Proposed Air Quality Permits 7172 and 7173 - U.S. General Services Administration

PUBLIC NOTICE

Proposed Air Quality Permits 7172 and 7173, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Construction and operation of two 21.00 MMBtu/hr dual fuel-fired (natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil) boilers at St. Elizabeths West Campus, 2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 51.161, D.C. Official Code §2-505, and 20 DCMR §210, the Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), located at 1200 First Street NE, 5^th Floor, Washington, DC, intends to issue permits (Nos. 7172 and 7173) to the U.S. General Services Administration to construct and operate two identical dual fuel-fired (natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil) boilers with heat input ratings of 21.00 MMBtu/hr, to be located located at the Central Utility Plant 2 (CUP2), Saint Elizabeths West Campus, 2701 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave. SE, Washington, DC. The contact person for the facility is Gaftie Marlow Jr., Project Manager, at (202) 380-8511.

The following two identical boilers are to be permitted:

Equipment Location	Address	Boiler Size	Boiler Model #	Permit Nos.
CUP2	2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20032	21.00 MMBtu/hr heat input	Hurst series 500	7172
CUP2	2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20032	21.00 MMBtu/hr heat input	Hurst series 500	7173

The proposed emission limits are as follows:

1. 1. Each of the boilers (identified as Boiler #1 and Boiler #2) shall not emit pollutants in excess of those specified in the following table [20 DCMR 201]:

Pollutant	Short-Term Limit (Natural Gas) (lb/hr)	Short-Term Limit (No. 2 Fuel Oil) (lb/hr)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)	1.73	0.75
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)	0.75	3.00
Total Particulate Matter (PM Total)1	0.15	0.49
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)	0.01	0.03

¹PM Total includes both filterable and condensable fractions.

b.   Visible emissions shall not be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere from the boilers, except that 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, adjustment of combustion controls, or malfunction of the equipment [20 DCMR 606.1]

Note that 20 DCMR 606 is subject to an EPA-issued call for a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision (known as a “SIP call”) requiring the District to revise 20 DCMR 606. See “State Implementation Plans: Response to Petition for Rulemaking; Restatement and Update of EPA’s SSM Policy Applicable to SIPs; Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls To Amend Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods of Startup, Shutdown and Malfunction”, 80 Fed. Reg. 33840 (June 12, 2015). It is likely that this federal action will result in changes to the requirements of 20 DCMR 606.  Any such changes, once finalized in the DCMR, will supersede the language of Condition II(b) as stated above.

c.   Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) emissions from the each of the boilers shall not be greater than 0.085 pounds per million BTU. [20 DCMR 600.1].

4. NO_x emissions from each boiler shall not exceed 300 ppm by volume, dry basis, corrected to 3% oxygen when firing natural gas.

e.   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]

f.    NO_x and CO emissions shall not exceed those achieved with the performance of annual combustion adjustments on each boiler. To show compliance with this condition, the Permittee shall, each calendar year, perform adjustments of the combustion processes of the boilers with the following characteristics [20 DCMR 805.8(a) and (b)]:

1. 1. 1. Inspection, adjustment, cleaning or replacement of fuel burning equipment, including the burners and moving parts necessary for proper operation as specified by the manufacturer;
2. 1. 2. Inspection of the flame pattern or characteristics and adjustments necessary to minimize total emissions of NO_x and, to the extent practicable, minimize emissions of CO;
3. 1. 3.  Inspection of the air-to-fuel ratio control system and adjustments necessary to ensure proper calibration and operation as specified by the manufacturer; and
      4. Adjustments shall be made such that the maximum emission rate for any contaminant does not exceed the maximum allowable emission rate as set forth in Condition II of this permit.

The estimated maximum potential emissions from each of the boilers are as follows:

Note that these estimated emissions assume that the equipment operates for the maximum allowable 200 hours per year on No. 2 fuel oil (a limit established in the permit) and the rest of the year  on natural gas.

Pollutant	Maximum Annual Emissions (tons/yr)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)	7.65
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)	3.54
Total Particulate Matter (PM Total)	0.74
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)	0.51
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)	0.053

The applications to construct and operate the boilers and the draft set of permits and supporting documents 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, 5^th Floor
Washington, DC 20002

[email protected]

No comments or hearing requests submitted after October 9, 2017 will be accepted.

For more information, please contact Stephen S. Ours at (202) 535-1747.