workshop n - beyond ehs staff - mec seminars · workshop n operationalizing air permit compliance:...

Workshop N

Operationalizing Air Permit Compliance: Engaging

Operations Personnel to Make Your EHS Job Easier

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Biographical Information

William H. Haak, Founder, Haak Law LLC Cleveland, Ohio

216.772.3532 [email protected] William H. Haak is the Founder of Haak Law LLC (www.haaklawllc.com) – an environmental, health & safety legal and consulting firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. He has more than 15 years of experience in occupational safety law and worker safety, and over 20 years of experience in environmental law (including extensive experience in air pollution control law and multi-media environmental compliance). Mr. Haak practices nationally in the United States and consults globally on all matters related to the EHS field (plus security and crisis management). Mr. Haak graduated from The University of Akron (Business Finance) and Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D. with an emphasis on litigation and trial practice). Following law school, he worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the State of Ohio Attorney General’s Environmental Enforcement Section. As counsel to Ohio EPA, Mr. Haak’s practice was focused primarily on civil and administrative air pollution control cases. During his time with the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Haak resolved civil environmental enforcement actions resulting in civil penalties totaling approximately $4 million. Prior to forming Haak Law LLC, Mr. Haak was Senior EH&S Counsel for General Electric. He supported GE’s Appliances and Lighting Businesses, and was engaged in complex air permitting issues for other GE businesses nationwide. Mr. Haak has also been Associate General Counsel – EH&S for Hexion Specialty Chemicals in Columbus, Ohio, and Senior Regulatory Law Counsel for Owens Corning in Toledo, Ohio. He served overseas in the former Soviet Union (Ukraine) as an Environmental Enforcement Specialist with the American Bar Association’s Central & East European Law Initiative ("ABA/CEELI"). Haak is a frequent lecturer to attorneys, engineers, and environmental professionals on topics concerning federal and state air pollution law. In addition, he has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and Columbus State in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2005, Haak has taught classes focusing on Air Pollution Law and Occupational Safety and Health Law at The University of Toledo College of Law as an Adjunct Professor.

Sheri L. Bussard Environmental Engineer, University of Cincinnati Utilities

Central Utility Plant, 3000 Glendora Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45221 Phone: 513-556-2542 Fax: 513-558-1739 E-mail: [email protected]

Ms. Bussard is the environmental engineer for the University of Cincinnati Utilities department. She is responsible for the utility’s continuous emission monitoring programs as well as compliance with the site’s Title V permit and other applicable regulations. She coordinates emission testing for the site and manages the completion and submittal of environmental reports. Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati, Ms. Bussard worked as an environmental consultant. She became a senior project manager with a breadth of multimedia compliance knowledge, focused primarily in air and EPCRA. Her experience includes air emission inventories, air permitting, air permit/regulatory compliance, EPCRA compliance, visible emission project management, and multimedia compliance audits. Ms. Bussard received a B.S in Civil Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

Biographical Information

Mike Zimmer, P.E., Principal Consultant Trinity Consultants, 1717 Dixie Highway, Ste 900, Covington, KY 41011

859.341.8100 ext. 103 [email protected]

Mike Zimmer serves as the manager of Trinity Consultants' operations in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. Mike has more than 24 years of technical experience in the air quality field assisting clients with air quality management (auditing, regulatory strategy assessments, compliance management tools, emission inventories), dispersion modeling (increment, NAAQS, Class I Area, AQRVs, odor, litigation support, BART), and permitting (Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana installation/construction permits, Title V operating permits, PSD, BACT, SOCMI, NSPS, NESHAP, MACT, etc.). In his 12-year tenure with Trinity, he has worked with a number of industries, including organic & inorganic chemicals, steel industry, primary and secondary aluminum, ferroalloy industry, gray/ductile iron foundry, metal fabrication, nitric acid manufacturing, printing, surface coating, power generation, automobile manufacturing, rubber products, roofing products, mineral products industry, reinforced plastic composites, gypsum manufacturing, mining, cosmetics, Portland cement, computer manufacturing, fiberglass pool manufacturing, drum reconditioning, coal-to-gas, oil & gas, brick manufacturing, and others. As registered Professional Engineer, Mike has an extensive background in various aspects of environmental engineering, from preliminary stack design to ventilation system modifications to choosing the suitable air pollution control devices. Mike has authored and co-authored various papers and presented to industry at national and regional AWMA conferences, Environmental, Health & Safety Symposiums sponsored by the Manufacturer’s Educational Council (MEC), and the Energy Utility Environmental Conference. Additionally, Mr. Zimmer is an instructor for Trinity’s Air Regulations and Permitting in Kentucky. Mike earned a B.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

Beyond EHS Staff:”Operationalization” of Compliance

Session NMarch 21, 2017

William H. HaakHaak Law LLC

HAAK LAW LLCEnvironmental, Health & SafetyLegal and Consulting Services

William H. HaakTel: 216.772.3532

[email protected]

At the Outset…• Your job (EHS) is the hardest job at any facility

• Whether you’re surrounded by “friends” or “enemies” is largely up to you- “Risk multipliers”, or- “Force multipliers”?

