February 20, 2002
A public hearing of the Air Pollution Control Board of Jefferson County was called to order February 20, 2002, at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Room of the Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky by the Chairman, Joseph Vibbert. Karen Cassidy, Lewis Hammond, Lee Howard and Dr. Wayne Tuckson were present. A quorum was present.
General Statement, Rules, and Purpose
The Chairman read the opening announcement, rules, and purpose of the hearing, which was to review amendment to three regulations, amendment to a Board Order, and a new Board Order.
1. Regulation 1.15 Version of Federal Regulations Incorporated by Reference, Version #9, Draft #2 - Proposed, January 9, 2002
Mr. Trout said that the purpose of the proposed action is to update the version of the federal regulations that are incorporated by reference into the District regulations. This action would adopt the most recently published version of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 40, which is July 1, 2001. He stated that this needs to be done on an annual basis.
Mr. Trout said that the only comments received were from the Kentucky Division for Air Quality (DAQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); neither agency had an adverse comment.
Mr. Trout said that the District intends to recommend that the Board adopt, at the meeting today, the amendment to Regulation 1.15 as proposed, pending evaluation of any comments made at the public hearing.
Statements
None
2. Regulation 5.02 Federal Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Incorporated by Reference, Version #10, Draft #2-Proposed, January 8, 2002
Mr. Trout explained that Regulation 5.02 is the incorporation by reference of the federal regulations that control toxic air pollutants. The initial federal program, pursuant to the Clean Air Act of 1970, is comprised of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) regulations in 40 CFR Part 61. The newer federal program, pursuant to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, is currently comprised of the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) regulations in 40 CFR Part 63. The District periodically needs this regulation updated to incorporate the changes made by the EPA. Mr. Trout said that the District is making some wording changes that clarify that the regulation is specifically adopting these federal regulations though an incorporation by reference process.
Mr. Trout said that the District received a comment from the DAQ that a Federal Register notice on October 15, 2002, amending 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart EEE, was not included. The District noted that the EPA also published notices in the Federal Register on February 14, 2002, and February 14, 2002, further amending 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart EEE.
Mr. Trout said that the District intends to recommend that the Board adopt, at the meeting today, the amendment to Regulation 5.02 as proposed except with these three additions to 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart EEE, pending evaluation of any comments made at the public hearing.
Statements
None.
3. Regulation 7.02 Federal New Source Performance Standards Incorporated by Reference, Version #9, Draft #2 - Proposed, January 8, 2002
Mr. Trout explained that Regulation 7.02 is the incorporation by reference of the EPA New Source Performance Standards. Mr. Trout said that there was no adverse comment made during the public comment period. He said that the District is making some wording changes that clarify that the regulation is specifically adopting these federal regulations though an incorporation by reference process.
Mr. Trout said that the District intends to recommend that the Board adopt, at the meeting today, the amendment to Regulation 7.02 as proposed, pending evaluation of any comments made at the public hearing.
Statements
None
4. Amendment to Board Order for Louisville Gas and Electric Company - Mill Creek Generating Station (MCGS)
Ms. Phelps said that the Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) has requested an amendment to the Board Order issued March 21, 2001, for the MCGS. This Board Order requires LG&E to convert all four generating units at the MCGS to wet stack operation by February 2003. The LG&E is requesting an extension of the completion date for Unit 3 from May 31, 2002, to May 31, 2004. As reported to the Board at a recent meeting by Caryl Pfeiffer, Director of Environmental Affairs, LG&E has completed work on Units 2 and 4 on schedule.
This request for an extension is to insure a safe working environment during the maintenance outage on Unit 3 in March of this year. During the maintenance outage on Unit 4 last fall, several worker safety problems were identified. In addition to the wet stack conversion project, Unit 4 was also undergoing work related to the addition of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) control equipment to met the Federal NOx requirement. The LG&E safety committee determined that the number of workers involved and the scope of work is just too big to provide a high level of worker safety. The LG&E is proposing to do the work on Unit 3 in two phases. The first phase would be accomplished during the outage this spring and the second phase would be accomplished in the spring of 2004.
