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What's Coming Down the EPA Regulatory Pipeline ... and up yours !

11 th LDAR Symposium May 18-19, 2011 New Orleans, LA. What's Coming Down the EPA Regulatory Pipeline ... and up yours !. + Consent Decree Update. Kevin Bloomer Senior Environmental Engineer Westlake Chemical Corporation. Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK).

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What's Coming Down the EPA Regulatory Pipeline ... and up yours !

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  1. 11th LDAR SymposiumMay 18-19, 2011New Orleans, LA What's Coming Down the EPA Regulatory Pipeline...and up yours! + Consent Decree Update Kevin BloomerSenior Environmental Engineer Westlake Chemical Corporation

  2. Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK) • Core Business: Olefins & Vinyls • Product Lines: • Olefins: Ethylene, Polyethylene, Styrene Monomer, and related co-products • Vinyls: Vinyl Chloride Monomer, PVC resin, Caustic, and PVC end-products (pipe, fencing, windows, decking) • Production Capacity (2010): ~ 10 billion lb/yr • Revenues (2010): $3.2 billion • Employees: ~ 2,000 • Chemical Plant Operating Sites:Calvert City, KY;Longview, TX; Lake Charles and Geismar, LA • Each location typically has 4 to 5 LDAR rules

  3. EPA Regulatory Update Jodi Howard at EPA OAQPS conveyed the latest to me: • On Jan 15, 2008, ACC/API/NPRA submitted a petition for reconsideration of NSPS VV, VVa, GGG, and GGGa rules. Then EPA issued a stay effective Aug 1, 2008. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-11400.htm • Revision was to be published on May 15, 2011. • Will add annual M21 monitoring requirement and address the definitions of process unit, connector monitoring requirements in VVa, shared storage tank allocations to specific units, and capital expenditure (presently advised to use provisions of VV).

  4. EPA Regulatory Update Alternative Work Practice (AWP) • Finalized Dec 22, 2008, covers Parts 60, 61, 63, 65,and RCRA CC. • EPA petitioned for reconsideration Feb 20, 2009. • Goal to publish revisions summer 2011.

  5. EPA Regulatory Update What lessons can be learned from the AWP? • Most equipment doesn’t leak • 84% of the emissions come from 0.13% of components (1997 API publ. 310, “Analysis of Refinery Screening Data”, Tabacket al.) • Calibrations are painful • Non-traditional components can be more easily surveyed • Silver bullet? • Let me give you a visual, courtesy of an EPA presentation from way back in Oct 2002…

  6. EPA “SMART LDAR”

  7. EPA Regulatory Update On Mar 30, 2011, EPA published an interim rule effective immediately requiring most industrial facilities to include fugitive emissions when determining the applicability of the NSR program. • The interim rule extends the stay of the “Fugitive Emissions Rule” from Dec 19, 2008, and reversed EPA's policy that fugitive emissions must be included in determining whether a physical or operational change triggers NSR requirements.  The rule limited the sources that must include fugitive emissions in an NSR determination to major sources at the 100 tpy threshold (e.g., fossil-fuel boilers > 250 BTU/hr and stationary source categories regulated under §§ 111 or 112 as of Aug 7, 1980). • EPA notes that the Mar 30, 2011 interim rule revises, reinstates, and stays portions of 40 CFR Parts 51 and 52, which were amended by the 2008 Fugitive Emissions Rule, to clarify the "potential" confusion that arose following a previous stay issued in Mar 2010.

  8. EPA Regulatory Update Equipment Leaks Uniform Standard • Destined for Part 65 as a technology review, included in EPA’s Chemical Sector Initiative. • “One stop shop” for Parts 60, 61, and 63. • Goal to publish Jul 7, 2011.

