The July 1st deadline for Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting is rapidly approaching and Environmental Strategy Consultants, Inc.’s industry experts are here to assist you with understanding the ins and outs of this complex regulatory program.  We will answer the difficult questions you may have on the TRI program from now through June 15th.  We are offering a limited number of in-depth one-hour, one-on-one phone consultations where our experts share their knowledge to help with any questions about the TRI program at NO obligation or charge to your facility. This is your opportunity to get the correct answers to your hard-to-answer questions from experts before submitting your report.

The sessions will be staffed by our senior consultants, who have many years of experience in the TRI program as it relates to manufacturing, chemical, utility and petroleum industries.  At ESC, we have a dedicated technical staff of EH&S professionals with over 25 years of experience in environmental compliance reporting. We have assisted clients with EPA Toxic Release Inventory enforcement inspections and in avoiding penalties since 1989. ESC provides the expertise needed to answer any questions you have about the reporting deadline.

Our knowledge and expertise in all environmental deadline reporting will assure your facility is submitting the correct information. Please call us at (215) 731-4200 to sign up for your confidential appointment with one of our experts now with no obligation to you.

Visit us at www.EnviroStrat.com to learn more about the services we offer.

The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard has recently been revised to include new requirements which will be phased in over the next two and half years.  Facilities using hazardous chemicals must complete employee training by December 1, 2013 for two new Standard elements. The revisions are the result of OSHA’s alignment of the Hazard Communication Standard with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The training to be provided by December 1, 2013 must include information on the Standard’s new labeling and safety data sheet (SDS) format requirements.

The Standard requires certain topics to be covered in training on the new label elements.  The information that will be on the new labels must be explained to employees and includes the following topics:

• Product identifiers of the hazardous chemical
• Signal words for indicating severity of hazard
• Pictograms from the list of eight included in the revised Standard
• Hazard statements to describe the nature and degree of the hazard
• Precautionary statements describing measures for minimizing exposure effects
• Manufacturer, distributor, or importer contact information

The new label elements are to be taught with an accompanying explanation of how the labels may be interpreted and used in the workplace to improve safety.  An explanation of how the newly formatted SDS relate to the label elements should be included when employees are trained on the SDS format.  The new format is meant to standardize the information listed for exposure limits, engineering controls, and protection measures and make material safety information easily accessible for employees.

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard is an important rule for employers and employees.  It impacts the vast majority of worksites around the country and employers should take appropriate action to ensure compliance.  ESC senior consultants are available to answer questions on the Standard or assist employers in ensuring their hazard communication programs and procedures are in compliance with the new requirements.

The NJDEP has issued a compliance advisory to remind facilities that Community Right to Know (CRTK) reporting is required for entities that are classified by regulated NAICS codes and that use hazardous substances above threshold quantities.  All regulated facilities are required to either submit a CRTK Survey in NJDEP Online, or an exemption notification form. The exemption form only needs to be submitted one time. The online procedure makes it easier for NJDEP to identify non-compliant facilities.

Beginning June 1st, the DEP will initiate enforcement actions against facilities that have not submitted an initial exemption notification or a CRTK Survey for the 2012 reporting year.  The enforcement action may result in $1,000 penalties to those facilities.

If a facility has not submitted the exemption notification or a 2012 survey, it should evaluate applicability of reporting as soon as possible. The number of facilities subject to CRTK reporting or exemption notification is based on an extensive list of regulated NAICS codes. Making a determination for reporting requires a review of NAICS code and substances used on site.

Contact Environmental Strategy Consultants, Inc. at 215-731-4200 to find out if your facility can potentially be subject to the enforcement action. ESC can assist facilities with applicability determination and submittal of reports or exemption notifications to avoid penalties.

With a continued upsurge in oil and gas development in Pennsylvania, the regulations shaping the industry are becoming a key focus of environmental management. Recently enacted amendments to the 25 PA Code Chapter 78 outline requirements for emergency response planning for oil and gas well sites.  New and existing well sites must submit site-specific plans as required by the ruling, effective April 26, 2013.  Additional rule amendments are drafted and under consideration for proposal by the PA DEP.  These rule amendments may require that Pollution, Prevention, and Contingency (PPC) Plans be developed for well sites as a component of emergency response planning.  PPC Plans are created to outline prevention measures and response actions to be undertaken by operators at a facility where potential spills could impact human health or environment. Oil and gas well operators may want to prepare PPC Plans for existing well operations in anticipation of the proposed changes to emergency response planning requirements. Environmental Strategy Consultants’ experience in PPC Plan development can be used to assist well operators in meeting the requirements for emergency response planning.

