RS 2060 - Toxic air pollutant emission control program
A.(1) Not later than December 31, 1989, the secretary shall develop and publish a list of not more than one hundred toxic air pollutants pursuant to the criteria contained in R.S. 30:2053(3). Pollutants on this list shall be ranked or classified according to level of concern based on such criteria as emission levels, human health effects, population exposure, and persistence or accumulation in the environment.
(2) The secretary shall, from time to time, but not less than every three years review and revise the list established by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, adding pollutants which present, or may present, a threat of adverse human health effects and deleting substances if the secretary has determined that the substances no longer meet the definition of "toxic air pollutant" as defined in R.S. 30:2053(3).
(3) Any person may petition the secretary to modify the list established by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection by adding or deleting a substance. Within six months after receipt of a petition, the secretary shall either grant the petition or publish a statement of the reasons for not granting the petition.
(4) A proposed list shall be published and public hearings held in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act prior to final publication and promulgation.
B. Not later than July 1, 1990, the secretary shall propose initial rules and regulations identifying toxic air pollutants as defined in R.S. 30:2053(3), designating those toxic air pollutants which shall be subject to the provisions of this Section and establishing a schedule for the development of ambient air concentration standards, emission standards, and/or technical control standards for those toxic pollutants. The secretary may grant credits to facilities undertaking voluntary reductions that exceed the regulatory requirements pursuant to R.S. 30:2054(B)(3) and rules and regulations to be promulgated thereunder.
C. It shall be a goal of the toxic air pollutant control program established by this Section and consequent promulgation of rules and regulations that the total amount of statewide emissions of toxic air pollutants be reduced by fifty percent from 1987 levels by December 31, 1996. In its efforts to achieve this goal, the department shall place emphasis on those sources of emissions representing the greatest risk to human health.
D. Facilities or sources which are found to be in noncompliance at the time of adoption and promulgation of the applicable rules and regulations developed pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall submit a plan for achieving compliance. Compliance shall be required as expeditiously as practicable within a time frame determined necessary by the secretary.
E. In order to facilitate the identification and quantification of toxic air pollutants and the compilation and maintenance of the comprehensive air emissions inventory required in R.S. 30:2054(A)(1), the department shall require facilities which emit or discharge toxic air pollutants, or substances under evaluation for such designation, to provide to the office the identity and quantities of such air contaminants emitted. Such information shall be made readily available to the public by the department in an easily accessible form.
F. To further develop information concerning sources of and levels of exposure to toxic air pollutants, the department shall conduct continuous or periodic monitoring of toxic air pollutants at locations and times deemed necessary by the office. Information developed as a result of the monitoring efforts shall be made readily available to the public by the department in an easily accessible form.
G. Not later than April 30, 1990, the department shall publish a report summarizing baseline 1987 toxic air pollutant emission levels. The department shall conduct studies for the purpose of estimating emissions of toxic air pollutants from industrial, area, and mobile sources. This report shall be published and submitted for public comment and review for a period of not less than thirty days. In April of each year thereafter, the department shall publish a report summarizing changes in emission levels from the previously reported year and from the 1987 baseline levels, and documenting measures taken and progress made toward reducing toxic air pollutant emission levels.
H.(1) For any discharge of a toxic air pollutant into the atmosphere of Louisiana, the rate or quantity of which is in excess of that allowed by permit, license, compliance schedule, or variance or, for upset events, that exceed the reportable quantity established by regulation, the owner or operator of the source from which such discharge occurs shall immediately notify the department by telephone, and shall submit a written report within seven days containing:
(a) Information on the source, nature, and cause of the discharge.
(b) The date and time of the discharge.
(c) The approximate total loss during the discharge.
(d) The method used for determining the loss.
(e) The action taken to prevent the discharge.
(f) The measures adopted to prevent future discharges.
(g) Any other information deemed necessary by the secretary.
(2) Upon notification required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the department shall conduct an investigation of the incident to determine the nature, cause, and preventability of the emission. It shall be the burden of the emitting facility at the time of the investigation to prove that the discharge was indeed an emergency emission.
