Baron Environmental Associates (Baron) regularly attends the Quarterly Industrial Stakeholders Group (ISG) meeting hosted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)’s Bureau of Stationary Sources. These meetings seek to update the public regarding regulatory proposals and guidance regarding air quality permitting in New Jersey. The latest meeting was held September 16, 2016. Attendees included personnel from NJDEP Bureau of Stationary Sources, Bureau of Mobile Sources, and Air Compliance & Enforcement, and professionals from New Jersey consulting firms and industries. Below is a description of the most relevant topics from the meeting.
- NJDEP Electronic Submissions
This topic is relevant to all major and non-major facilities that submit reports to the DEP, both electronically and through the mail. These include yearly emission statements and boiler combustion adjustment reports required by NOx RACT.
The DEP is transitioning to solely electronic submission of reports. Last year 80% of all reports were submitted electronically. This year 83% of reports were submitted electronically. Both Baron and the NJDEP highly suggest using electronic submissions if not done already. Electronic submission cuts out the extra time and risk involved in paper mailing of submission, so it provides a benefit to all parties involved.
- Dataminer 2.0 Updates and New Accessibility to Facility Permits
This information is relevant to facilities following DEP regulations or to any individual who wants to access information about DEP-regulated facilities in the state of New Jersey.
Dataminer is a program created in conjunction with the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) to provide more accessibility to data about DEP-regulated facilities in New Jersey. Dataminer makes this data accessible with some new features. It is available through the NJDEP website and is listed as “Dataminer 2.0 (Beta).” Dataminer 2.0 now makes it easier to access reports by category with a specific option “Search by Category.” Dataminer 2.0 also includes more buttons to navigate between screen history, which was previously an issue for individuals running multiple searches on the same category of data. The new Dataminer also utilizes a more comprehensive help section, including instructional tutorial videos to make the system more accessible, even to novices. The new version was reported to have some issues with certain browsers, especially Firefox, but works well in Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer.
DEP plans to phase out the old edition of Dataminer. Those who have relied on the older version of Dataminer should familiarize themselves with the new updates.
- Affirmative Defense
EPA and NJDEP are in discussions regarding affirmative defense.
-Plans to Phase out Stage II Recovery Systems for Fueling Stations
This topic is relevant to owners of Fueling Stations that are currently required to have Stage II Recovery Systems for VOC emissions.
Fueling stations are currently required to maintain Stage II recovery systems, but NJDEP is planning to revise the GP-004A general permit for Fueling Stations in the near future to remove the Stage II requirements altogether. Once the new revision rolls out, NJDEP expects to give facilities three years to decommission Stage II systems if facilities currently have them.
The Stage II systems have become more detrimental to the environmental than helpful to it in recent years, so Baron predicts this change to be very good news for all parties affected by this change.
- The Delisting of TBAC as a VOC by NJDEP
Facilities that track emissions of TBAC as a VOC will be affected by this change. TBAC is tertiary-butyl acetate, a common industrial solvent used with adhesives and sealants.
Since TBAC has been delisted, its emissions will no longer have to be tracked as a VOC by facilities in New Jersey. TBAC was already delisted as a VOC by the EPA.
- Revisions to General Permits and General Operating Permits
This topic is relevant to professionals from facilities utilizing the following permits.
For GP-17A, NJDEP is implementing a revision to include MACT JJJJJJ(a) (pronounced MACT-6-J-A). It is anticipated that the revision will be posted for comment by the end of the year.
For GP-16A/GOP-002 (SEGAP), NJDEP is planning to revise this permit’s requirements in the future to use more qualitative requirements to more consistently control air pollutants. Quantitative requirements with De Minimis (amounts that can be ignored if below a certain threshold) requirements have shown to be ineffective. NJDEP also plants to phase out GP-003 for woodworking equipment and eventually combine it with GP-16A.
- Updates to Particulate Matter (PM 2.5)
The Federal requirements for PM2.5 are being added to NJDEP’s requirements.
- DEP Email Listserv
Subscribe for DEP email listserv to have updates delivered to you. To subscribe to email notifications, visit:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/aqpp/listserv.html
- Electric Vehicle (EV) Workplace Charging Reimbursement
This topic is relevant to employers and landowners housing employees that wish to install electric charging stations for electric vehicles.
This DEP program is called NJ’s Electric Vehicle Workplace Charging Grants Program. It will reimburse employers for as much as $250 for every level 1 (120 Volt) charging station and $2,500 for every level 2 (240 Volt) charging station installed by the party seeking to install them at their facility. The amount reimbursed can be up to the amounts set above as long as the reimbursements do not exceed the total costs of installation and as long as the employer is not reimbursed by any other program for the same charging stations. Any party interested in installing these charging stations can find more information about how to apply for a reimbursement through the program’s website at http://www.drivegreen.nj.gov.
Also, parties seeking reimbursement must apply for reimbursement before installing the electric vehicle charging stations. Charging stations that have already been installed cannot be reimbursed through this program.