The EPA Heavily Inspects and Enforces the Toxic Release Inventory Reporting Program

Environmental Strategy Consultants is noticing that the EPA has stepped up its inspection and enforcement of the TRI program. Even though the TRI program has been in place since the late 1980s, the EPA has recently cited numerous facilities failing to submit timely, complete and correct Toxic Release Inventory reports. The EPA compiles and publishes the TRI information on an annual basis and the data is subjected to public scrutiny. Such scrutiny underscores the need for thorough and accurate knowledge of facility chemical usage and emissions, which may, at any time, become subject to public criticism over environmental impacts and public health concerns.

So why are so many facilities not “inspection ready”?

The Threshold Analysis is Harder to get Right than it Appears

Many facilities focus on meeting the reporting deadline and do not spend the time needed on the threshold analysis. The threshold analysis is just as important and is more complex and time consuming than the actual report. What is commonly missed? Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) chemicals are often missed since they may be at levels not reported on SDSs or by suppliers and yet they are still subject to reporting. The thresholds for PBT’s are low. For example, lead and lead compounds have a reporting threshold of 100 lbs.

What is Complex About the Toxic Release Inventory Program?

The EPA has over 30 guidance documents that contain special information on individual industries or chemicals. Many facilities do not realize that they have coincidentally manufactured chemicals. Additionally, compounds, which sometimes are not listed on the SDSs, are often overlooked and misreported. There are many interpretative issues that are not obvious on the surface and are buried in the guidance. Experience and an EPA perspective is imperative to understanding accurate threshold analysis and reporting.

What is Missed by Most Facilities?

Many facilities do not realize the importance of identifying each and every 313 chemical processed, used or manufactured onsite, including coincidentally manufactured chemicals even if these are in an interim state. The next step is a detailed documentation of the threshold analysis of each 313 – with a real value assigned showing if the threshold was exceeded or not. Often this is not done.

Form A can be the Achilles Heel

Erroneously filing Form A instead of Form R can lead to a fine for failure to report. The EPA considers this just as significant as not filing at all. The Form A “reportable amount” threshold must not be exceeded. The definition of the “reportable amount of 500 lbs.” is often misunderstood and thus many companies file a Form A instead of the Form R.

There are Many Exemptions and Qualifiers

In addition, a thorough understanding of the reporting exemptions and chemical qualifiers is needed in order to ensure that the correct reports are submitted. ESC has insights and strategies for management of this critical regulation. This is based upon the two decades of experience assisting our clients with TRI reporting.

Even Non-Reporters Need to Document 

Even facilities who are not required to submit reports but process, use or manufacture 313 chemicals are required to demonstrate non-applicability if audited.
 
ESC Senior Technical Personnel – We are Experts in TRI Reporting!

We have assisted clients with EPA Toxic Release Inventory enforcement inspections and in avoiding penalties since 1989. Visit us at www.EnviroStrat.com to learn more about our services. If you have any questions or need immediate assistance, please call 215-731-4200 to speak with an ESC Senior Consultant confidentially and without obligation about your specific compliance management needs.

Reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) are regulated by the EPA to reduce the impacts to air quality from combustion. EPA itself has called it the most complicated and confusing regulation in the entire suite of EPA NSPS and NESHAPS regulations. Recent reconsideration of the RICE NESHAP by the EPA resulted in minor revisions to the NESHAP in January 2013. Spark ignition and compression ignition engines are subject to the NESHAP based on the horsepower and if they are used for non-emergency purposes. The rulemaking for the first time established requirements for these existing emergency engines, requiring affected engines to comply by May 3, 2013, for stationary CI RICE and October 19, 2013, for stationary SI RICE.

For those facilities that operate as minor, or area sources using emergency engines, these revisions to the RICE NESHAP may impact the work practices, necessitate equipment retrofits, and require changes to recordkeeping. The primary retrofit would be the requirement for a non-resettable hour meter on an existing engine. The inspection and recordkeeping can be undertaken by facility employees but may require initial applicability determination and detailed recordkeeping requirements for the applicable engine. A retrofit with an oxidation catalyst is not anticipated for the engines at area sources.

For those facilities that operate as major sources using emergency engines, the RICE NESHAP applicability and compliance requirements are more complicated. This is mainly due to availability of Demand Response (DR) opportunities to the facility owners and operators.

ESC is available to assist operators with applicability determination of how the RICE NESHAP requirement revisions impact the maintenance, recordkeeping and operating requirements for the existing and new engines at your facility. If you have any questions or need immediate assistance, please call 215-731-4200 to speak with an ESC Senior Consultant confidentially and without obligation about the applicability of the NESHAP to your facility.

Environmental Strategy Consultants, Inc.’s Director of Environmental Compliance Services, Samuel Joshi, P.E., attended the DEP Quarterly meeting in Harrisburg last week, held by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce. The meeting with top DEP officials allows ESC to proactively discuss pressing regulatory issues, legislation, policy decisions and other initiatives.