• How can you create true partners out of non-EHS leadership and operations personnel?



[email protected]

We All Know the Stories…• “I didn’t know that had an environmental impact!”

• Bypassed control equipment

• Unpermitted “modifications”

• A PTI that “we need, like, yesterday”

• Unreported deviations, malfunctions, exceedances

• Dude! Where’s my dust collector?



[email protected]

What’s the Root Cause?• “What we have here is a failure to communicate…”

• Is lack of communication a disease, or a symptom?



[email protected]

Elements of Poor Communication• Lack of understanding (or just not caring)

• “That’s not my job…”

• Intentional under-communication

• Spiteful over-communication

• Functions operating “in silos”

• A blame and shame atmosphere



[email protected]

3 Steps to Better Communication• Educate…

- Yourselves about the business and processes- Your “allies” about what compliance means

• Integrate…- Yourselves into non-EHS discussions and rhythms- Your “allies” into how you “make the sausage”

• Motivate…- Establish metrics and accountability outside of EHS- “Operationalizing” EHS means moving ownership



[email protected]

Best Practices for Ensuring Air Permit Compliance

Presented by:Sheri BussardEnvironmental Engineer - Utilities University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati Utilities• Provide electricity, steam for heat, and chilled

water for cooling to 100+ UC buildings and several hospitals

• 2 separate utility plants

• Title V air permit

Title V Permitting Program

• WHO - sites with large potential emissions (major sources)

• WHY - standardize air permit and permitting process

• HOW - consolidate all permits into one document

• BENEFIT – Title V Permit includes all applicable air pollution control requirements for entire site

• CHALLENGE – Title V Permit includes all applicable air pollution control requirements for entire site

Know Your Permit!

• Read and understand your permit• Highlight action items• Renewal – compare to previous permit for

changes

Develop a Compliance Plan

• Identify each emission limit or operational restriction• Summarize compliance strategy• Identify associated monitoring, recordkeeping, and

reporting requirements• Note any required testing • Compliance calendar

PERMIT REQUIREMENTSApplicable Requirement Compliance Strategy Monitoring/Recordkeeping Reporting TestingGAS:SO2 emissions ≤ 0.6 lb/MMcfNO. 2 FUEL OIL:SO2 emissions ≤ 0.3 lb/MMBtu

▪ Distillate Oil SO2: Oil shall have a heat and sulfur content which is sufficient to comply with the allowable SO2 emission limitation of 0.3 lb/MMBtu of actual heat input on an "as received" basis and a maximum sulfur content of 0.39 wt%. ▪ Natural Gas SO2: AP-42 emission factor - 0.6 lb SO2/MMcuft

For each shipment of oil received for burning in this emissions unit, the permittee shall collect or require the oil supplier to collect a representative grab sample of oil and maintain records of the total quantity of oil received, the permittee's or oil supplier's analyses for sulfur content and heat content, and the calculated sulfur dioxide emission rate (in lbs/MMBtu).

Quarterly -conditions in italics

None

Remember to Include………

• Requirements from federal regulations such as NSPS/NESHAP/MACT

• Requirements from issued PTIs that have not yet been rolled into your Title V permit

• Requirements for Insignificant Emission Units

Delegate and Designate

• Delegate tasks to owners

• Designate record typeand frequency

• Designate locationof record

• Designate report format and understand frequency

Fortify Your Compliance Plan

• Train task owners• Establish goals/incentives, involve management• Spot check records

for completion and completeness

• Internal audits • 3rd party audits• Gaps – root cause analysis and corrective

action• Keep compliance plan up to date

Title V Annual Compliance Certification (ACC)

• Review compliance status with every permit term

• Many states have short form reporting - only note exceptions

• ACC review and reporting should include:• General Terms and Conditions (RMP, ODS)• Emission Unit Terms and Conditions• Unincorporated PTI Terms and Conditions• Requirements for Insignificant Emission Units • Federal regulations referenced in permit (NSPS,

MACT/NESHAP)

Compliance Issues/Risks

• Being unaware of regulatory change and associated impact

• Misinterpreting a requirement of a complex regulation

• Missing the applicability of a regulation• Making an operational change without

environmental impact assessment • Exceeding a regulatory limit • Recordkeeping issues (missing/incomplete)• Not completing a regulatory task on time• Missing a notification/reporting deadline• Permit expiration

Tools for Tracking Regulatory Changes

• Federal Register Go https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USGPOOFR/subscriber/new

• Ohio EPA What’s New Webpage http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/whatsnew.aspx

• Ohio EPA E-mail Subscription List https://ohioepa.custhelp.com/app/utils/login_form/redirect/account%252Fprofile

• Regulatory Subscription Services (BNA, RegScan)

Inspections

Cincinnati, OH ♦ March 21, 2017

Mike ZimmerSheri Bussard

Bill Haak

N. Operationalizing Air Permit Compliance: Engaging Operations

Personnel to Make Your EHS Job Easier

What to Expect when You’re Inspected

Reasons for an Inspection

˃ Public/Employee complaints˃ Follow-up from previous inspections˃ Missing compliance reports˃ Missing information from compliance reports

submitted˃ Industry driven˃ Collection of information˃ National Enforcement Initiatives˃ Routine (Major Source, Large Minor Sources,

Agency emphasis)

High Risk Chemicals Reported in TRI and RMP - Jun 15, 2016 Does your facility submit Form Rs or Form As for Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting every year?

