Air amendments for US feed companies
In a direct final rule, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued three paperwork amendments to its national emissions standard for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for approximately 1,800 sources that produce animal feed, not including feed for dogs and cats.
Issued January 5, 2010, the NESHAP applies to area sources of hazardous air pollutants that use one or more additives or premixes that contain 0.1% or greater chromium (Cr) or 1.0% or greater manganese (Mn).
Among the NESHAP requirements, all new and existing facilities must perform housekeeping to minimize dust in areas of the facility where materials containing Cr and Mn are stored, used, or handled and maintain and operate all process equipment in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications and in a manner to minimize dust creation.
Existing and new facilities with an average daily feed production exceeding 50 tons per day must install and operate a cyclone that achieves a 95% or greater reduction in particulate matter emissions.
Compliance for existing sources is required by January 5, 2012. Sources that started up between July 27, 2009, and January 5, 2010, were required to be in compliance by January 5, 2010.
EPA’s three amendments:
- Correct the date for new sources to submit the Notification of Compliance Form to within 120 days of start-up or October 18, 2010, whichever is later.
- Clarify that small facilities not subject to the requirement to install and operate a cyclone to control emissions from pelleting operations must submit documentation of their initial average daily feed production level in their Notification of Compliance Status report. The final rule used the incorrect term “initial daily pelleting production level.”
- A requirement to submit the annual compliance certification report is added. This requirement was in the proposed rule but inadvertently deleted in the final rule.
EPA states that the amendments do not alter the standards imposed by the NESHAP.
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