Some of the highlighted issues of the meeting were:

• Revision and conformity of a “large project” definition between PADEP and DCNR
• Revisions to Chapter 78 (Oil and Gas) Subchapter C, which regulates all surface activities associated with Oil and Gas exploration and development
• Amendment of existing surface coating regulations under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 129 (relating to standards for sources) to further reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• General Plan Approval and General Operating Permit (GP-5) for Natural gas compression facilities and processing facilities
• PADEP’s comments on the GHG NSPS rules for electric generating units (EGUs)
• Revisiting Title V fees

This program is heavily enforced by EPA and it is harder to get right than it appears on the surface. Our compliance alert reviews this and other information, such as what is missed by most facilities and looked for most by EPA.

Click here to read our latest mailing regarding the July 1st TRI Reporting deadlines

New Jersey’s General Permit for Boilers and Indirect Fired Process Heaters will be issued on March 21st.  This General Permit is replacing the current General Permit for Boiler & Other Indirect Fired External Combustion Equipment.  The new General Permit (GP-009A) will apply to facilities using fuel combustion boilers and indirect fired process heaters equal to or greater than 10 MMBTU/hr and less than 50 MMBTU/hr.

The new permit will be posted on the NJ DEP website when it is issued later this week.

July 1, 2013 due date – New Jersey requirements for facilities subject to EPA Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Forms R and A – more chemicals may be reportable than indicated by the EPA regulations.

All facilities in New Jersey subject to the EPA TRI program are also subject to the NJ Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR), and the NJ Pollution Prevention Plan and Plan Summary (also known as the “P2 Plan Summary” or “P2PS”).

The due date for the RPPR is July 1, 2013. Of special note is that NJ regulations require reporting of TRI chemicals which the facility may not be required to report under the federal program. This is because NJ has a lower threshold for reporting.

The 2012 Pollution Prevention (P2) Plan and P2 Plan Summary are required in 5 year cycles. For the 2012 reporting year, any facility that last revised its plan in 2008 for the 2007 Reporting Year is required to update it by July 1, 2013. The updated Plan Summary must be submitted to the NJDEP by July 1, 2013.

Reporting Due Date is March 31, 2013

The 2013 submission deadline for this report is almost here (March 31^st). Unlike 2011 and 2012, in which the reporting deadlines were pushed back to September due to technology issues, there is no extension this year of the due date.

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements
A number of major industry sectors are subject to reporting – electric utilities, major manufacturers, petrochemical industry, mines and certain other facilities that produce at least 25,000 metric tons per year of CO₂ or CO₂ equivalent emissions.
The six major greenhouse gases are:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
• Methane (CH₄)
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆)
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
• And other fluorinated greenhouse gases defined at 40 CFR Section 98.6

The complete list of facilities who must report is as follows:

• All source categories listed in 40 CFR 98.2(a)(1), regardless of the actual amount of GHGs emitted,
• Any facility which is in a source category listed in 40 CFR 98.2(a)(2), if it emitted 25,000 metric tons of CO₂e gases,
• Any facility which does not meet the previous two criteria but has stationary combustion sources with a 30 million BTU/hr rating or greater, and which emitted 25,000 metric tons or more of CO₂e gases in 2012 (per 40 CFR 98.2(a)(3)), or
• Greenhouse gas suppliers (40 CFR 98, Subparts LL through QQ).

What amount of combusted fuel triggers reporting?

The following is an estimate of the annual amount of combusted fuel that would trigger reporting for certain types of facilities:

• Natural gas – 460 million cu. ft.
• Fuel oil – 2.5 million gallons
• Coal – 10,800 tons

Environmental Strategy Consultants, Inc. is now certified through the PA UCP as well as the WBENC. ESC has been a women-owned business since 1986 and is an environmental, health and safety (EH&S) consulting firm that provides multidisciplinary technical and regulatory support; permit application approval and negotiation; enforcement response; compliance management and outsourcing services.  We provide our clients the highest level of quality service as well as the experience needed to truly understand and implement upcoming regulations and environmental initiatives.

Our company’s senior management has 30 years of environmental experience in air permitting including major facilities (Title V) applications and modifications as well as managing a broad range of environmental compliance issues including compliance assessments, wastewater, waste, toxic release reporting, etc. We have many years of experience in negotiating permit conditions and violations, and ensuring that our client’s permits requirements are minimized and excellently managed.

ESC can help your company meet supplier diversity requirements or satisfy contract obligations for federal and state funded projects.

Please call (215) 731-4200 to speak with Lorna M. Velardi, President, about your specific project needs and questions.

Revised Certification Procedure

The EPA has revised the certification procedure in TRI-MEweb for the 2012 reporting year so that facilities can prepare any reporting year TRI Forms and transition directly into the certification process without having to leave the TRI-MEweb application.

