occurs as a result of a trip, emergency shutdown, or unplanned maintenance;

                    (iii)  most recent operating history available from the vendor for the new NOx control equipment, including actual test operating hours, actual load during testing, and specific problems that resulted in lost availability; and

                    (iv)  reasons why the NOx control technology is not considered proven including vendor test and commercial operating data, if available from the vendor.

               (E)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is impracticable due to other technical factors, the petition for phased RACT shall contain such documentation as the executive director establishes is appropriate for such technical factors.

               (F)  If compliance by November 15, 1999, is unreasonable due to economic considerations, excluding the time value of money, the petition for phased RACT shall contain the following information showing comparisons of the cost of compliance by November 15, 1999 and the cost of compliance by the final compliance date specified in the petition:

                    (i)  the costs of additional outages, if applicable, necessitated by compliance with the emission specifications of this chapter by November 15, 1999, as demonstrated by comparison to costs of actual historical and planned outages;

                    (ii)  comparisons of the cost of obtaining the NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor necessary to comply by November 15, 1999, and the cost of obtaining the NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor by the final compliance date specified in the petition.  Copies of legally binding contracts, signed by an authorized official of the company, shall be submitted to document these costs.  If the required NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor will be provided by the owner or operator, as provided for in paragraph (4) of this subsection, certification by an authorized official of the company may be submitted in lieu of contracts to document these costs; or

                    (iii)  other economic factors, documented as the executive director establishes is appropriate for such economic factors.

          (4)  All petitions for phased RACT shall include a list of the company names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who own or control ERCs or DERCs, and who have been contacted in efforts to obtain the ERCs or DERCs for purposes of meeting the emission reductions required under this chapter.  For each person or company contacted, the list shall contain a description of the information obtained, including but not limited to the date of contact, availability of the ERCs or DERCs, sale price requested by the owner or controller of the ERCs or DERCs, sale price offered by the prospective buyer of the ERCs or DERCs, and an explanation of the reasons why the ERCs or DERCs, if available, were not purchased for purposes of meeting the emission reductions required under this chapter.

          (5)  All petitions for phased RACT shall include copies of legally binding contracts with the primary vendors for each project, signed by an authorized official of the company, showing a detailed design or installation schedule for the required services or equipment to be provided by that vendor, with a completion date no later than February 15, 2001, except as approved by the executive director.  Any commercially sensitive financial information or trade secrets should be excised from the contracts.

          (6)  Within 30 days of receiving a petition for phased RACT, the executive director shall inform the applicant in writing that the petition is complete or that additional information is required.  If the petition is deficient, the notification shall state any additional information required. The requested information correcting the deficiency shall be received by the executive director within 30 days of the date of the letter notifying the applicant of the deficiency.

          (7)  The executive director shall approve or deny the petition within 90 days of receiving an administratively complete phased RACT petition. The executive director shall approve a petition for phased RACT if the executive director determines that compliance is not practicable by November 15, 1999, because of either the unavailability of nitrogen oxides abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor; system unreliability; manufacturing unreliability; equipment unreliability; or other technological and economic factors as the executive director determines are appropriate.

          (8)  Any person affected by the executive director's decision to deny a petition for phased RACT or to deny a revision to an approved phased RACT petition may file a motion for reconsideration.  The requirements of §50.39 of this title (relating to Motion for Reconsideration) apply.  However, only a person affected may file a motion for reconsideration. Approved petitions for phased RACT may be revised by the executive director upon a showing of just cause by the applicant.

          (9)  Approval of a phased RACT schedule by the executive director does not waive any applicable federal requirements or eliminate the need for approval by EPA.

          (10)  The holder of an approved phased RACT determination shall comply with each specified compliance milestone and each date for compliance provided in the approved petition, as well as any other condition established in the approval.

