View all text of Subpart B [§ 75.10 - § 75.19]

§ 75.11 - Specific provisions for monitoring SO2 emissions.

(a) Coal-fired units. The owner or operator shall meet the general operating requirements in § 75.10 for an SO2 continuous emission monitoring system and a flow monitoring system for each affected coal-fired unit while the unit is combusting coal and/or any other fuel, except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, in § 75.16, and in subpart E of this part. During hours in which only gaseous fuel is combusted in the unit, the owner or operator shall comply with the applicable provisions of paragraph (e)(1), (e)(2), or (e)(3) of this section.

(b) Moisture correction. Where SO2 concentration is measured on a dry basis, the owner or operator shall either:

(1) Report the appropriate fuel-specific default moisture value for each unit operating hour, selected from among the following: 3.0%, for anthracite coal; 6.0% for bituminous coal; 8.0% for sub-bituminous coal; 11.0% for lignite coal; 13.0% for wood and 14.0% for natural gas (boilers, only); or

(2) Install, operate, maintain, and quality assure a continuous moisture monitoring system for measuring and recording the moisture content of the flue gases, in order to correct the measured hourly volumetric flow rates for moisture when calculating SO2 mass emissions (in lb/hr) using the procedures in appendix F to this part. The following continuous moisture monitoring systems are acceptable: a continuous moisture sensor; an oxygen analyzer (or analyzers) capable of measuring O2 both on a wet basis and on a dry basis; or a stack temperature sensor and a moisture look-up table, i.e., a psychrometric chart (for saturated gas streams following wet scrubbers or other demonstrably saturated gas streams, only). The moisture monitoring system shall include as a component the automated data acquisition and handling system (DAHS) for recording and reporting both the raw data (e.g., hourly average wet-and dry-basis O2 values) and the hourly average values of the stack gas moisture content derived from those data. When a moisture look-up table is used, the moisture monitoring system shall be represented as a single component, the certified DAHS, in the monitoring plan for the unit or common stack.

(c) Unit with no location for a flow monitor meeting siting requirements. Where no location exists that satisfies the minimum physical siting criteria in appendix A to this part for installation of a flow monitor in either the stack or the ducts serving an affected unit or installation of a flow monitor in either the stack or ducts is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Administrator to be technically infeasible, either:

(1) The designated representative shall petition the Administrator for an alternative method for monitoring volumetric flow in accordance with § 75.66; or

(2) The owner or operator shall construct a new stack or modify existing ductwork to accommodate the installation of a flow monitor, and the designated representative shall petition the Administrator for an extension of the required certification date given in § 75.4 and approval of an interim alternative flow monitoring methodology in accordance with § 75.66. The Administrator may grant existing Phase I affected units an extension to January 1, 1995, and existing Phase II affected units an extension to January 1, 1996 for the submission of the certification application for the purpose of constructing a new stack or making substantial modifications to ductwork for installation of a flow monitor; or

(3) The owner or operator shall install a flow monitor in any existing location in the stack or ducts serving the affected unit at which the monitor can achieve the performance specifications of this part.

(d) Gas-fired and oil-fired units. The owner or operator of an affected unit that qualifies as a gas-fired or oil-fired unit, as defined in § 72.2 of this chapter, based on information submitted by the designated representative in the monitoring plan, shall measure and record SO2 emissions:

(1) By meeting the general operating requirements in § 75.10 for an SO2 continuous emission monitoring system and flow monitoring system. If this option is selected, the owner or operator shall comply with the applicable provisions in paragraph (e)(1), (e)(2), or (e)(3) of this section during hours in which the unit combusts only gaseous fuel;

(2) By providing other information satisfactory to the Administrator using the applicable procedures specified in appendix D to this part for estimating hourly SO2 mass emissions; or

(3) By using the low mass emissions excepted methodology in § 75.19(c) for estimating hourly SO2 mass emissions if the affected unit qualifies as a low mass emissions unit under § 75.19(a) and (b). If this option is selected for SO2, the LME methodology must also be used for NOX and CO2 when these parameters are required to be monitored by applicable program(s).

