Something’s in the Air

New Year’s vibes, right? Perhaps! But for those of us who must file air permits, the beginning of the year is an important time, because multiple annual reports are due by the end of the first quarter.

At Apex Companies, our team is busy preparing point source emission inventories, greenhouse gas reports, and Tier II chemical inventories. There are other reports as well, like annual Title V compliance reports, Mass Emissions Cap and Trade (MECT) annual compliance reports, etc. While most of these are due at the end of Q1, there are exceptions; Title V compliance reports aren’t always due in Q1. Instead, many agencies require them annually based on the permit issue date. Navigating the annual reporting landscape can be daunting. Why is this?

Emissions Inventory Reporting: Ins and Outs

While the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains annual emissions inventory data, they require state and/or local agencies to collect and report the emissions data for their geographic areas. The delegated agencies have flexibility in how they collect that data, so the requirements are different depending on where a facility is located, what its potential and actual emissions are, and its air quality authorization status.

Unfortunately, the specifics of who must report, what must be reported, and when the reports are due vary widely by state (and in some cases, local agencies). Take Texas emissions inventory reporting requirements for example, where several non-attainment areas make reporting much more complicated. If you aren’t familiar with non-attainment areas you can think about it like a whole area failing a test and getting put on a performance improvement plan. Or California Air District Rules, where there are 35 local Air Pollution Control Districts (APCD) and Air Quality Management Districts (AQMD) that regulate stationary sources in the state. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment requires an Air Pollutant Emissions Notice (APEN) for certain businesses that emit air pollutants, but determining if you need to submit an APEN isn’t simple. You must identify sources of air pollution, determine which ones are exempt, and whether you have had a “significant change in emissions” year over year.

In general, most major sources (Title V, nonattainment, or Prevention of Significant Deterioration) are required to calculate and report actual calendar year emissions by sometime between the end of January and mid-April each year. Whether minor sources need to report their actual emissions is much more varied. Some states are more stringent and require businesses with any kind of air permit to submit an emissions inventory report every three years. Other states provide an exemption for sites with certain types of authorizations (generally Permits by Rule), several states exempt sites with potential or actual emissions below certain thresholds, and most states have different requirements for sites located within designated nonattainment areas versus those in areas that are in compliance with all National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The data that must be reported varies as well. Some states only require a few pollutants to be reported, while others require all criteria pollutants and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), as well as additional volatile organic compound (VOC) speciation above certain thresholds. Some local reporting agencies require detailed reports with all calculations and supporting documentation; others just require you to enter actual operating data in an online database.

Let’s travel back to Texas. If you take a look at the Emissions Inventory Reporting Requirements map we shared earlier that shows the state and its regions, along with areas with special reporting requirements, you can see there are different thresholds for reporting based on actual and potential emissions according to the nonattainment classification of the area, in addition to a handful of counties with special inventory reporting thresholds for ozone precursors. Any site in the state with actual or potential emissions above Title V major source thresholds is required to report annually, as well as any site with actual lead emissions of 0.5 tons per year (TPY) or potential lead emissions over 10 TPY. Sites that are required to report and are located west of the red central meridian line only need to report actual annual emissions. Sites located east of the line also must report their actual average daily emissions during the ozone season (May through September). And sites that exceed the thresholds for reporting but have an actual change in emissions of less than 5 TPY per pollutant vs the previous year can submit an insignificant change letter rather than a full report, but they can only do that a few years in a row before they must do a full report again. That’s just the variation within Texas, which doesn’t even have a triennial reporting option like many other states do.

Greenhouse gas reporting (under the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, 40 CFR Part 98) is much more consistent because the specifics of the reporting requirements are mostly spelled out in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the EPA runs the program directly. However, there is a lot of variation across the multiple industries (41 industrial categories) the rule applies to. Annual GHG reports are due by March 31 each year for the previous calendar year.

Tier II Reporting

Tier II reporting is required under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (SARA 312) and is another federal program managed by state and local agencies, so again, there are many differences based on location. However, it’s generally not as varied as emissions inventory reporting, except when it comes to how the data is reported. Tier II reporting isn’t actually an air quality report; it’s an annual compliance report that documents a facility’s usage of hazardous chemicals. Tier II reports are due March 1 each year for the previous calendar year. In general, these reports are required for storage of chemicals above the following thresholds:

• Hazardous chemicals (by OSHA criteria): 10K lbs
• Extremely hazardous chemicals: 500 lbs or the threshold planning quantity (TPQ), whichever is less
• At retail fuel stations:
  • Gasoline: 75K gallons
  • Diesel fuel (all grades combined): 100K gallons

There are exemptions and some states have more stringent requirements. Also, a local or state emergency response committee or fire department can request Tier II reporting with no minimum threshold.

