EEs: A TCEQ Investigator’s View

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

2. 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.

3. 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.)

4. 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…

5. 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.

6. “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.

7. 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.

8. 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%

9. 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.

10. #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.

11. #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.

12. 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).)

13. 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.)

14. Yet Another Tip for #2 • Understand when it is acceptable to lump several compounds together as “other”; read 30 TAC §101.201(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.

15. 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!

16. 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.

17. #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.

18. #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.

19. 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

20. “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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. Time for Your Questions