Contact: Tom Mather (919) 715-7408
September 28, 1999
Public Hearings To Be Held On New Permits For Power Plants
RALEIGH -– Citizens will have opportunities to comment on new proposed air quality permits for electric power plants in a series of public hearings to be held across the state early next year.
The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) will conduct the hearings to get public input before finalizing the Title V permits, which are new federal permits required for major air emissions sources. Specific sites and dates for the meetings will be announced later.
Under the Title V program, plants must certify annually that they comply with federal air quality standards or they can face stiff penalties. Title V permits are required under the federal Clean Air Act for plants that emit at least: 100 tons per year of most regulated pollutants; or 10 tons per year of any hazardous air pollutant; or 25 tons per year of any combination of hazardous air pollutants.
"We will schedule these hearings at convenient locations so citizens can comment on new permits for power plants in their vicinity or throughout North Carolina," DAQ Director Alan Klimek said. "These permits will specify what emissions are allowed at these power plants and what kinds of equipment they will use to control their emissions."
At the hearings, citizens also will be able to comment on new guidelines for controlling visible emissions of dust and soot at electric power plants, under agreements that the DAQ approved today. The Special Orders by Consent (SOCs) give power companies until January 1, 2002, to meet guidelines for enforcing air quality standards for opacity, a measure of the amount of particulate matter (dust) that is visible in power plant emissions.
The new guidelines require plants to use electronic monitors for demonstrating compliance with opacity standards, rather than using the monitors only to check whether plants are using good operation and maintenance. The test to determine compliance as described in the rules is based on periodic visual checks of stack emissions by inspectors.
"We are giving power plants more time to comply with these new opacity guidelines because they are more difficult to meet than our previous methods," Klimek said. "However, these agreements will not allow the plants to emit more pollution, and they could lead to emissions cutbacks. These agreements will not contribute to problems with haze, ozone, or acid rain in the mountains or elsewhere in North Carolina."
Most power plants have a limit specifying that their stack emissions must not exceed 40 percent opacity. Annual average opacity at these facilities is generally much less, ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent. In May, the DAQ notified power companies that it would begin enforcing the opacity standard using electronic monitors that continuously measure plant emissions, rather than relying on periodic visual checks. The electronic monitors measure opacity levels every 15 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – with data averaged every 6 minutes.
Power companies sought the SOCs because most of their plants would have more difficulty meeting the existing opacity standard using the electronic monitors. Data from these continuous monitors show that a number of power plants exceed the opacity standard, generally for short periods of time when operators start up and shut down the plants.
The SOCs give power companies more time to bring their plants into compliance with the new opacity guidelines, but the agreements do not entirely exempt plants from meeting opacity requirements. Under the SOCs, the power plants are supposed to meet the opacity limits using the electronic monitors at least 98 percent of the time. Automatic fines are assessed if plants fail to meet the limits more than 4 percent of the time. These are the same criteria currently being used to assess whether plants are practicing good operation and maintenance.
The agreements also give the state Environmental Management Commission (EMC) time to consider any rule changes needed to implement the new opacity guidelines. State rules need updating to incorporate using electronic monitors for determining compliance with opacity limits. The EMC would hold public hearings before adopting any rule changes.
The SOCs apply to 13 coal-fired power plants owned by Duke Power Co. and Carolina Power & Light Co. Duke plants covered under the agreement include seven steam stations: Belews Creek in Stokes County; Dan River in Rockingham County; G.G. Allen and Riverbend, both in Gaston County; Buck in Rowan County; Marshall in Catawba County; and Cliffside in Rutherford County. CP&L facilities covered under the agreement include six steam electric plants: Cape Fear in Chatham County; H.F. Lee in Wayne County; Mayo and Roxboro, both in Person County; L.V. Sutton in New Hanover County; and W.H. Weatherspoon in Robeson County.
For more information about air quality issues, visit Division of Air Quality’s web site at http://daq.state.nc.us/.
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