     (b)  The owner or operator of a source located in the Dallas/Fort Worth ozone nonattainment area affected by the provisions of this chapter who determines that compliance by March 31, 2001, is not practicable may submit a petition for phased RACT.  The process for submitting a petition and receiving approval shall be based on the following.

          (1)  The petition shall be submitted by August 1, 2000, or as soon as possible after such date upon a demonstration by the owner or operator that the petition was not submitted by August 1, 2000 due to unforeseen circumstances.

          (2)  The owner or operator of the affected unit or units shall submit information in the petition to the executive director and a copy to the EPA regional office in Dallas which will demonstrate all of the following:

               (A)  ERCs or DERCs, in accordance with §101.29 of this title, are not reasonably available in an amount equal to the quantity of emission reductions required under this chapter.  If ERCs or DERCs are reasonably available, they shall be applied to meet the emission reductions required under this chapter, in accordance with §117.570 of this title and §101.29 of this title.

               (B)  compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to the unavailability of nitrogen oxides (NOx) abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor; system unreliability; manufacturing unreliability; equipment unreliability; or other technological and economic factors as the executive director determines are appropriate;

               (C)  there is a proposed stage-by-stage program for compliance and clearly specified compliance milestones for each unit;

               (D)  there is a commitment to implement the portion of the phased RACT petition that can be implemented by March 31, 2001; and

               (E)  the final compliance date specified in the petition shall be as soon as practicable, but in no case later than June 30, 2002, except as approved by the executive director.

          (3)  Each petition for phased RACT shall contain the information required by at least one of the following criteria.

               (A)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to the unavailability of NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  a list of the company names, addresses, and telephone numbers of vendors who are qualified to provide the services and equipment capable of meeting the applicable emission limitation under this chapter and who have been contacted to obtain the required services and equipment.  A copy of the request for bids along with the dates of contact shall also be provided to show a good-faith effort to obtain the required services and equipment necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter by March 31, 2001; and

                    (ii)  copies of responses from each of the vendors listed in clause (i) of this subparagraph showing that they cannot provide the necessary services and install the appropriate equipment in time for the unit to comply by March 31, 2001.  Such responses shall include the reasons why the services cannot be provided and why the equipment cannot be installed in a timely manner.

                    (iii)  if work on the project will be provided by the owner or operator, the petition for phased RACT shall include documentation that the necessary NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor could not be obtained in a timely manner from either in-house or external sources, as well as a detailed design or installation schedule for the required services or equipment to be provided by the owner or operator.

               (B)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to system unreliability for sources in the utility industry, defined as the inability or threatened inability of a utility grid system to fulfill obligations to supply electric power, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  standard load forecasts, based on standard forecasting models available throughout the utility industry, applied to the period March 31, 1999 - March 30, 2001;

                    (ii)  outage schedule for all units in the utility grid to which the subject unit belongs; and

                    (iii)  specific reasons why an outage for the purpose of installing NOx emission control equipment cannot be scheduled by March 31, 2001.

               (C)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to manufacturing unreliability, defined as the inability or threatened inability of a source to fulfill contractual obligations to supply a product or products, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  certification by an authorized official of the company showing manufacturing obligations for which the company is contractually obligated.  Manufacturing obligation information shall include copies of contracts signed by an authorized official of the company or similar documentation and shall exclude commercially sensitive information;

                    (ii)  historical and planned outage schedules for all units whose manufacturing capacity would be affected by the outage of the affected unit; and

                    (iii)  specific reasons why an outage for the purpose of installing NOx emission control equipment cannot be scheduled by March 31, 2001.