  9. Consent Decrees • Consent Decree defined: A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/consent+decree • The CD Watch List, DOJ (proposed) and EPA (final) websites for your CD viewing pleasure: • http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html • http://cfpub.epa.gov/compliance/cases/index.cfm?templatePage=12&ID=1

  10. LDAR CD Basics • LDAR Program Description • LDAR Training • Identification of LDAR Coordinator and Duties • LDAR Auditing • Corrective Actions, for ANY Non-Compliance • Lower leak definitions, more frequent monitoring and reporting, implementing new tools/equipment (a.k.a., “SMART” LDAR) • QA/QC requirements • Delay of Repair • Chronic Leakers • Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements • Benzene NESHAP

  11. Consent Decree History Refining - NSR, NSPS, Benzene NESHAP, LDAR (covering > 90% of U.S. Refining capacity) BP, Chevron, Cenex, CITGO, Coastal Eagle Point, Conoco (pre-merger), ConocoPhillips, Ergon, ExxonMobil, Frontier, Giant, Holly, HOVENSA, Hunt, Koch, Lion, Marathon Ashland, Motiva/Equilon/Shell Deer Park, Murphy, Navajo/Montana Refining, Shell Chemical/Shell Yabucoa, Sinclair, Sunoco, Total, Valero, Wyoming Refining Chemicals - NSR, NSPS, Benzene NESHAP, LDAR Equistar - Jul 2007 INVISTA - Apr 2009 INEOS - Jul 2009 11

  12. Consent Decree Update Refining:EPA continues negotiations with 6 refiners (for an additional ~5% of domestic refining capacity) http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/refineryinitiative-powerpoint021111.pdf • Emissions reductions as of Feb 11, 2011: • NOx by more than 92,000 tons per year • SO2 by more than 255,000 tons per year • Air Toxics: Benzene and other VOCs (unquantifiable fugitive emissions) • Injunctive Relief: Over $6 billion in control technologies • Civil Penalties: Over $80 million • Supplemental Environmental Projects: $75 million

  13. Consent Decree Update Chemical plants: EPA appears to be slower in issuing CD’s for those of us in petrochem. • Many of the existing ones are used by both EPA and industry for negotiations of CD provisions and ‘stips’. • Finding these Consent Decrees on the web isn’t easy.

  14. LDAR CD Update INEOS CD Requirements (Jul 31, 2009) • Leak Detection and Repair Program • Develop comprehensive facility-wide LDAR program • Provide additional training • Conduct third-party LDAR audits; implement corrective actions for non-compliance • Monitor and repair valves, connectors, pumps, agitators, and open-ended lines that are leaking below the applicable leak definition • Increase monitoring frequency • Utilize electronic data collection for all LDAR monitoring • Undertake more rigorous repair methods before placing on “delay of repair” list

  15. LDAR CD Update HOVENSA CD Requirements (Jan 26, 2011) • Leak Detection and Repair Program • Refinery-wide compliance with LDAR requirements • Training, including refresher courses, for refinery personnel with LDAR responsibility • Required LDAR compliance audits • Strict internal leak definitions (500 ppm for valves and 2000 ppm for pumps) • Internal first attempt at repair at 200 ppm for valves • More frequent monitoring than required by regulation • Eliminationof “delay of repair” exception • Installation of "low-leaking" valve or valve packing technology

  16. LDAR CD’s, Newer Concepts Leak Trend Analysis– An analysis of 5 years of data to determine whether one or more of the following issues result in a trend in leaks or “no leaks”: • Service type (light liquid, gas, etc.); • Service and operating characteristics of the stream (temperature, pressure, line diameter, corrosivity, vibrational movement, etc.); • Material compatibility; • Equipment type, design, materials of construction, and manufacturer; • For valves, the valve packing type; • The Screening Values observed in each monitoring event before repair, the repair methods used, and the Screening Values after repair; • Average time to failure based on equipment type and manufacturer, packing type, seal type, or other equipment attributes relating to the generation of leaks.

  17. LDAR CD’s, Newer Concepts Preventative Maintenance and Replacement Action Plan (PMRAP)– After completing a Leak Trend Analysis identifying at least one trend, develop a PMRAP: • Results of the Leak Trend Analysis; • Description of Each Action, and a Schedule, to Eliminate or Minimize the Effects of the Factors and Conditions that Result in Leak Trends and/or Weaker Performance; • Replacement of Weaker-Performing Pieces of Equipment with Better-Performing ones; • Equipment Purchases. To the extent that new or replacement equipment is installed, ensure that better performing equipment, if available, is installed and document any reasons why better performing equipment was not installed.

  18. Acknowledgements • Mother • God • Country

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