Co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute and Reed Smith LLP
The Rules
On December 10, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a request to delay implementation of EPA’s "Tailoring Rule." As a result, beginning on January 2, 2011, sources that would have been subject to PSD for a pollutant other than GHGs will need to obtain a PSD permit that addresses BACT for GHGs (as well as the applicable NSR pollutant) if the new source emits (or has the potential to emit), or the modification resulted in an increase in emissions, of 75,000 tons per year or more of total GHG, on a CO2e basis.
Beginning July 1, 2011, new sources that will emit or have the potential to emit 100,000 tons or more per year of CO2e will be subject to PSD for GHGs even if the emissions of other pollutants from the new source would not otherwise trigger PSD. In addition, existing sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100,000 tons or more per year of CO2e that undertake a modification that results in an emission increase of 75,000 tons per year or more of CO2e will need a PSD permit even if their other emission increases from the modification do not otherwise trigger the applicability of PSD. The Tailoring Rule also affects the applicability of Title V permitting on new and existing sources.
The Guidance
In November of 2011, EPA issued a guidance document ("PSD and Title V Permitting Guidance for Greenhouse Gases"), which among other things, discusses the use of the Global Warming Potential for determining applicability of the Tailoring Rule and the process for determining Best Available Control Technology for individual sources. The Guidance contains important guides concerning energy efficiency, add on controls, inherently lower emitting processes, trade offs and other considerations in the BACT process.
Panelists:
David Hacker, Law Department Attorney, U.S. Steel Corporation (moderator)
Lawrence Demase, Partner, Reed Smith
Joe Osborne, Legal Director, Group Against Smog & Pollution
Anna Wood, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. EPA
Additional Materials/Background Documents:
- Clean Air Act Permitting for Greenhouse Gases, U.S. EPA
- Powerpoint: Lawrence Demase, Reed Smith, Challenges to EPA's GHG Rules Heat Up
- Powerpoint: Joe Osborne, GASP, Greenhouse Gas-Specific BACT Considerations
- Powerpoint: Anna Marie Wood, US EPA, Greenhouse Gas Permitting Under the Clean Air Act
- mp3 recording