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Legislative hearing, general permits, rule proposals and EPA about face on smog. There’s lots going on this week. Here’s a quick rundown:

Summer Legislative Hearing
As summer starts to wind down, it’s time for the annual joint hearing of the Assembly and Senate Environment Committees. This Thursday the committees will hear testimony on climate change. While no bills are being considered there are speakers invited to provide a prospective that one can assume will help advance bills in the future.

Clean Air Council Report
This week the Clean Air Council will present Commissioner Martin with its report and recommendations on What Can Be Learned from Low Cost Air Quality Monitors: Best Uses and the Current State of Technology. On Wednesday I will be able to share a copy with anyone interested.

General Permits 8 and 18
The Division of Air Quality is announcing the new General Operating Permit (GOP-008) for a “Boiler or Heater greater than or equal to 5 MMBtu/hr and less than 10 MMBtu/hr”.

The Division of Air Quality is also announcing a new General Permit (GP-018A) for “Boiler(s) or Heater(s) each greater than or equal to 5 MMBtu/hr and less than 10 MMBTU/hr”. This general permit is replacing the current general permit (GP-018) for Boiler(s) or Heater(s) each less than 10 MMBTU/hr”.

Boiler(s) or Heater(s) each less than 10 MMBTU/hr currently registered under GP-018 can continue to operate until:

  • The registrant’s current general permit expiration date, before which time the registrant must register for authorization under GP-018A, as applicable, or apply for and receive approval for a source-specific permit and certificate for continued operation of the boiler(s) or heater(s); or
  • Boiler(s) or Heater(s) replaced or modified, before which time the registrant must register for authorization under GP-018A, as applicable, or apply for and receive approval for a source specific permit and certificate prior to operation of the replaced or modified equipment.

To view the requirements of any general operating permit, go to http://www.state.nj.us/dep/aqpp/gop.html.

New Rules for Air and Water
The Department of Environmental Protection is proposing new rules, repeals, and amendments to the Air Pollution Control rules at N.J.A.C. 7:27, and related penalty provisions at N.J.A.C. 7:27A. The proposal also constitutes a revision to New Jersey’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:27A and the new rules, repeals, and amendments to the following subchapters of N.J.A.C. 7:27: 8, 16, 17, 19, 21, 30 and 31.  The proposed repeal and amendments to N.J.A.C. 7:27-22 do not constitute a revision to the SIP as those provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:27-22 are not part of the SIP. The Department will submit the rules that are the subject of this Notice and that constitute a proposed revision to the SIP to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise New Jersey’s SIP required by the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA).

The proposed rules implement changes based on the experience the Department has gained in responding to disruptions caused by natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy, availability of current data and new methodologies for determining hazardous air pollutant (HAP) thresholds, changes in Federal requirements regarding state programs to address emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and discussions that the Department has held with representatives of the regulated community and environmental groups.

The rulemaking consists of three major categories. First, the Department is proposing to amend its permitting rules to provide exemptions for equipment that is used during and after natural and human-caused disasters, and other equipment that has a negligible environmental impact. Second, the Department is updating the HAP reporting thresholds using the most recent science-based methodologies. Third, the Department proposes to repeal N.J.A.C. 7:27-30, CAIR NOx Trading Program, and N.J.A.C. 7:27-31, NOx Budget Program, which have been federally preempted.

Additional proposed amendments conform the administrative penalties to the proposed rules and correct errors and inconsistencies.

The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated August 7, 2017. A copy of the proposal is available on the Department’s website at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices.html.

Please email Sara with any comments or concerns on this proposed regulation.

The Department is proposing to amend the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rules at N.J.A.C. 7:10 to establish, as recommended by the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute (Institute), a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) of 0.013 micrograms per liter (µg/l) and an MCL for 1,2,3-trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) of 0.030 µg/l. The proposal includes monitoring requirements and treatment, as necessary, for these contaminants for both public community and public nontransient noncommunity water systems. Second, the Department is also proposing to amend the SDWA rules to require public nontransient noncommunity water systems to begin monitoring for radionuclides in 2019. Further, the Department is proposing to amend the Private Well Testing Act (PWTA) rules at N.J.A.C. 7:9E, and the SDWA rules, respectively, to require testing of private wells subject to sale or lease and of newly constructed wells for public noncommunity water systems and nonpublic water systems for 1,2,3-TCP as well as ethylene dibromide (EDB) and 1,2 dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP). There are Federal MCLs, which are applicable in New Jersey, for the two latter synthetic organic compounds and, like 1,2,3-TCP, they are potent carcinogens. Other proposed amendments to the PWTA rules and the SDWA rules extend the required testing for gross alpha particle activity and arsenic Statewide, and establish a requirement to test for uranium in the northern counties of New Jersey. Lastly, the Department is proposing to amend the Regulations Governing the Certification of Laboratories and Environmental Measurements at N.J.A.C. 7:18 to clarify the procedure to be used by the laboratories to test for gross alpha particle activity in drinking water samples.

The proposal is scheduled to be published in the New Jersey Register dated August 7, 2017.

Please email Sara with any comments or concerns on this proposed regulation.

The Air We Breathe is Getting Better
Last week EPA released its annual report on air quality, showing the significant progress the United States has made to improve air quality across the country. “Our Nation’s Air: Status and Trends Through 2016” documents the steady and significant progress made in improving air quality across America, over more than 45 years under the Clean Air Act.

EPA reports that emissions of criteria pollutants (combined) decreased by 73 percent between 1970 and 2016, while at the same time the U.S. economy grew by more than three times. Specifically, pollutant concentrations have decreased between 1970 and 2016 as follows: carbon monoxide (eight-hour) by 77 percent, lead (three-month average) by 99 percent, nitrogen dioxide (annual average) by 56 percent, nitrogen dioxide (one-hour average) by 50 percent, ozone by 22 percent, PM10 by 39 percent, PM2.5 (annual average) by 42 percent, PM2.5 (24-hour average) by 44 percent and sulfur dioxide by 85 percent. EPA also indicates that levels of hazardous air pollutants have decreased by various percentages, based on the pollutant.

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