PUBLIC NOTICE
Proposed Air Quality Permit 7123-SC-R1 – Source Category Permit Renewal to Construct and Operate Temporary Portable Concrete Plants at Various Locations in the District of Columbia
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 20 DCMR §§200 and 210, the Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of the Energy and Environment (DOEE), located at 1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor, Washington, DC, intends to issue a source category permit renewal to operate temporary portable concrete plants in the District of Columbia. This source category permit will be designated Permit No. 7123-SC-R1.
To ensure that certain regulatory limits are not exceeded and that more complex or potentially controversial projects of this type are subject to case-by-case permitting, a number of limitations have been established on the applicability of this source category permit, including limiting the duration of the operation at the site to two years total, limiting operating hours to eight hours per day, limiting the size of the equipment, and limiting the total production of the equipment.
Applicants who apply for coverage under a source category permit must document that their equipment meets the applicability criteria specified in the permit prior to approval of coverage and authorization to operate the unit under the authority of the source category permit.
The proposed emission limits to be included in the permit are as follows:
- Emissions of dust shall be minimized in accordance with the requirements of 20 DCMR 605 and the “Operational Limitations” of this permit.
- The emission of fugitive dust from any material handling, screening, crushing, grinding, conveying, mixing, or other industrial-type operation or process is prohibited. [20 DCMR 605.2]
- The discharge of total suspended particulate matter (TSP) into the atmosphere from any process shall not exceed three hundredths (0.03) grains per dry standard cubic foot of the exhaust. [20 DCMR 603.1]
- The discharge of TSP from the portable concrete plant shall not exceed 40 pounds per hour. [20 DCMR 603.1 and Appendix 6-1]
- Emissions of PM10 shall be less than 15 tons in any consecutive 12-month period. [20 DCMR 204]
f. Visible emissions shall not be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere from stationary sources; provided, that the discharges not exceeding forty percent (40%) opacity (unaveraged) shall be permitted for two (2) minutes in any sixty (60) minute period and for an aggregate of twelve (12) minutes in any twenty-four hour (24 hr.) period during start-up, cleaning, soot blowing, adjustment of combustion controls, or malfunction of the equipment. [20 DCMR 606.1]
g. An emission into the atmosphere of odorous or other air pollutants from any source in any quantity and of any characteristic, and duration which is, or is likely to be injurious to the public health or welfare, or which interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of life or property is prohibited. [20 DCMR 903.1]
Emissions Estimate:
Operational limits have been put in place to limit potential emissions of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 microns (PM10) to less than 15 tons per year (TPY). Additionally, the operational limits ensure that total emissions from the concrete plant will not exceed 40 pounds of total particulate matter in any given hour. Some concrete plants operate small hot water heaters/boilers. The limits placed on the size and operating hours of these units are expected to ensure that emissions from these units do not exceed 0.17 TPY of total particulate matter, 1.04 TPY of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), 0.26 TPY of carbon monoxide (CO), 0.018 TPY of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and 0.011 TPY of oxides of sulfur (SOx).
The draft permit and supporting documentation are available for public inspection at AQD and copies may be made available between the hours of 8:15 A.M. and 4:45 P.M. Monday through Friday. Interested parties wishing to view these documents should provide their names, addresses, telephone numbers and affiliation, if any, to Stephen S. Ours at (202) 535-1747.
Interested persons may submit written comments or may request a hearing on this subject within 30 days of publication of this notice. The written comments must also include the person’s name, telephone number, affiliation, if any, mailing address and a statement outlining the air quality issues in dispute and any facts underscoring those air quality issues. All relevant comments will be considered in issuing the final permit.
Comments on the proposed permit and any request for a public hearing should be addressed to:
Stephen S. Ours
Chief, Permitting Branch - Air Quality Division
Department of Energy and Environment
1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
No comments or hearing requests submitted after August 9, 2021 will be accepted.
For more information, please contact Stephen S. Ours at (202) 535-1747.