(e) Special considerations during the combustion of gaseous fuels. The owner or operator of an affected unit that uses a certified flow monitor and a certified diluent gas (O2 or CO2) monitor to measure the unit heat input rate shall, during any hours in which the unit combusts only gaseous fuel, determine SO2 emissions in accordance with paragraph (e)(1) or (e)(3) of this section, as applicable.

(1) If the gaseous fuel qualifies for a default SO2 emission rate under Section 2.3.1.1, 2.3.2.1.1, or 2.3.6(b) of appendix D to this part, the owner or operator may determine SO2 emissions by using Equation F-23 in appendix F to this part. Substitute into Equation F-23 the hourly heat input, calculated using the certified flow monitoring system and the certified diluent monitor (according to the applicable equation in section 5.2 of appendix F to this part), in conjunction with the appropriate default SO2 emission rate from section 2.3.1.1, 2.3.2.1.1, or 2.3.6(b) of appendix D to this part. When this option is chosen, the owner or operator shall perform the necessary data acquisition and handling system tests under § 75.20(c), and shall meet all quality control and quality assurance requirements in appendix B to this part for the flow monitor and the diluent monitor; or

(2) [Reserved]

(3) The owner or operator may determine SO2 mass emissions by using a certified SO2 continuous monitoring system, in conjunction with the certified flow rate monitoring system. However, if the gaseous fuel is very low sulfur fuel (as defined in § 72.2 of this chapter), the SO2 monitoring system shall meet the following quality assurance provisions when the very low sulfur fuel is combusted:

(i) When conducting the daily calibration error tests of the SO2 monitoring system, as required by section 2.1.1 in appendix B of this part, the zero-level calibration gas shall have an SO2 concentration of 0.0 percent of span. This restriction does not apply if gaseous fuel is burned in the affected unit only during unit startup.

(ii) EPA recommends that the calibration response of the SO2 monitoring system be adjusted, either automatically or manually, in accordance with the procedures for routine calibration adjustments in section 2.1.3 of appendix B to this part, whenever the zero-level calibration response during a required daily calibration error test exceeds the applicable performance specification of the instrument in section 3.1 of appendix A to this part (i.e., ±2.5 percent of the span value or ±5 ppm, whichever is less restrictive).

(iii) Any bias-adjusted hourly average SO2 concentration of less than 2.0 ppm recorded by the SO2 monitoring system shall be adjusted to a default value of 2.0 ppm, for reporting purposes. Such adjusted hourly averages shall be considered to be quality-assured data, provided that the monitoring system is operating and is not out-of-control with respect to any of the quality assurance tests required by appendix B of this part (i.e., daily calibration error, linearity and relative accuracy test audit).

(iv) In accordance with the requirements of section 2.1.1.2 of appendix A to this part, for units that sometimes burn gaseous fuel that is very low sulfur fuel (as defined in § 72.2 of this chapter) and at other times burn higher sulfur fuel(s) such as coal or oil, a second low-scale SO2 measurement range is not required when the very low sulfur gaseous fuel is combusted. For units that burn only gaseous fuel that is very low sulfur fuel and burn no other type(s) of fuel(s), the owner or operator shall set the span of the SO2 monitoring system to a value no greater than 200 ppm.

(4) The provisions in paragraph (e)(1) of this section, may also be used for the combustion of a solid or liquid fuel that meets the definition of very low sulfur fuel in § 72.2 of this chapter, mixtures of such fuels, or combinations of such fuels with gaseous fuel, if the owner or operator submits a petition under § 75.66 for a default SO2 emission rate for each fuel, mixture or combination, and if the Administrator approves the petition.

(f) Other units. The owner or operator of an affected unit that combusts wood, refuse, or other material in addition to oil or gas shall comply with the monitoring provisions for coal-fired units specified in paragraph (a) of this section, except where the owner or operator has an approved petition to use the provisions of paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

[58 FR 3701, Jan. 11, 1993, as amended at 60 FR 26520, 26566, May 17, 1995; 61 FR 59157, Nov. 20, 1996; 63 FR 57499, Oct. 27, 1998; 64 FR 28590, May 26, 1999; 67 FR 40423, June 12, 2002; 73 FR 4342, Jan. 24, 2008]