(3) For an emission which the department determines to have been preventable, the secretary shall initiate appropriate enforcement proceedings under this Subtitle.
I. The secretary shall establish and maintain records of all emissions which he determines to have been preventable and to have been emergency emission releases, and shall further maintain such records as necessary to reflect the accumulation of emergency emissions by any individual facility. The secretary shall utilize such records in enforcement proceedings under this Subtitle.
J. Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 947, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
K. The secretary shall have the authority to levy and collect fees sufficient to fund the toxic air pollutant emission control program as established under this Section and supporting ambient air monitoring efforts.
L. There shall be no discharge of a toxic air pollutant into the atmosphere of Louisiana except that allowed by permit, license, variance, or compliance schedule or in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this Section.
M. All regulations promulgated under R.S. 30:2059 as in effect prior to June 23, 1989 shall remain in force, as promulgated, unless modified in accordance with this Chapter.
N.(1)(a) The regulations adopted pursuant to this Section shall provide for and delineate "major" and "minor" sources of air toxic emissions.
(b) A "major source" shall be defined as any stationary source of air pollutants, including all emission points and units of such source located within a contiguous area and under common control, which emits or has the potential to emit, in the aggregate, ten tons per year or more of any toxic air pollutant or twenty-five tons per year or more of any combination of toxic air pollutants. For purposes of this Section, the secretary may establish by rule or regulation, if required to administer any programs required or delegated to the state under the federal Clean Air Act, a lesser quantity, or in the case of radionuclides, different criteria, for a major source, other than that specified in this Paragraph, on the basis of the potency of the air pollutant, persistence, potential for bioaccumulation, other characteristics of the air pollutant, or other relevant factors.
(c) A "minor source" shall be defined as any stationary source which is not a major source.
(2) The department shall provide technical assistance to affected sources and serve to coordinate among similar sources the determination of maximum achievable control technology as shall be defined and required in regulations adopted pursuant to this Section. By regulation, the secretary may define and require generally available control technology for minor sources instead of requiring maximum achievable control technology where such is consistent with a reasonable level of protection of human health. In locations where there is no reasonable expectation of a threat posed to human health, appropriate volatile organic compound controls specified in regulations adopted pursuant to R.S. 30:2051 et seq., may be considered maximum achievable control technology for certain sources of emissions of toxic air pollutants which are also volatile organic compounds. If for any major source a department approved compliance plan establishes a maximum achievable control technology determination or compliance schedule which conflicts with or is significantly different from an applicable maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard or schedule proposed, promulgated, or under development by the Environmental Protection Agency, such sources shall be allowed to voluntarily submit compliance plan revisions to reflect the federal MACT standard or schedule. The department shall review any such plan revisions in accordance with procedures established for compliance plan review and approval pursuant to regulations adopted under this Section. Notwithstanding any provision of this Subsection to the contrary, major sources who elect to submit revisions shall attain compliance in accordance with the department approved revised compliance plan and revised schedule. When the provisions and requirements contained in the department approved compliance plans are incorporated into permits issued by the department, those provisions and requirements shall be enforced through the permit and no longer enforced through the compliance plan.
(3) Submittal of any compliance plan and schedule pursuant to this Section and rules adopted hereunder pertaining to a major source shall be no later than one year from promulgation of such rules. Major sources shall attain compliance as expeditiously as practicable but no later than three years from the date of department approval of the compliance plans. In appropriate circumstances up to an additional year may be allowed for compliance. However, under no circumstance shall the compliance period extend beyond six years from the promulgation of such rules.
(4) Not later than July 1, 1992, the secretary shall develop and publish a list of minor source categories which the secretary determines may reasonably be expected to pose a threat to human health. At least every three years, the secretary shall review and revise the list as deemed appropriate. The list shall include those categories and subcategories listed pursuant to Title III, Section 112(c)(3) of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments for sources which operate in Louisiana. Except under circumstances which may reasonably be expected to pose a threat to human health, for purposes of listing source categories under this Paragraph, minor sources shall not be aggregated.