If you found this article interesting and would like additional information or to speak with a knowledgeable Apex professional about your specific air permitting and reporting needs, please contact us at info@apexcos.com or fill out our Capabilities Inquiry form. Good luck this reporting season, and Happy New Permit Year to you!

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started out 2023 with a round of updates related to proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

On January 9, 2023, the EPA announced that it would be pushing the release date for its proposed PFAS drinking water standard to March 2023. The EPA’s proposed rule was originally set to be finalized in late 2022, but there have been many detractors that feel the proposed limits for PFAS and PFOA are too low and would place an unreasonable burden on public water supply operators around the country. Whether that or something else has resulted in the delay is purely speculation.

The week prior, on January 4, 2023, the EPA issued a test order for the PFAS trifluoro(trifluoromethyl)oxirane (HFPO), a perfluoroalkyl substance used in making plastics. It will require companies who use this compound in manufacturing processes to conduct and submit testing results to help the agency understand the potential environmental and human health effects of HFPO and compounds similar in chemical structure. Companies that received the test order include the Chemours Company, DuPont, and 3M.

According to the EPA, HFPO (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number [CAS RN] 428-59-1) is used in making plastics and in organic chemical manufacturing. More than 1,000,000 pounds of HFPO are manufactured each year, according to TSCA Chemical Data Reporting rule reports. Testing data provided by the order recipients will be made available to the public in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2021-0910 on www.regulations.gov. To learn more, see the EPA’s PFAS National Testing Strategy.

The day prior, on January 3, 2023, the EPA announced the addition of certain PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). For the 2022 reporting year, 180 PFAS are reportable. The 2023 reporting year will include an additional nine PFAS. For both years, reporting forms are due July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, respectively. The NDAA, signed into law on December 20, 2019, established a framework that identifies certain regulatory activities that automatically add PFAS or classes of PFAS to the TRI list of reportable chemicals. Specifically, PFAS or classes of PFAS are added to the TRI list of reportable chemicals beginning January 1 of the calendar year. Compounds can also be added after other types of designations, such as a significant new use rule (SNUR) determination. The NDAA also establishes reporting thresholds for TRI manufacturing, processing, and otherwise use reporting thresholds of 100 pounds for each of the listed PFAS.

Newly Reportable for the Current Reporting Year and Next Reporting Year

CAS RN	TRI Chemical Name	Effective Reporting Year
375-73-5	Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid	2022
29420-49-3	Potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate	2022
45187-15-3	Perfluorobutanesulfonate	2022
203743-03-7	2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, hexadecyl ester, polymers with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, γ-ω-perfluoro-C10-16-alkyl acrylate and stearyl methacrylate	2022
375-22-4	Perfluorobutanoic acid	2023
2218-54-4	Sodium perfluorobutanoate	2023
2966-54-3	Potassium heptafluorobutanoate	2023
10495-86-0	Ammonium perfluorobutanoate	2023
45048-62-2	Perfluorobutanoate	2023
2728655-42-1	Alcohols, C8-16, γ-ω-perfluoro, reaction products with 1,6-diisocyanatohexane, glycidol and stearyl alc.	2023
2738952-61-7	Acetamide, N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]-, 2-[(γ-ω-perfluoro-C4-20-alkyl)thio] derivs.	2023
2742694-36-4	Acetamide, N-(2-aminoethyl)-, 2-[(γ-ω-perfluoro-C4-20-alkyl)thio] derivs., polymers with N1,N1-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine, epichlorohydrin and ethylenediamine, oxidized	2023
2744262-09-5	Acetic acid, 2-[(γ-ω-perfluoro-C4-20-alkyl)thio] derivs., 2-hydroxypropyl esters	2023

Stay tuned for more updates as the EPA seems to be off to a busy start this year! For more information on PFAS or related services that Apex Companies offers, see Remediation, Our Projects, or download our PFAS Solutions brochure. Alternately, you can always reach out to us at info@apexcos.com or submit a Capabilities Inquiry to have a project manager connect with you to discuss your specific needs.