2015 NCMA EPA Enforcement Policies and How They Affect Your Facility Michael Pjetraj, P.E. DAQ Stationary Source Compliance Branch Supervisor

2015 NCMAEPA Enforcement Policies and How They Affect Your Facility

Michael Pjetraj, P.E.DAQ Stationary Source Compliance

Branch Supervisor

EPA Policies

• The following EPA policies were revised in 2014:

– Federally Reportable Violation – FRV– High Priority Violation – HPV– Compliance Monitoring Strategy - CMS

Federally Reportable Violation – FRV

• Purpose: Outline the type of violations that state, local, and tribal agencies report to EPA

• Reporting of CAA violations into ICIS-Air, the national air compliance and enforcement data system, is critical for:

• National program management and oversight • Transparency and public access purposes


• The applicable universe of sources whose violations of federally enforceable requirements are to be reported:– Title V Major Sources – SM-80 Sources: Minor sources that have taken an

enforceable limit to remain minor sources, called synthetic minor sources, that emit or have the potential to emit (PTE) at or above 80 percent of the Title V major source threshold

– Sources included in an alternative CAA Stationary Source Compliance Monitoring Strategy (CMS) plan

– Any source at which a HPV has been identified


• Define FRVs as all violations of any emission limitation and certain procedural violations regardless of duration

• Clarify that EPA does not presume that all FRVs require a formal enforcement action

• In implementing the FRV Policy, agencies should be familiar with the HPV Policy as HPVs are a subset of federally reportable violations


What are FRVs:• Violations of any emission limitation, emission

standard or surrogate parameter.

• * Procedural violations including: – Failure to maintain reports and underlying records as

required by permit or regulation such as: • continuous emissions monitoring system (CEM) and continuous

parameter monitoring reports • malfunction reports - excess emission reports • semi-annual monitoring and periodic monitoring reports


What are FRVs:• * Procedural violations including:

– Failure to timely test (e.g., performance test) or conduct valid monitoring as required by permit or regulation

– Failure to timely report (e.g., annual compliance certifications)

– Failure to construct, install, or operate facility/equipment in accordance with the permit or regulation (e.g., CEMs or other monitoring equipment)

– Failure to obtain or maintain a permit (e.g., expired permit)


• Requires formal notice to facility (penalty not required)

• Requires DAQ data submission to the appropriate EPA database

• Ultimately presented on ECHO

High Priority Violation – HPV• The EPA’s HPV Policy – EPA’s enforcement response policy for certain violations of

the Clean Air Act. (HPVs are a subset of FRVs)– Provides a tool for enforcement agencies to prioritize

enforcement activities.– Establishes a process for enforcement agencies to interact

with EPA regarding these violations– Outlines EPA’s expectations for appropriately responding

to HPVs. – Enhances EPA’s ability to conduct oversight of enforcement

activities in an effort to promote national consistency.

High Priority Violation – HPV

• Applies primarily to :– Major source – But can include a violation at any facility

• Only applies to a federally enforceable violation that also meets one of the six HPV criteria.


• Criterion 1- Failure to obtain a New Source Review permit and/or install BACT or LAER for any new major stationary source or major modification at a major stationary source.

• Criterion 2- A violation of a PSD emission limitation, standard or operating parameter, which is a surrogate for emissions where such violation continued for at least seven days

• Criterion 3- A violation of any emission limitation, standard or operating parameter, which is a surrogate for emissions, in an applicable Standards of Performance for New Sources (NSPS) where such violation continued for at least seven days.

• Criterion 4- A violation of any emission limitation, standard or surrogate parameter of an applicable National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) (Parts 61 and Parts 63) for major sources where such violation continued for at least seven days.

High Priority Violation – HPVCriterion 5- A violation that involves federally enforceable work practices,

testing requirements, monitoring requirements, recordkeeping or reporting that substantially interferes with enforcement of a requirement or a determination of the source’s compliance

Criterion 6- Any other violations specifically identified and communicated to enforcement agencies or as mutually agreed upon between the enforcement agency and corresponding EPA Region (case-by-case).


• Step 1 - Discover the violation thru any compliance monitoring activity– Inspection, audit, permit review

• Step 2- Identify the HPV– Should occur within 90 days of the Discovery Action

• Step 3- Advise the Company of the violation– Can take many forms, e.g., conference, written letter– Should occur within 135 days from the Discovery Action, 45 days from

day zero


• Step 4- Address the HPV Using One of the Following:– Issue a legally enforceable order that requires immediate action to

come into compliance with the requirement violated; – Issue a legally enforceable order that imposes penalties, where the

source has demonstrated that it is currently complying with the requirement violated;

– Issue a legally enforceable order that imposes a schedule on the source to comply with the requirement violated and penalties for the violation; or

– NC DAQ – NOV/NRE is the most typical addressing action


• Step 5- If the HPV is not Addressed within 270 from Discovery, 180 days from Day Zero– Develop Case-Specific Management Plan – Discuss the plan with the Region

• Pollutant(s) at issue, including an estimate of type and amount of any on-going or recurring emissions

• Specific Milestones for case resolution, proposed dates for settlement negotiations, commencing enforcement action (administrative or judicial)

• Step 6- Case-Specific Consultation• Step 7- Resolving the HPV means:

– All penalties have been collected– The source is confirmed to be in compliance with respect to all HPVs

Compliance Monitoring Strategy - CMS

Facilities affected:–TV–SM-80s–Others negotiated


• Full Compliance Evaluations• Partial Compliance Evaluations• Investigations


• Full Compliance Evaluation (FCE)– Comprehensive evaluation of the compliance

status of a facility.– Addresses all regulated pollutants at all regulated

emission units; current compliance status of each emission unit; the facility’s continuing ability to maintain compliance at each unit.


• FCE includes:– A review of all required reports and underlying

records including all reported monitored data (CEM records, malfunction reports, excess emission reports).

– A review of TV annual compliance certifications, semi-annual monitoring and periodic monitoring reports, and any other permit required report.

– An assessment of control device and process operating conditions as appropriate.


• FCE includes:– A VE observation as needed– A review of records an operating logs– An assessment of process parameters such as feed

rates, raw material composition and process rates.


• Partial Compliance Evaluation (PCE)– A documented compliance evaluation conducted for

the purpose of making a compliance determination and focusing on a subset of processes, regulated pollutants, regulatory requirements, or emission units at a given facility.

• A PCE may be conducted solely for the purpose of evaluating a specific aspect of a facility, or combined to satisfy the requirements of an FCE.


– PCE Examples:• Conduct source performance tests• Sampling, and monitoring• Visible emission observations• Continuous Monitoring System Quality Assurance (QA)

Audit• Review of facility reports or documents such as Quarterly

Excess Emission Reports and semi-annual deviation reports• Review of facility records and operating logs,

testing/sampling plans, and monitoring data• Review of relevant process, emissions, and inventory

information


• Minimum CMS Frequencies– Full Compliance Evaluation (FCE/FS) Once every

two years at all TV. – FCE/FS once every 5 years at Synthetic Minors


• DAQ Commitments– TV facilities - inspected once per year– SM facilities - inspected once per year– Minor (small) facilities - inspected once every

other year– Or a different plan as negotiated by the regional

office & the central office.


• NC DAQ continually evaluates the compliance status of a facility

• Reports, Inventories, Tests, etc• We consider the on-site inspection to be the

end of the full compliance evaluation period.

Documents

2015 NCMA EPA Enforcement Policies and How They Affect Your Facility Michael Pjetraj, P.E. DAQ Stationary Source Compliance Branch Supervisor