Notice of Draft Facility-Wide Title V Air Quality Permit Public Comment Period - Smithsonian Institution - National Zoological Park

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Smithsonian Institution has applied for a Title V air quality permit renewal pursuant to the requirements of Title 20 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, Chapters 2 and 3 (20 DCMR Chapters 2 and 3) to continue operation of the air pollutant-emitting equipment at the facility and to update the permit to reflect newly installed equipment and removal of certain units. The Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) is proposing to issue a permit renewal (No. 024-R3) in response to the Smithsonian Institution’s application to operate all such equipment at the facility. The facility is the National Zoological Park and is located at 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20008.

The contact person for the facility is John Michael Bixler, Deputy Director of Facilities Management, Smithsonian Institution, at 202-633-5477.

The equipment to be covered at the facility is as follows:

Emission Units
Emission Unit ID	Stack ID	Emission Unit Name	Description
CU-1, CU-2, & CU-3	S1	Central Heat Plant Boilers 1, 2, and 3	Three (3) 20.41 million BTU per hour (MMBTU/hr) dual fuel fired (natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil) Cleaver Brooks Boilers
EG-1	S36	Research Building Emergency Generator	One (1) 50 kWe Katolight generator set with 75 hp diesel engine (installed 2002)
EG-2	S37	Amazonia Emergency Generator	One (1) 600 kWe Generac generator set with 894 hp diesel engine (manufactured 2004)
EG-4	S39	Reptile House Emergency Generator	One (1) 180 kWe Power Systems International, Inc. (PSI, Inc.) generator set with 302 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2012)
EG-5	S40	General Services Building Emergency Generator	One (1) 200 kWe PSI, Inc. generator set with 302 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2013)
EG-6	S41	Panda House Emergency Generator	One (1) 200 kWe generator set with 309 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2004/installed 2004)
EG-8	S43	Cheetah Springs Emergency Generator	One (1) 35 kWe Generac generator set with 54 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2011)
EG-10	S45	Central Heat Plant Emergency Generator	One (1) 130 kWe Ford generator set with 189 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2011)
EG-12	S47	Visitor Center Emergency Generator	One (1) 150 kWe Kohler generator set with 228 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2008/installed 2010)
EG-13	S48	Lion/Tiger House Emergency Generator	One (1) 25 kWe PSI, Inc. generator set with 52 hp propane engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2011)
EG-15	S50	Seal/Sea Lion Area Emergency Generator	One (1) 200 kWe PSI, Inc. generator set with 302 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2010)
EG-16	S51	Beaver Otter Area Emergency Generator	One (1) 9 kWe Katolight generator set with 13 hp propane gas engine
EG-18	S53	Greenhouse Emergency Generator	One (1) 14 kWe Generac generator set with 32 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2012)
EG-20	S55	Elephant House Emergency Generator	One (1) 230 kWe generator set with 357 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2008/installed 2012)
EG-21	S56	Genetics Emergency Generator	One (1) 100 kWe Cummins generator set with 153 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 2009/installed 2010)
EG-22	S64	Think Tank Emergency Generator	One (1) 50 kWe Generac generator set with 80 hp natural gas engine (model year 2016/installed 2017)
EG-23	S49	Police Station Emergency Generator	One (1) 250 kWe Kohler generator set with 385 hp John Deere diesel-fired engine (model year 2017/installed 2018)
EG-24	S44	Bird House Emergency Generator	One (1) 350 kWe generator set with 530 hp natural gas engine (manufacture date 12/17/2019)
EG-25	S46	Sloth Bear Area Emergency Generator	One (1) 100 kWe generator set with 177 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 9/2020)
EG-26	S42	Vet Hospital Emergency Generator	One (1) 125 kWe MTU generator set with 207 hp natural gas engine (manufactured 9/2020)
General Services Building	-	Paint Spray Booth	One (1) Binks water wash paint spray booth
General Services Building	-	Woodworking operations	One (1) sawdust collector for woodworking operations
General Services Building Tanks T18 and T19	-	Gasoline/Diesel Split Storage Tank3	One (1) fuel storage tank partitioned to store gasoline storage tank (3,000 gallon capacity) and diesel (1,000 gallon capacity) and associated dispensing equipment

In addition, the facility maintains the following miscellaneous/insignificant units:

• Laboratory fume hoods;
• One (1) ethylene oxide sterilizer, not subject to federal regulations, located in the Genetics building;
• Air conditioning and refrigeration operations, including related cooling towers;
• Seven (7) aboveground storage tanks for diesel which range between 60 gallons and 5,000 gallons;
• Welding operations; and
• Fuel burning equipment (as defined in 20 DCMR 199) with heat input ratings less than 5 MMBTU per hour and burning natural gas only including:  hot water heaters (as defined at 40 CFR 63.11237) with heat input ratings less than 1.6 MMBTU/hr, small boilers with heat input ratings less than five (5) MMBTU/hr and burning natural gas only, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration operations [except as covered by Condition II(l) of this permit] including natural gas fired space heaters/furnaces, packaged HVAC units with heat input ratings less than 1.6 MMBTU/hr, and natural gas fired kitchen equipment including dining facilities. These small fuel burning units shall meet the following requirements:

The following is an estimate of overall potential emissions from the facility:

PLANTWIDE EMISSIONS SUMMARY [TONS PER YEAR]
Pollutants	Potential Emissions
Sulfur Oxides (SOx)	0.74
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)	65.69
Total Particulate Matter, including condensables (PM Total)	8.86
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)	5.65
Carbon Monoxide (CO)	56.57
Total Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)	1.02

The National Zoological Park has the potential to emit (PTE) 65.69 tons per year (TPY) of NO_x. This total exceeds the major source threshold in the District of Columbia of 25 TPY of NO_x or VOCs, and/or 100 TPY of any other criteria pollutant. Because potential emissions of NO_x exceed the relevant major source threshold, pursuant to 20 DCMR 300.1(a), the source is subject to Chapter 3 and must obtain an operating permit in accordance with that regulation and Title V of the federal Clean Air Act.

The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) has reviewed the permit application and related documents and has made a preliminary determination that the applicant meets all applicable air quality requirements promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the District. Therefore, draft permit #024-R3 has been prepared.

The application, the draft permit, and all other materials submitted by the applicant [except those entitled to confidential treatment under 20 DCMR 301.1(c)] considered in making this preliminary determination are available for public review during normal business hours at the offices of the Department of Energy and Environment, 1200 First Street NE, 5^th Floor, Washington DC 20002. Copies of the draft permit and related Fact Sheet and Statement of Basis are available in the attachments section below.

A public hearing on this permitting action will not be held unless DOEE has received a request for such a hearing within 30 days of the publication of this notice.  Interested parties may also submit written comments on the permitting action.
 

Comments on the draft 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, 5^th Floor
Washington, DC 20002

[email protected]

 

No comments or hearing requests submitted after June 6, 2022 will be accepted.

For more information, please contact Olivia Achuko at (202) 535-2997 or [email protected].