The LG&E believes that the work planned for this spring plus the use of the stack plume reheater will achieve the benefits expected from the original Board Order. The original Board Order contains protection from notices of violation or other enforcement actions for off-property impacts caused by reactive particle emissions. The proposed amendment would not extend this protection; this protection shall terminate upon completion of the Unit 1 conversion or by February 28, 2003, whichever is sooner.
Ms. Phelps said that the District intends to recommend that the Board adopt, at the meeting today, the amended Board Order for the LG&E MCGS.
Statements
None
5. Board Order for Rohm and Haas Company
Ms. Phelps said the purpose of the proposed Board Order with the Rohm and Haas Company is to resolve the noncompliance issues with the company’s operating permit and Regulation 6.24. The proposed Board Order requires the company to pay an administrative penalty of $432,100 and to implement certain corrective measures. The company has agreed to the terms of the order.
Ms. Phelps said that the company disclosed to the District that it had discovered possible exceedances of its permitted volatile organic compound (VOC) emission limits. The exceedances were confirmed by stack testing in December 2000. The alleged violation is of a permit condition relating to toluene, which is classified as both a VOC and a hazardous air pollutant (HAP). The company has undertaken an engineering study and has proposed a plan to bring the acryloid coatings (KAC) process into compliance with its District permits by March 31, 2003.
Ms. Phelps said that the company has implemented interim measures to reduce VOC emissions from the KAC process by approximately 20 tons per year until the installation and operation of equipment that will bring the process into compliance. The amount of the administrative penalty has been reduced below the original calculated amount because the company voluntarily disclosed the noncompliance to the District and the company was cooperative in resolving the issue.
Ms. Phelps said that the District intends to recommend that the Board adopt, at the meeting today, the Board Order for the Rohm and Haas Company with a few non-substantive wording changes made to the version that was proposed.
Statements
Mr. Phil Davis, Plant Manager of the Rohm & Haas Company, said that, as plant manager, he wants to assure the Board members that the company wants to get the problem fixed as soon as possible. This is not the way the company wants to do business; the company is committed to performing as a responsible community neighbor. The financial resources to correct this problem are in place, the employees are committed to this project, and the engineers working on the abatement program understand that the problem must be fixed as quickly as possible. Mr. Davis said that the schedule in the Board Order will be challenging, but the company is committed to meeting that schedule.
Dr. Tuckson asked whether the Board was notified at the time that the District was notified of this problem. He also asked why the Rohm & Haas Company did not notify the community of these excess emissions. Mr. Davis responded that when the problem was discovered, the company quickly confirmed that a problem existed and then met with the District staff. At the same time, the company notified the company’s citizen advisory council of the problem and of the company’s commitment to correcting the problem. The company’s citizen advisory council is made up of people in the community from Riverside Garden, Lake Dreamland, and Cane Run. Subsequently the Reverend Coleman and Arnita Gadson of the West County Community Task Force were told of the problem and the company’s plans to solve the problem.
Dr. Tuckson asked whether the District believed that the community in general needed to be notified of this problem. Mr. Williams said that because the company had taken steps to reduce the excess emissions and there was a fairly wide distribution of information, the District did not believe that further community notification was necessary. This category of violation is considered a high priority violation under the EPA’s program, and is entered into a District tracking system that is available to the public. The District does not routinely bring notices of violation to the Board’s attention prior to proposing a Board Order when a resolution has been reached.
Dr. Tuckson said that, as a member of the community, he would appreciate being notified of excess emissions. Mr. Williams responded that the District will provide notification in the future.
Adjournment
The public hearing adjourned at 9:25 a.m.
/signed/
Joseph D. Vibbert
Chairman
/signed/
Jonathan L. Trout
Secretary-Treasurer