               (D)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to equipment unreliability, defined as the reduced availability and operating reliability of a unit resulting from the operation of NOx control equipment on that unit, the following information shall be included in the petition for phased RACT:

                    (i)  specific reasons why the new NOx control equipment will reduce the current reliability of the operating unit;

                    (ii)  historical availability and forced outage data expressed as annual percentages and the differences in each expected with the new NOx control equipment.  Availability is defined as the sum of hours the equipment is in service plus the hours the equipment is not in service, but available for service, divided by the number of hours in the reporting period. A forced outage is defined as down time which occurs as a result of a trip, emergency shutdown, or unplanned maintenance;

                    (iii)  most recent operating history available from the vendor for the new NOx control equipment, including actual test operating hours, actual load during testing, and specific problems that resulted in lost availability; and

                    (iv)  reasons why the NOx control technology is not considered proven including vendor test and commercial operating data, if available from the vendor.

               (E)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is impracticable due to other technical factors, the petition for phased RACT shall contain such documentation as the executive director establishes is appropriate for such technical factors.

               (F)  If compliance by March 31, 2001, is unreasonable due to economic considerations, excluding the time value of money, the petition for phased RACT shall contain the following information showing comparisons of the cost of compliance by November 15, 1999 and the cost of compliance by the final compliance date specified in the petition:

                    (i)  the costs of additional outages, if applicable, necessitated by compliance with the emission specifications of this chapter by March 31, 2001, as demonstrated by comparison to costs of actual historical and planned outages;

                    (ii)  comparisons of the cost of obtaining the NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor necessary to comply by March 31, 2001, and the cost of obtaining the NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor by the final compliance date specified in the petition.  Copies of legally binding contracts, signed by an authorized official of the company, shall be submitted to document these costs.  If the required NOx abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor will be provided by the owner or operator, as provided for in paragraph (4) of this subsection, certification by an authorized official of the company may be submitted in lieu of contracts to document these costs; or

                    (iii)  other economic factors, documented as the executive director establishes is appropriate for such economic factors.

          (4)  All petitions for phased RACT shall include a list of the company names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons who own or control ERCs or DERCs, and who have been contacted in efforts to obtain the ERCs or DERCs for purposes of meeting the emission reductions required under this chapter.  For each person or company contacted, the list shall contain a description of the information obtained, including but not limited to the date of contact, availability of the ERCs or DERCs, sale price requested by the owner or controller of the ERCs or DERCs, sale price offered by the prospective buyer of the ERCs or DERCs, and an explanation of the reasons why the ERCs or DERCs, if available, were not purchased for purposes of meeting the emission reductions required under this chapter.

          (5)  All petitions for phased RACT shall include copies of legally binding contracts with the primary vendors for each project, signed by an authorized official of the company, showing a detailed design or installation schedule for the required services or equipment to be provided by that vendor, with a completion date no later than June 30, 2002, except as approved by the executive director.  Any commercially sensitive financial information or trade secrets should be excised from the contracts.

          (6)  Within 30 days of receiving a petition for phased RACT, the executive director shall inform the applicant in writing that the petition is complete or that additional information is required.  If the petition is deficient, the notification shall state any additional information required. The requested information correcting the deficiency shall be received by the executive director within 30 days of the date of the letter notifying the applicant of the deficiency.

          (7)  The executive director shall approve or deny the petition within 90 days of receiving an administratively complete phased RACT petition. The executive director shall approve a petition for phased RACT if the executive director determines that compliance is not practicable by March 31, 2001, because of either the unavailability of nitrogen oxides abatement equipment, engineering services, or construction labor; system unreliability; manufacturing unreliability; equipment unreliability; or other technological and economic factors as the executive director determines are appropriate.

          (8)  Any person affected by the executive director's decision to deny a petition for phased RACT or to deny a revision to an approved phased RACT petition may file a motion for reconsideration.  The requirements of §50.39 of this title apply.  However, only a person affected may file a motion for reconsideration. Approved petitions for phased RACT may be revised by the executive director upon a showing of just cause by the applicant.

          (9)  Approval of a phased RACT schedule by the executive director does not waive any applicable federal requirements or eliminate the need for approval by EPA.

          (10)  The holder of an approved phased RACT determination shall comply with each specified compliance milestone and each date for compliance provided in the approved petition, as well as any other condition established in the approval.

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