(5) Not later than December 31, 1993, the secretary shall propose minor source category rules and regulations governing the initial list published pursuant to Paragraph (4). Upon promulgation of minor source category rules and regulations, affected sources shall have up to twenty-four months to attain compliance. Under appropriate circumstances up to an additional year may be allowed for compliance.
(6) For purposes of this Section a small business stationary source means a minor source having one hundred or fewer employees. To assist small businesses affected by regulations adopted pursuant to this Section, the department shall establish a small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program. This program shall at a minimum include the following:
(a) Adequate mechanisms for developing, collecting, and coordinating information concerning compliance methods and technologies for small business stationary sources, and programs to encourage lawful cooperation among such sources and other persons to further compliance with this Section.
(b) Adequate mechanisms for assisting small business stationary sources with pollution prevention and accidental release detection and prevention, including providing information concerning alternative technologies, process changes, products, and methods of operation which help reduce air pollution.
(c) A compliance assistance program which assists small business stationary sources in determining applicable requirements and in receiving any permits required under this Section in a timely and efficient manner.
(d) Adequate mechanisms for informing small business stationary sources of their obligations under this Section, including mechanisms for providing a list of qualified contractors, or, at the option of the secretary, for providing audits of the operations of such sources to determine compliance with this Section.
(7) Except under circumstances which may reasonably be expected to pose a threat to human health, whether or not such units are in a contiguous area or under common control, in determining the applicability of emission standards or technical control standards the secretary shall not aggregate:
(a) Emissions from any oil or gas exploration or production well and its associated equipment.
(b) Emissions from any pipeline compressor or pump station.
(c) Emissions from other similar units.
(8) For the storage of ammonia fertilizer on farms for subsequent application to agricultural crops, the requirements of this Section shall be no more stringent than existing requirements under the federal Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 and subsequent amendments.
(9) The department shall conduct public meetings in at least seven major metropolitan areas of this state to present the regulations developed pursuant to this Section for public comment.
(10) The department shall present the proposed regulations at a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment for review and comment prior to the formal oversight hearing. Following this joint informational meeting, the department shall present the regulations to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment pursuant to R.S. 49:950 et seq. if meetings are scheduled. Thereafter, the department may adopt the regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act notwithstanding the twelve-month limitation in R.S. 49:968(H)(1).
O.(1)(a) An affected source's compliance with an applicable standard promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 40 CFR Parts 61 or 63, shall constitute compliance by the affected source with this Section and the rules and regulations adopted by the department under this Section. Determination of the standard for affected sources not subject to a federal standard shall be made by the department through the permitting process using the existing determination method. For purposes of this Subsection, "affected source" means the collection of equipment, activities, or both within a single contiguous area and under common control that is further defined by the applicable standard.
(b) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall not apply to rules regarding the regulation and control of asbestos promulgated by the department pursuant to R.S. 30:2054.
(2)(a) Affected sources shall be subject to ambient air standards promulgated pursuant to this Section outside their property boundaries, except that such ambient air standards shall not apply to roads, railroads, or water bodies where activities are transient in nature and long-term exposure to emissions is not reasonably anticipated.
(b) Ambient air standards shall not apply to industrial properties adjacent to or impacted by emissions from affected sources, provided the affected source shall demonstrate that worker protection standards enacted pursuant to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act as permissible exposure limits are not exceeded on the impacted property because of toxic air pollutant emissions from the affected source.
(3) Affected sources shall be subject to annual emissions reporting requirements for toxic air pollutants promulgated pursuant to this Section.
(4) Affected sources shall continue to be subject to applicable fees required by the department regulations.
(5) The department shall adopt rules, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq., to implement the requirements of this Subsection.
Acts 1989, No. 184, §1, eff. June 23, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 245, §1; Acts 1991, No. 635, §1; Acts 1992, No. 967, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1127, §1; Acts 1995, No. 845, §1, eff. June 27, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 947, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 780, §1; Acts 2008, No. 580, §2; Acts 2010, No. 103, §1.