The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) this month published a notice of proposed revisions to the Title V Operating Permit for Cleveland Cliffs Steel Corporation’s Butler Works.
These proposed permit revisions would implement Reasonably Available Control Technology requirements (or RACT for short). We decided to take a look at the proposed revisions and report on them.
But First Some Background…
The RACT requirement is imposed by the Clean Air Act and instructs each state to determine whether facilities that are major sources of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within its borders are using all reasonably available control technology to limit emissions of NOx and VOCs.
A facility is a major source of NOx if it has the potential to emit 100 tons or more per year of NOx and is a major source of VOCs if it has the potential to emit 50 tons or more per year of VOCs.
If such facilities are not implementing RACT, the states must require them to do so, even if they were properly permitted when they began operating and have continued to operate within all applicable limits.
Need to Know Info About RACT
New RACT determinations are required every time the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revises a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone or NOx (fun fact: NOx and VOCs are the two principal precursors to the formation of ground-level ozone pollution).
The first round of RACT determinations followed the imposition of the RACT requirement by the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act and were implemented in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The second round of RACT determinations (RACT II), which were completed just last year, followed the revision of the NAAQS for ozone in 2008 (yes, there really was a 14-year lag!).
The recently-proposed revisions to the Butler Works’ operating permit follow the latest revision of the ozone standard, which occurred in 2015, and are referred to as RACT III determinations.
Generally, the Clean Air Act requires RACT determinations only for major sources in areas that do not attain the NAAQS for ozone. The Butler Works is a “major source” of both NOx and VOCs, but Butler County attains the NAAQS for ozone.
So why is the plant subject to the RACT requirement?
Because the Clean Air Act requires that all areas of Pennsylvania be treated as nonattainment for ozone, regardless of their actual attainment status. As a result, all “major sources” of NOx and VOCs in Pennsylvania, including the Butler Works, are required to comply with RACT III emission limits.
How RACT Determinations Work
RACT determinations are made in either of two ways:
Each individual source of NOx and VOC pollution within a facility that is a major source of NOx and/or VOCs. For some source categories, RACT is defined by regulation; a source in the category must comply with the regulation. The determinations for such sources are known as presumptive RACT determinations.
For other sources, RACT is determined on a case-by-case basis, and such determinations are referred to as alternative or - no surprise here - “case-by-case” RACT determinations.
For case-by-case determinations, the goal is to make sure the source is using control methods that are both technologically feasible and cost effective, with cost effectiveness being evaluated on a “dollars per ton of pollutant eliminated” basis.
A RACT III control measure is deemed to be cost effective at $7,500/ton of NOx emissions reduced or $12,000/ton of VOC emissions reduced.
What You Need to Know About Butler Works’ RACT
The Butler Works contains a mix of many sources, some of which are subject to presumptive RACT III requirements and some of which needed case-by-case RACT III determinations.
The presumptive RACT III requirements did not impose new emissions limits on any sources within the Butler Works; rather, such sources will generally be subject to annual tune-up, maintenance, and testing requirements to ensure that they are burning fuel efficiently. There is nothing unusual about that.
But Here’s the Weird Thing About It Is…
In contrast, the RACT III determinations that DEP made for several sources within the Butler Works that were made on a case-by-case basis are unusual, because those determinations will allow for increases in the sources’ emissions limits for NOx:
SOURCE | RACT II NOx LIMITS (Tons per Year) | RACT III NOx LIMITS (Tons per Year) | INCREASE FROM RACT II to RACT III (Tons per Year) |
Slab Heating Furnace 6 (Source 112) | 36.60 | 41.08 | 4.48 |
Slab Heating Furnace 8 (Source 137) | 62.10 | 62.52 | 0.42 |
Anneal Furnace 4 (Source 156) | 22.96 | 24.50 | 1.54 |
Anneal Furnace 7 (Source 157) | 17.20 | 20.74 | 3.54 |
Anneal Furnace 12 (Source 158) | 63.65 | 81.87 | 18.22 |
Why GASP Has Questions & Next Steps
“DEP’s Review Memo for its RACT III determinations does not explain how authorized NOx emissions for these sources could increase – if the lower emission limits were the result of controls that were ‘reasonably available’ just a few years ago, why aren’t those controls available now,” asked GASP Senior Attorney John Baillie. “We are left to wonder.”
DEP is accepting written comments on the RACT III determinations for the Butler Works through Feb. 28. Written comments may be mailed to:
Lori McNabb, Regional Air Quality Program Manager, DEP’s Northwest Region’s, 230 Chestnut Street, Meadville, PA 16335.
Editor’s Note: GASP continues to follow this issue closely and will keep you posted.