The article “Regional Reports: Region 3” by Gale R. Lea first appeared in the Air Quality Committee Newsletter, Vol. 7, No. 2, February 2004, Section of
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REGIONAL REPORTS:
Region 3
Administration’s central heating plant in
Washington, D.C.; and (5) The Washington Post
Co.’s printing facility in Washington, D.C.
Examples of violations not reported in
compliance certifications included construction
and/or major modification of equipment without
permits and failure to maintain recordkeeping
and monitoring.
Gale R. Lea
Jackson Kelly PLLC
Charleston, WV
galelea@jacksonkelly.com
I.
EPA Region 3 Developments
On Oct. 27, 2003, during the Fourth Annual
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools national
symposium in Washington, D.C., U.S. EPA
announced that three school districts in
Region 3 have been selected to receive U.S.
EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools
2003 Excellence Award. The three school
districts in Region 3 are: (1) Harford County
public schools in Bel Air, Maryland;
(2) Millcreek Township School District in Erie,
Pennsylvania; and (3) Radnor Township
School District in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
On Sept. 26, 2003, and Oct. 15, 2003, U.S.
EPA recognized the first commercial buildings
in Delaware and Pennsylvania, respectively, to
earn U.S. EPA’s Energy Star Building Label.
The buildings are the Community Service
Building Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware,
and four buildings owned by Rubenstein
Company – one in Philadelphia and three in
Pittsburgh. U.S. EPA introduced the Energy
Star Program in 1991. The program is a
voluntary, market-based partnership program
aimed at reducing air pollution by promoting
energy-efficient building upgrades. In order to
earn the Energy Star Building Label, office
buildings must meet specific energy
performance and indoor air quality requirements
and have this information certified by a
professional engineer.
On Dec. 3, 2003, U.S. EPA Region 3 held a
conference on Key Environmental Issues in
U.S. EPA Region 3 at the Park Hyatt at the
Bellevue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The
program agenda included a panel on air
regulatory developments and litigation update.
Judith Katz, director of U.S. EPA Region 3’s
Air Protection Division, will be one of the
panelists.
On Oct. 15, 2003, U.S. EPA announced that four
companies and one government agency have
agreed to pay $1,000 penalties for incorrectly
certifying their facilities’ compliance with Clean
Air Act Title V permit requirements. In addition
to the payment of penalties, the settling parties
will be required to file corrected certifications.
The settlements involved the following facilities:
(1) Goals Coal Company’s preparation plant in
Norma, West Virginia; (2) Old Dominion
Terminal, L.L.C.’s petroleum terminal in Fairfax,
Virginia; (3) Mirant Mid-Atlantic Morgantown,
L.L.C.’s power generating station in Newburg,
Maryland; (4) U.S. General Services
II. State Developments
A. Delaware
On Nov. 14, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 64576) and a
direct final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 64540) to
approve revisions to Delaware’s State
Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning Stage I
and Stage II Vapor Recovery at gasoline
dispensing facilities. Stage I and Stage II
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Vapor Recovery are required in areas classified
as moderate and above ozone nonattainment.
Stage I is the control of gasoline vapors when
dispensing gasoline from tankers into gasoline
storage tanks. Stage II is the control of gasoline
vapors when dispensing gasoline into vehicles
from gasoline storage tanks. The revisions to
the Delaware SIP establish:
developed MOBILE highway motor vehicle
emission factor model. The MOBILE model
calculates emissions of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
and carbon monoxide (CO) from passenger
cars, motorcycles, buses, and light-duty and
heavy-duty trucks. The model accounts for
the emission impacts of factors such as
changes in vehicle emission standards,
changes in vehicle populations and activity,
and variation in local conditions such as
temperature, humidity, fuel quality, and air
quality programs. The MOBILE model is used
to calculate current and future inventories of
motor vehicle emissions at the national and
local level. These inventories are used to
make decisions about air pollution policies and
programs at the local, state and national
levels. MOBILE-based inventories are also
used to meet the federal Clean Air Act’s SIP
and transportation and conformity requirements.
The final rule became effective Nov. 26, 2003.
(a) The requirements for using improved vapor
recovery adaptors and connections;
(b) The requirements for annual vapor
recovery testing; and,
(c) The minimum requirements applicable to
compliance testing companies that perform
compliance testing in the State of
Delaware.
The revisions also adopt by reference the
California Air Resources Board’s executive
orders for approved Stage II Vapor Recovery
Systems. If U.S. EPA receives no adverse
comments, the direct final rule will take effect
on Jan. 13, 2004. If the agency received
adverse written comments by Dec.15, 2003,
the agency will publish a timely withdrawal of
the direct final rule. However, the proposed a
rule would make the same revisions.
D. Pennsylvania
On Sept. 11, 2003, U.S. EPA published a final
rule (68 Fed. Reg. 53515) to approve
Pennsylvania’s request to redesignate the
Liberty Borough area of Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania, from nonatttainment to
attainment for the national ambient air quality
standard for particulate matter with an
aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to a
nominal 10 microns (PM10). In the final rule,
U.S. EPA also approved the maintenance plan
for the Liberty Borough. The final rule became
effective on Oct. 14, 2003.
B. District of Columbia
No significant new developments to report.