New Security Standards

The EPA has developed new security standards for Responsible Officials. Responsible Officials that submitted an Electronic Signature Agreement (ESA) in previous years will be required to answer 5 security questions for the 2012 reporting year. Certifying officials will also be required to electronically sign the ESA submitted in previous years to ensure that it continues to be valid.

New Electronic Signature Agreement Procedure

For Reporting Year 2012, new Certifying Officials will be able to submit the ESA through CDX and be approved for certifying the reports in real-time. Previously, the ESA’s were submitted on paper and took up to 5 days for approval.

New Chemical Reporting Requirement – Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S)

The EPA has lifted the stay of reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Facilities are required to submit reports for hydrogen sulfide for the 2012 reporting year.

Emission Statements can now be submitted electronically through NJDEP Online

The Emission Statements can still be submitted on CD or disk through the mail, but can no longer be submitted via e-mail.

Extension to June 15 for NJDEP online submittals

The NJDEP is granting an automatic 1 month extension to the submittal deadline for reports that are submitted in NJDEP Online. Reports submitted electronically will not be due until June 15, 2013. Reports that will be submitted on a CD or disk through the mail will still be due by May 15, 2013.

Radius Certification forms due in April for Major facilities

For Major facilities that want to submit the report through NJDEP Online, the Responsible Official and any Individuals with Direct Knowledge must first submit the RADIUS Certification Authorization Form. The NJDEP is requesting that the authorization form be submitted in April. Minor facilities that want to submit the report through NJDEP Online do not need to submit the authorization form.

RADIUS Version 4.0 must now be used

There is a new version of RADIUS, Version 4.0, available. Facilities must use the new version when preparing and submitting their 2012 Emission Statement.

The electronic certification screen in RADIUS has been removed

Certification must now be completed in NJDEP Online or on paper. The attachment function has also been removed from RADIUS.

The EPA has published a final rule effective April 8, 2013 to provide technical corrections to the original rule from March 21, 2011 “Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units.”  Corrections include changes to definitions, references and applicability.  The rule provides standards for identifying whether non-hazardous secondary materials are solid waste under RCRA when used as fuels in combustion units.

Read the final rule published in the Federal Register.

The final rule for NESHAP Subpart JJJJJJ (Boiler MACT), effective February 1, 2013, provides amendments to the original rule issued March 11, 2011 for the NESHAP for Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Boilers (Subpart JJJJJJ).  The compliance date for existing sources is March 21, 2014.  The amendments include revisions to the Hg and CO emission limits from the original rule.

Click here to read the final rule published in the Federal Register.

The PA DEP has been implementing the newly established Permit Decision Guarantee since November 2012.  The PA DEP released claims of success at improved efficiency in the environmental permit review process.  The program is designed to reduce the number of deficient permit applications and give applicants an estimated timeline for application review.  The Permit Decision Guarantee facilitates permit applications to go through the review process faster, meaning that applicants do not have to wait as long for draft permits and issuance of final permits.  Permit applicants are required to submit only the complete applications and incomplete applications are rejected in an effort to reduce time spent on incomplete applications.  The PA DEP indicates that the guarantee has, in its first quarter, reduced the permit application backlog by 40%.  PADEP expects to reduce the backlog even further highlighting the requirement to have a comprehensive and complete permit application.

Read more about the Permit Decision Guarantee program.

The EPA promulgated a final rule on January 31^st addressing the reconsideration of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for boilers and process heaters located at major sources. The NESHAP applies to new and existing industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters located at major sources of hazardous air pollutants. The EPA was petitioned to reconsider the NESHAP requirements that were promulgated on March 21, 2011. In this final rule, the EPA is making technical corrections to clarify applicability and compliance requirements, revising the subcategories of boilers and process heaters, and revising the emission limits for certain surrogate pollutants. The amendments to the Boiler MACT rule are effective April 1, 2013.

Click here to read the final rule in the federal register

The EPA finalized amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) on January 30^th. The amendments were developed to address issues raised in several petitions for reconsideration and other legal challenges. The amendments include: alternative testing options for certain engines, management practices for certain engines in sparsely populated areas, alternative monitoring and compliance options for certain engines in populated areas, limits on the hours that stationary emergency engines may be used for emergency demand response, and fuel and reporting requirements for certain emergency engines. The amendments are effective April 1, 2013.

Click here to read the final rule in the federal register

The EPA will soon publish in the Federal Register the rule for revisions to standards to reduce air pollution from stationary engines that generate electricity and power equipment. The rule is the result of amendments to the 2010 National Emission Standards for HAPs for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE). The rule will reduce pollutants and reduce costs of the original 2010 rules.

More information at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/rice/ricepg.html