The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Division of Air Quality recently released a Rule Proposal Notice that incorporates wide ranging changes to the way air emissions are regulated in the state. These changes are part of the State's ongoing State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The proposed rule consists of three major elements: - First, the NJDEP proposes to regulate fumigants and fumigation operations based on potential to emit, rather than weight of raw materials. - Second, the NJDEP is adding three hazardous air pollutants that are not currently regulated by the State, which will be considered State specific hazardous air pollutants (New Jersey Hazardous Air Pollutants, or NJHAPs). - Third, the NJDEP will be adding 13 air contaminants to the list of “toxic air pollutants” or TAPs that must reported as part of any emission statement submitted by those facility subject to the emission statement requirements. Some highlights of the proposed rules can be found below - Fumigation: "The Department’s existing rules require fumigation operations to obtain a permit if the combined weight of all raw materials used exceeds 50 pounds in any one hour, subject to certain conditions....The Department proposes to amend the permitting requirements for fumigation operations to base the permit requirements on a fumigation operation’s potential to emit, rather than the weight of raw materials used. As proposed, fumigation will be subject to permit requirements if the fumigation of a commodity or industrial structure, proposed to be defined as discussed below, has a potential to emit more than 0.1 pounds (45.4 grams) per hour, which is consistent with the existing potential to emit threshold for chemicals currently defined as toxic substances." "If the fumigation operation is subject to the air pollution control permitting provisions at N.J.A.C. 7:27-8 or 22, proposed new N.J.A.C. 7:27-17.10(a), Discharge of fumigants, would require a vertical stack to release emissions above the roofline of the container or structure where the fumigation is taking place." Fumigation permit applications will need to be submitted with a risk assessment (either a first level risk screen document showing no issues or proposed modeling). New Jersey Hazardous Air Pollutants (NJHAPs): "In addition to the Federally listed HAPs, the Department proposes to regulate hydrogen sulfide (H2S), 1-Bromopropane (1-BP), otherwise known as n-propyl bromide (n-PB), and sulfuryl fluoride, as State-specific hazardous air pollutants." "For each NJHAP, the Department proposes both a reporting threshold and a State of the Art (SOTA) threshold, as set forth at proposed Tables 3A and 3B at N.J.A.C. 7:27-17.9." Emission Statements / TAPs: "The 13 air contaminants proposed to be added to the existing list at N.J.A.C. 7:27-21, Appendix 1 are: benzo(a)pyrene, chlorine, cobalt metal and compounds, cyanide compounds (as hydrogen cyanide), ethyl benzene, glycol ethers (as 2-methoxy ethanol), hydrogen fluoride, methyl tert-butyl ether, naphthalene, phosphorous, styrene, triethylamine, and xylene." With this proposed rule change each of these chemicals would become reportable within an Emission Statement submission at specific thresholds that would be outlined in N.J.A.C. 7:27- 21 Appendix 1. The specific sections that will be updated as part of these changes are the following: Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 7:27-8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.12, 8.18, 8.20, 8.21, 8.28, 16.1, 16.1A, 16.17, 16.22, 17.1, 17.3, 17.5, 17.7, 17.9, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 7:27-21 Appendix 1, 22.1, 22.3, 22.5, 22.6, 22.8, 22.18, 22.19, 22.22, 22.27, 22.30, and 22.35; and 7:27A-3.2 and 3.10 Proposed Repeal: N.J.A.C. 7:27-8.27 Proposed New Rules: N.J.A.C. 7:27-17.10 and 22.36 For a full breakdown of all the changes follow this link.
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