On April 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed amendments to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and Group I & II Polymers and Resins industry.
These proposed amendments apply to the Synthetic Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) and the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) that apply to SOCMI (otherwise referred to Hazardous Organic NESHAP). These amendments also apply to Group I and II polymers and resins industries (P&R I and P&R II).
The proposed amendments address the following:
- NSPS for equipment leaks of volatile organic compounds in SOCMI
- Emissions for ethylene oxide and chloroprene,
- Removing exemptions from the standards for periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction.
EPA estimates that the proposed amendments would reduce HAP emissions (excluding EtO and chloroprene) from the SOCMI, P&R I, and P&R II sources by approximately 1,123 tons per year (tpy), reduce EtO emissions from HON processes by approximately 58 tpy, and reduce chloroprene emissions from Neoprene Production processes in P&R I by approximately 14 tpy.
“We also estimate that these proposed amendments to the NESHAP will reduce excess emissions of HAP from flares in the SOCMI and P&R I source categories by an additional 4,858 tpy,” the Federal Register noted. “Lastly, we estimate that the proposed amendments to the NSPS would reduce VOC emissions from the SOCMI source category by approximately 1,609 tpy.”
EPA will be hosting a web-based public meeting on May 16 for stakeholder input on the proposal. The agency is accepting comments on its proposal through June 26, 2023. More information is available here.
Contact ACA’s Suzanne Chang for more information.