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How does the District regulate toxic air emissions?
Toxic air emissions are regulated under the District’s Integrated Air Toxic
Program. This program integrates the state and federal requirements and is aimed
at protecting public health. Major goals of this program are as follows:
1) Assuring compliance with State and Federal requirements aimed at
protecting public health;
2) Eliminating duplication and redundancy by consolidating requirements
where multiple rules, programs, and emission limits apply to a single
operation;
3) Maximizing the use of existing programs for quantifying, assessing,
and controlling air toxic emissions;
4) Maximizing the use of the District’s existing ozone and PM10
regulations that also result in air toxic emissions reductions;
5) Maximizing the use of the District’s existing permitting,
inspection, and emission inventory systems to minimize the burden of State
and Federal recordkeeping and reporting requirements; and
6) Not Federalizing "State-only" requirements unless
doing so provides a corresponding benefit by substantially streamlining the
program.
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How can I get more information about toxic air
emissions from Valley facilities?
The District has compiled emissions data for hundreds of Valley facilities.
Toxic emission inventory reports that describe the quantity and nature of toxic
air pollutants emitted from these facilities may be obtained by contacting the
District’s Fresno office. For those Valley facilities with higher emissions
levels, comprehensive health risk assessments are also available.
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What air toxics mandates exist under the State
law?
1) The requirements of the State Air Toxics "Hot Spots’
Information and Assessment Act of 1987 ( California H&S Code - Part 6)
2) The requirement for Air Toxic Risk Reduction Audits and Plans (
California H&S Code - Sections 44390 et. seq.)
3) The requirements of State Air Toxic Control Measures (ATCMs)
established pursuant to Section 39658 or Section 39665 of the California
Health and Safety Code.
4) The State Nuisance Regulation (California H&S Code - Section
41700)
5) State provisions requiring that Federal (MACT) standards issued
pursuant to Section 112 also become State Air Toxic Control Measures (California H&S Code - Section 39656 et. seq.)
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What are the Federal air toxics
mandates under Title III?
Title III of the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act Amendments
identified 189 substances as Hazardous Air Pollutants and required the U.S. EPA
to establish a 10 year schedule for developing new regulations for controlling
these pollutants using maximum achievable control technology. Under Title III,
the U.S. EPA was also required to develop regulations to address urban area
risk, residual risk, and accidental releases of Hazardous Air Pollutants.
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What is the Air Toxic Hot Spots Act?
The Air Toxic Hot Spots Act was a law adopted by the California State
Legislature in 1987. This Law required the District to compile an emissions
inventory of air toxic emissions, evaluate and assess the inventory for possible
health risks facilities may pose on the general public, and notify those
individuals who may be exposed to health risks.
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What facilities are subject to the Air Toxic Hot
Spots Requirements?
A facility is subject to Air Toxic Hot Spots Requirements if it 1) emits more
than ten tons per year of Total Organic Gases, Particulate Matter, Nitrogen
Oxides, or Oxides of Sulfur; or 2) belongs to a source category identified in
the State Emission Inventory Criteria and Guidelines Report.
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What must facility operators subject to Air Toxic Hot
Spots requirements do to report their emissions?
Facilities that are subject to the toxic emission inventory requirements of
the Hot Spots Act must prepare and submit toxic emission inventory plans and
reports, and periodically update those reports. District technical services
staff in the District’s Fresno Office are available to assist in this process.
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How can I obtain copies of these Federal air toxics
regulations that EPA is issuing?
Copies of these and other federal regulations may be downloaded from the EPA
web site. They may also be obtained by contacting District Technical
Services staff in the Fresno District office.
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Can the District use existing rules to implement the
new Federal requirements?
Although the Federal Statutes contain provisions for using existing state
programs to satisfy the requirements of new Federal Standards, the language of
current Federal regulations (40 CFR part 63 subpart E) is very restrictive.
Under the current Subpart E regulations, existing programs that result in less
stringent standards for any emissions point are not approvable. The District,
the State, and affected industry are currently pursuing changes to the Federal
regulations that will streamline the process of attaining equivalency for new
and existing local rules, and allow for more flexibility for developing
equivalent standards at the local level. However, achieving these changes will
require amendments to the Subpart E regulations, which will to take time to
complete. In the interim, we need to assure compliance with Federal standards so
that Valley facilities in compliance with District requirements are not subject
to Federal enforcement actions.
Under the current Subpart E regulations, we have four options for
implementing new Federal standards.
1) Straight delegation -- Accepting delegation of the Federal standard as
written;
2) Rule adjustment -- Proposing minor changes that make the adjusted rule
unequivocally no less stringent than the Federal standard;
3) Rule substitution -- Substituting an existing, new, or amended District
rule for the Federal standard;
4) Program substitution -- Using existing program requirements to ensure
compliance with the requirements of Federal standards.
For each Federal standard that is issued, we must choose which of these
options to pursue. A detailed discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of
each option, and the criteria for choosing between them, is included in this
Program Description. More information regarding the implementation of Title III
requirements may be obtained by contacting the Technical Services staff at the
Fresno District office.
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