EEs: A TCEQ Investigator’s View Susan Thompson TCEQ Investigator, Air Program Amarillo Region

My Goal  Focus attention on the most common reasons that ee’s wind up with NOVs and NOEs.  Learn from others’ experiences.  Your company potentially saves  “Administrative Penalties” (=$)  Compliance history “dings”  You earn bragging rights.  I don’t have to write as many NOVs and NOEs!  Maybe the air stays a little cleaner.

Why Focus on Violations?  Ideally, I can share something today that you don’t already know.  (Violations can be a good indicator of things you don’t already know.)

My Experience  400 separate ee investigations  Petroleum Refinery (just over half)  Natural Gas Processing Plants  Carbon Black Plants  Compressor Stations, Pipelines, Oil & Gas  Petrochemical Plant  Other – Copper Refinery, Fertilizer Plant, Ethanol Plants, Meatpacking…

Results from 400 EE’s  44 NOEs  22 NOVs  (Together, that’s roughly 1 in 6 ee’s.)  Yes, NOEs are more likely than NOVs in my experience.  NOE is triggered any time there is an emission of a pollutant for which the site is a major source, in a quantity greater than 15% of the allowable.

“Affirmative Defense”  Your opportunity to persuade the TCEQ that:  The ee couldn’t have been prevented or avoided.  The consequences of the ee were minimized as much as possible.  All reporting requirements were met.

Making Your Case  Primarily, this is accomplished by STEERS report.  Secondarily, it might be accomplished with a *timely* response to a request for additional information from a TCEQ investigator.

Stats on Why Aff. Def. Lost  Reporting reasons ONLY – 36%  “On the Ground” reasons ONLY – 32%  Combination of Reporting and “On the Ground” reasons – 32%

Most Common Reason for Not Meeting Aff. Def. Crit.  Reporting Errors  That’s actually GREAT news for you, today, because that’s almost always something you can fix.

#1 Reporting Error  Late Initial Notification  This was cited on 20/66 NOVs/NOEs.  Tip: If STEERS is giving you problems, take a screen shot, and fax in the form instead.  Tip: Understand that the 24 hour clock starts when someone in your company (or a contractor) knows or should have known that something happened that might cause more emissions than usual.

#2 Reporting Error  Not identifying each individual compound  That reaches RQ on the initial.  That is emitted on the final. (I.e. include ALL compounds emitted on the final.)  This was cited on 18/66 NOVs/NOEs.

Tip for #2  Understand that “VOC” or “PM” is generally not an acceptable way to report emissions for §101 purposes.  (Even though your §116 permit may very well refer to “VOC” or “PM” on its maximum allowable emission rates table (Maert).)

Another Tip for #2  Carefully read the definition of RQ to understand which mixtures are acceptable to report (e.g. natural gas excluding methane, ethane, etc.)

Yet Another Tip for #2  Understand when it is acceptable to lump several compounds together as “other”; read 30 TAC § (b)(1)(G).  You can lump all compounds as “other” for which BOTH of these things are true:  The RQ is 100 lbs or more.  Less than 10 lbs was released in a 24-hour period.

And One More Tip for #2  If the trigger for reporting was opacity…  Remember to consider what substance caused the opacity, and whether emissions of that substance are authorized.  If unauthorized, include the emissions of that substance on the final report!

If the Only Thing You Take Home From This Talk…  Is to do what you need to do to always report within 24 hours and to speciate all emissions correctly…  Then you have cut your odds at getting an ee-related NOV/NOE by more than half.

#3 Reporting Error  Late final report  This was cited on 5/66 NOVs/NOEs.  Tip: Understand that the 2 week countdown starts the day the emissions event ENDS.  Keep track of time.

#4 Reporting Error  Not identifying (in any way, neither by common name nor EPN) the facilities involved in the emissions event on the final report.  Tip: Less detailed information may be acceptable on the initial notification, but give the specifics on everything you know on the final report.

Other Reporting Errors  Missing or highly erroneous quantities  Insufficient detail on final report (e.g. not including the best known cause at the time of reporting)  Incorrect authorized emissions limit (Tip: this is NOT the same as RQ!)  Failure to respond adequately to a TCEQ request for additional information

“On the Ground” Reasons for Losing Aff. Def.  Usually fall into these categories:  Operator error  Sub-standard Maintenance Practices  Inadequate design or engineering practices  These things are more challenging to solve from the position of an Environmental Manager. Stuff happens.

Some “On the Ground” Reasons You Might Be Able to Influence  Writing “Unknown Cause” on the Final Report  Company’s written checklist of things to do during flaring overlooked 1 unit  Analyzer operating correctly but everyone assumed it was malfunctioning

More Examples to Consider  Listing weather-related cause (too cold, hot, windy, high rate of rainfall, snow drifts) when the weather falls within what can be reasonably anticipated to occur  Timing/convergence of several routine maintenance activities can cause an ee  Type of valve chosen for design created a “stagnant zone” in horizontal piping which led to corrosion

More Examples to Consider  Temporary scaffolding placed in such a way as to interfere with proper bar level gauge operation  Graphics display not correctly modified after commissioning of new unit  Over-applied steam to flare

Time for Your Questions