C. Maryland
On Oct. 27, 2003, U.S. EPA published a final
rule (68 Fed. Reg. 61103) approving
Maryland’s revised 1990 and 2005 mobile
emissions inventories and 2005 motor vehicle
emissions budgets for the 1-hour ozone
attainment demonstration plans for the
Baltimore ozone nonattainment area and the
Cecil County portion of the PhiladelphiaWilmington-Trenton ozone nonattainment
area. The revised mobile emission inventories
and motor vehicle emissions budgets were
developed using MOBILE6. MOBILE6 is the
most recent available version of the U.S. EPA-
On Oct. 10, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 58644) and a
direct final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 58608) to
approve a revised 2005 motor vehicle
emission inventory and 2005 motor vehicle
emissions budget for the Pennsylvania portion
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton ozone
nonattainment area. The revision is part of
the 1-hour ozone attainment plan for the
Pennsylvania portion of the Philadelphia2
Wilmington-Trenton ozone nonattainment area
and was a requirement of U.S. EPA’s prior
approval of the Commonwealth’s 1-hour
ozone attainment demonstration for the
Philadelphia severe ozone nonattainment
area. See 64 Fed. Reg. 70428 (Dec. 16,
1999). The revised inventory and budget were
calculated using MOBILE6. Unless adverse
written comments are received by Nov. 10,
2003, the direct final rule takes effect on
Dec. 9, 2003. If U.S. EPA receives adverse
written comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule. However,
the proposed rule would make the same
revisions.
Pennsylvania; (2) GPU Generation
Corporation’s Seward Station, a major NOx
and VOC emitting facility, in East Wheatfield
Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania;
(3) Ebensburg Power Company, a
cogeneration facility and major NOx and VOC
emitting facility in Cambria Township, Cambria
County, Pennsylvania; (4) Sithe Pennsylvania
Holdings, LLC’s Warren Generating Station, a
major NOx and VOC emitting facility, in
Warren County, Pennsylvania;
(5) Pennsylvania Power & Light Company’s
Sunbury Steam Electric Station, a major NOx
and VOC emitting facility, in the Borough of
Shamokin, Snyder County, Pennsylvania; and
(6) Lakeview Landfill, a major VOC emitting
facility, in Summit Township, Erie County,
Pennsylvania. Unless adverse written
comments were received by Nov. 14, 2003, the
direct final rule became effective on
Dec. 15, 2003. If U.S. EPA received written
adverse comments, it will publish a timely
withdrawal of the direct final rule. However,
the proposed rule would make the same
revisions.
On Oct. 15, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59355) and a
direct final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59318) to
approve Pennsylvania SIP revisions,
establishing reasonably available control
technology (RACT) for three major sources of
VOCs and NOx located in Pennsylvania. The
three major sources are: (1) Andritz, Inc., a
facility with foundry operations and major VOC
emitting facility in Lycoming County;
(2) Brodart Company, a wood furniture
finishing operation facility and major VOC
emitting facility in Clinton County,
Pennsylvania; and (3) Erie Sewer Authority, a
waste water treatment plant and major NOx
emitting facility in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
The final rule took effect on Dec. 15, 2003,
unless U.S. EPA received adverse written
comments by Nov. 14, 2003. However, the
proposed rule contains the same revisions.
On Oct. 17, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59754) and a
direct final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59741) to
approve Pennsylvania SIP revisions
establishing and requiring RACT for five major
sources of VOCs and NOx located in
Pennsylvania. The five sources are:
(1) Keystone Carbon Company’s powder
metal parts and self-lube bearings
manufacturing facility, a major source of
VOCs, in Elk County, Pennsylvania; (2) Mack
Trucks, Inc.’s Macungie Assembly facility, a
major source of VOCs and NOx, in Lower
Macungie Township, North Hampton County,
Pennsylvania; (3) Owens-Brockway Glass
Container, Inc.’s facility that processes glass
containers and is a major source of NOx in
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania; (4) Resilite
Sports Products, Inc., which operates a spray
coating system for the production of wrestling
mats and is a major source of VOCs in
Also on Oct. 15, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59356) and a
direct final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 59321) to
approve revisions to Pennsylvania’s SIP,
establishing and requiring RACT for six major
sources of VOCs and NOx located in
Pennsylvania. The six major sources are:
(1) GPU Generation Corporation’s Homer City
Station, a major NOx and VOC emitting facility,
in Center Township, Indiana County,
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Northumberland County, Pennsylvania; and (5)
Westfield Tanning Company, a leather
manufacturing facility and major source of
VOCs in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The
direct final rule took effect on Dec. 16, 2003,
unless U.S. EPA received adverse written
comments by Nov. 17, 2003. If EPA received
adverse written comments, EPA will publish a
timely withdrawal of the direct final rule;
however, the proposed rule would make the
same revisions.
On Nov. 19, 2003, U.S. EPA published a
proposed rule (68 Fed. Reg. 65234) proposing
to approve Pennsylvania’s SIP revision
amending the Commonwealth’s ten-year plan
to maintain the 1-hour ozone national ambient
air quality standard in the Reading area (Berks
County). The revision amends the maintenance
plan to revise the attainment year inventories
and motor vehicle emission budgets using
MOBILE6. The proposed rule also proposes to
approve Pennsylvania SIP revisions to amend
the contingency measures portion of the
maintenance plan for the Reading area. In the
original maintenance plan for the Reading area,
Pennsylvania’s motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance (I&M) program was identified as a
contingency measure. The revision to the
Reading maintenance plan that EPA is
proposing to approve amends the plan to
remove the I&M program from the contingency
measures portion of the plan and make it part of
the maintenance strategy. Under the revision,
improved rule effectiveness will remain as a
contingency measure in the maintenance
plan. Written comments must have been
received by U.S. EPA on the proposed rule on
or before Dec. 19, 2003.
E. Virginia
No significant new developments to report.
F. West Virginia.
No significant new developments to report.
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