by Shane Henson — December 7, 2011—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it is proposing changes to the Clean Air Act standards for boilers and certain incinerators. The Clean Air Act is the law that defines the EPA’s responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation’s air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer.
According to the EPA, the proposed reconsideration to the Clean Air Act would achieve extensive public health protections through significant reductions in toxic air pollutants, including mercury and soot, while increasing the rule’s flexibility and addressing compliance concerns raised by industry and labor groups. The changes also cut the cost of implementation by nearly 50% from the original 2010 proposed rule while maintaining health benefits. These standards meet important requirements laid out in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
The decision to raise standards for boilers was based on basic health and environmental concerns that EPA officials felt could not be overlooked. According to the EPA, soot and other harmful pollutants released by boilers and incinerators can lead to adverse health effects, including cancer, heart disease, aggravated asthma and premature death. In addition, toxic pollutants such as mercury and lead that will be reduced by this proposal are linked to developmental disabilities in children. The EPA estimates that these standards will avoid up to 8,100 premature deaths, prevent 5,100 heart attacks, and avert 52,000 asthma attacks per year in 2015.
Using a wide variety of fuels, including coal, natural gas, oil and biomass, boilers are used to power heavy machinery, provide heat for industrial and manufacturing processes in addition to a number of other uses, or heat large buildings. EPA’s proposal recognizes the diverse and complex range of uses and fuels, and tailors standards to reflect the real-world operating conditions of specific types of boilers.
Some of the key changes the EPA is proposing include:
- Boilers at large sources of air toxics emissions: The major source proposal covers approximately 14,000 boilers—less than 1% of all boilers in the United States—located at large sources of air pollutants, including refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities. The EPA is proposing to create additional subcategories and revise emissions limits. The EPA is also proposing to provide more flexible compliance options for meeting the particle pollution and carbon monoxide limits, replace numeric emissions limits with work practice standards for certain pollutants, allow more flexibility for units burning clean gases to qualify for work practice standards and reduce some monitoring requirements. The EPA estimates that the cost of implementing these standards remains about $1.5 billion less than the April 2010 proposed standards. Health benefits to children and the public associated with reduced exposure to fine particles and ozone from these large source boilers have increased by almost 25% and are estimated to be $27 billion to $67 billion in 2015.
- Boilers located at small sources of air toxics emissions: The proposal also covers about 187,000 boilers located at small sources of air pollutants, including commercial buildings, universities, hospitals and hotels. However, due to how little these boilers emit, 98% of area source boilers would simply be required to perform maintenance and routine tune-ups to comply with these standards. Only 2% of area source boilers may need to take additional steps to comply with the rule. To increase flexibility for most of these sources, EPA is proposing to require initial compliance tune-ups after two years instead of after the first year.
- Solid waste incinerators and revisions to the list of non-hazardous secondary materials: According to the EPA, there are 95 solid waste incinerators that burn waste at a commercial or an industrial facility, including cement manufacturing facilities. The EPA is proposing to adjust emissions limits for waste-burning cement kilns and for energy recovery units. The EPA is also proposing revisions to its final rule which identified the types of non-hazardous secondary materials that can be burned in boilers or solid waste incinerators. Following the release of that final rule, stakeholders expressed concerns regarding the regulatory criteria for a non-hazardous secondary material to be considered a legitimate, non-waste fuel, and how to demonstrate compliance with those criteria. To address these concerns, EPA’s proposed revisions provide clarity on what types of secondary materials are considered non-waste fuels, and greater flexibility. The proposed revisions also classify a number of secondary materials as non-wastes when used as a fuel and allow for a boiler or solid waste operator to request that EPA identify specific materials as a non-waste fuel.
- Boilers located at small sources of air toxics emissions: The proposal also covers about 187,000 boilers located at small sources of air pollutants, including commercial buildings, universities, hospitals and hotels. However, due to how little these boilers emit, 98% of area source boilers would simply be required to perform maintenance and routine tune-ups to comply with these standards. Only 2% of area source boilers may need to take additional steps to comply with the rule. To increase flexibility for most of these sources, EPA is proposing to require initial compliance tune-ups after two years instead of after the first year.
The EPA intends to finalize the reconsideration by spring 2012.
