EPA tightens air toxics limits for refineries

OREANDA-NEWS. September 30, 2015. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized regulations requiring US refineries to upgrade flaring equipment, install fenceline air pollution monitoring systems and take other measures to reduce releases of toxic air pollution.

Refineries will have until 2018 to comply with the new air toxics standards, which EPA expects will cost refinery owners \\$63mn/yr but will have a negligible effect on the price of petroleum products. EPA estimates the standards will cut toxic air emissions by 5,200 t/yr while lowering emissions of volatile organic compounds by 50,000 t/yr.

The rule requires refineries to make process changes and install at least three pollution prevention measures to prevent upset emissions. EPA expects this will "virtually eliminate" smoking flare emissions and air pollution from pressure release devices. The rule only allows an individual flare to exceed emission limits three times every three years before reaching a "hard limit" that triggers a violation.

The rule also imposes first-time requirements for refineries to measure air pollution at their fenceline, by installing 12-24 air canisters surrounding the facility that will be sampled every two weeks. EPA in the rule rejected calls from public health groups to require refineries to install more expensive real-time air monitors, which can detect short-term spikes in air pollution.

Refineries will have to take corrective action if any of these air canisters detect too much pollution, EPA said. The agency is requiring this air monitoring data to be posted online in a public database, providing a "kind of neighborhood watch for refinery pollution," EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said today.

Among the major changes EPA made through the new standards is the immediate phase-out of an exemption that let refineries exceed emission limits during periods of startups, shutdowns and malfunctions. A federal appeals court has found those types of exemptions are illegal under the Clean Air Act.

EPA also used the rule to set first-time emission limits for delayed coking units and storage tanks, which the agency expects will reduce toxic air emissions by about 1,300 t/yr while having a co-benefit of reducing greenhouse gases by an amount equivalent to 660,000 t/yr of CO2.

Industry groups criticized parts of the rule but said it was better than the version of the rule EPA proposed last year.

American Petroleum Institute downstream director Bob Greco said EPA made "substantial improvements" to the rule but raised concerns it would cost refineries up to \\$1bn, which is almost four times higher than the EPA's estimates of \\$283mn in capital costs.

American Fuels & Petrochemical Manufacturers president Chet Thompson said he was "disappointed" EPA decided to require additional emission controls, which he said would be costly but provide little additional health benefits.