Scope Statements
Natural Resources
Environmental Protection — Air Pollution Control,
Chs.
NR 400—
Subject
Development of Best Management Practices to Control Emissions of Hazardous Air Contaminants from Agricultural Waste.
Objective of the Rule
Changes to chs.
NR 406,
407,
410,
438, and
445. The proposed rule changes pertain to implementation of existing air permit and emission requirements for sources of hazardous air contaminants from agricultural waste. The primary effort is to establish best management practices (BMPs) that control hazardous air emissions from agricultural waste. The proposed changes may also address scope, timeframe for review, submittal and approval, testing, record keeping, and reporting requirements related to BMPs approved by the Department.
In addition, possible amendments to ch.
NR 410 would address fees to support Department implementation of proposed best management practices.
Policy Analysis
Existing Policy
Existing policy on the regulation of air emissions from agricultural waste is established in current rules as follows.
Hazardous air emissions from agricultural waste are regulated under ch.
NR 445. This rule establishes ambient air standards for specific contaminants beyond the source's property line. The acceptable ambient concentrations for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, two contaminants associated with agricultural waste, are 418 and 335 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively. Both of these ambient concentrations are averaged on a 24-hour basis. Multiple compliance demonstration options are provided in NR 445 for sources subject to these standards. For example, sources may demonstrate emissions are below specific values established in the rule, or sources may perform air dispersion modeling to determine off-property concentrations relative to established standards.
Revisions to ch.
NR 445, made in July 2004 provided a 36 month exemption, until June 2007, for sources of hazardous emissions from agricultural waste. After June 2007, new sources were to have complied upon start-up of operations and existing sources had an additional 12 months to comply. The July 2004 revisions allowed use of best management practices, as approved by the Department, as a compliance option for these sources in addition to those mentioned previously.
Also published in July 2004 were revisions to the air permit requirements of chs.
NR 406 and
407, providing a parallel 36 month air permit exemption for sources of hazardous emissions from agricultural waste from July 2004 to July 2007.
The end of the 36 month exemption period was established to coincide with the anticipated completion of studies at the state and federal level. It was anticipated these studies would provide air emission data to support rule applicability determinations and information about the efficacy of best management practices to support the evaluation and establishment of BMPs. Information about these studies is provided below.
Revisions to ch.
NR 445, effective August 1, 2008, extended the exemption period, for a second time, through July 31, 2011. This second extension was granted because the results of state and federal air monitoring studies of animal feeding operations were not available at that time to support implementation of the rules with the prior compliance deadlines.
State Study
The Department engaged in a cooperative project to evaluate air emissions and BMPs for the control of hazardous air emissions from the handling of agricultural waste. The project included ambient air monitoring for hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, as well as odor evaluation near several dairy operations, installation of grant-funded improvements, and ambient air monitoring to evaluate the impact of BMPs to control hydrogen sulfide and ammonia emissions. The final report was published in September 2009. Air emissions from landspreading of agricultural waste were not included in this study.
Federal Study
As a result of a 2003 National Academy of Science report, US EPA initiated a national program to monitor and evaluate air emissions from animal feeding operations called the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study. Field work began in late 2006, much later than originally anticipated by the Department. Data collection was scheduled to be completed in mid 2009. Within 18 months after the study ends, US EPA will evaluate the data and publish air emission-estimating methods for animal feeding operations (by end of 2010). These methods will allow owners to estimate air emissions from their animal feeding operations and comply with applicable federal regulatory requirements in the Clean Air Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, as noted in a following section. Air emissions from landspreading of agricultural waste are not included in this study either.
New Policy, Alternative Policies
The Department does not anticipate changes to underlying policy related to air permit requirements and hazardous air pollutant emission requirements for hazardous air pollutant emissions from agricultural waste.
Development of BMPs for agricultural waste may result in amendments to ch.
NR 410 to establish fees. Fees may be necessary to support implementation of BMPs to control hazardous air contaminant emissions.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
Existing Federal Regulations
Under the federal Clean Air Act, new and existing major stationary sources of federally regulated criteria air pollutant emissions are subject to federal air permit requirements. Included are permit requirements under the federal “Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)" and “Non-Attainment Area" New Source Review programs, along with the applicable requirements for “Best Available Control Technology", and “Lowest Achievable Emission Rate" technology and offsets, respectively. Emissions associated with animal feeding operations are not, categorically, exempt from these requirements.
Under Section 112(b) of the federal Clean Air Act, hazardous air pollutants are regulated through National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs), established by industry sector. No such standards have been established specifically for animal feeding operations. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, two air pollutants associated with animal feeding operations, are not regulated as federal hazardous air pollutants under section 112(b).
The Clean Air Act lists ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in section 112(r)(3), Prevention of Accidental Releases, and both the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) have reporting requirements for releases to the air, including emissions of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
In the late 1990s, as noted in an August 2005 press release, US EPA realized that it did not have sufficient air emissions data to implement federal Clean Air Act requirements for animal feeding operations. To resolve the situation, US EPA began discussions with animal feeding operation owners in 2001. These discussions led to a January 31, 2005 EPA Federal Register notice offering individual animal feeding operations an opportunity to voluntarily sign a consent agreement committing animal feeding operations to participate in a nationwide air emission monitoring study and establish a timeline for participating animal feeding operations to achieve compliance with federal air permit, air emission control, and air emission reporting requirements. In return, EPA provided limited amnesty from enforcement action during the term of the agreement.
The Department is not aware of any new or proposed federal regulations pertaining to hazardous air pollutant emissions from animal feeding operations, although EPA was petitioned in 2009 to list concentrated feeding operations under the Clean Air Act section 111(b)(1)(A) and promulgate standards of performance under sections 111(b)(1)(B) and 111(d).
Existing State Regulations
The federal air permit requirements described above are incorporated into state air permit rules in chs.
NR 405,
406, and
407. In addition, chs.
NR 406 and
407 include air permit requirements for minor sources. Emissions associated with animal feeding operations are not, categorically, exempt from these requirements. However, the revisions to chs.
NR 406 and
407 published in July 2004 established an exemption period ending in July 2007 for sources of hazardous air contaminant emissions from agricultural waste. The exemption period was extended, again, in February 2008 for chs.
NR 406 and
407.
Chapter
NR 445 establishes acceptable ambient air concentrations for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, two pollutants associated with agricultural waste from animal feeding operations. These concentrations are 418 and 335 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively, on a 24 hour average basis. As noted above, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are not regulated as federal hazardous air pollutants under section 112(b), but are included in 112(r) of the Clean Air Act.
Similar to federal reporting requirements, state reporting requirements include the air spill reporting requirements in ch.
NR 445 and the annual air emission reporting requirements of ch.
NR 438. Air emissions from animal feeding operations are not categorically exempt from these reporting requirements.
The proposed changes to chs.
NR 406,
407, and
445, pertain to implementation of established state air permit requirements and state hazardous air emission requirements for sources of hazardous air contaminants from agricultural waste. The proposed changes will affect the manner in which state and federal regulations differ, but are not expected to resolve the existing differences.
Entities Affected by the Rule
Entities likely to be impacted include owners and operators of animal feeding operations, including small businesses e.g., small farms. Beneficial effects of the rule may be realized by neighbors adjacent to owners and operators of animal feeding operations.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
3,944 hours DNR staff time.
Contact Information
Bart Sponseller
WDNR
101 S. Webster St.
Madison, WI 53701
Phone: (608) 266-1058