Is your facility subject to the requirements under the Risk Management Program (RMP)?

A recent memorandum revealed that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. EPA plans to begin preliminary research to identify unregulated facilities using data from the TRI. The OIG’s overall objective is to determine how EPA uses TRI data to identify potentially unregulated facilities in its major media programs.

1. Have TRI facilities meeting RMP criteria filed these plans with the EPA for all chemicals?

2. Have TRI facilities identified as surface water dischargers received the required permits from the EPA or the delegated state?

3. Have RMP filers and surface water dischargers subject to TRI reporting filed TRI reports?

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/newstarts_03-11-16_toxicreleaseinventorydata.pdf

3.14 tons released to air

Question

˃ Who in this room has the same quantity of air emissions reported to the State (EIS/FER/KyEIS) and to the Toxics Release Inventory?

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016‐03/documents/newstarts_03‐11‐16_toxicreleaseinventorydata.pdf

https://echo.epa.gov/facilities/facility‐search/results

Current NEIs (2017 – 2019)

1. Reducing Air Pollution from the Largest Sources2. Cutting Hazardous Air Pollutants (Expanded to

include storage tanks)3. Keeping Industrial Pollutants Out of the Nation’s

Waters (NEW)4. Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at

Industrial and Chemical Facilities (NEW)5. Ensuring Energy Extraction Activities Comply

with Environmental Laws6. Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated

Stormwater Out of the Nation’s Waters 7. Preventing Animal Waste from Contaminating

Surface and Ground Waterhttps://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-enforcement-initiatives

Largest Sources

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national‐enforcement‐initiative‐reducing‐air‐pollution‐largest‐sources

Air Toxics

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national‐enforcement‐initiative‐cutting‐hazardous‐air‐pollutants

http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2012/10/page/3/

Once an EPA Inspection is Announced…

Once an EPA Inspection is Announced…˃ Inform legal counsel˃ Prep call prior to inspection

Attorney, environmental staff, outside consultants˃ Meet with operations and engineering personnel to prep for

the inspection˃ Conduct inspection kick-off meeting to provide background

information to inspectors˃ Document all inspection activities˃ Maintain list of all information provided to EPA – make copy

of each document for yourself˃ Do not leave inspectors unattended˃ Answer questions using appropriate terminology˃ Hold daily status update calls with legal counsel˃ Be a good host!

General Steps of Inspection

Arrival and EntryArrival and Entry

Site Walk‐ThroughSite Walk‐Through

Review of RecordsReview of Records

End of InspectionEnd of Inspection

Arrival and Entry

˃ Rights of entry are granted by; Statutes Permit conditions

˃ Credentials Required before access is granted Feel free to request/verify ID if not shown

˃ Address special situations immediately Responsible personnel not on site Ongoing emergency situations (process shutdowns, etc.)

˃ Access Hazards PPE requirements

The Walk-Through

˃ Air Quality: Point out permitted emission

sources Inspector may look for

visible emissions Dust/Particulates

˃ Stormwater / Oil Storage: Oil sheens Erosion/sedimentation Outfalls Stains and/or distressed

vegetation Secondary containment

˃ Hazardous Waste: Storage areas Hazardous waste tanks Universal wastes

˃ Security and control of access Lighting

˃ Property line Noise Odors

The Walk-Through

˃ Direct interviews with facility personnel Awareness of environmental

impacts˃ Proper signs and labels

Scrap material storage HW and Non-HW storage areas Outfalls

˃ Environmental permits are available

Review of Records

˃ Organized Readily Available Readily retrievable Paper vs. Digital

˃ Location Control rooms Office Centralized

˃ Maintain a list of all documents provided to inspectors and make a copy for your records

Closing Meeting

˃ General comments Everything looks good Minor “things” detected

˃ Formal closing meeting Summary of Findings Discussion of further steps

♦ Due dates for submittal of information not available

˃ Reports/Summary of Inspection˃ Cease and Desist Orders/Field Citations

After Inspection

˃ Identify areas of potential non-compliance Audit or gap assessment to determine where things stand

˃ Make strides toward compliance prior to agency response – take initiative

˃ Undertake “supplemental” project(s)˃ Review industry- or regulatory-specific existing CDs

This provides insight toward potential requirements you may face

˃ Consider best practices to improve your compliance programs Be aware - implementation prior to consent decree likely

leads to inclusion in your CD requirements˃ Discussions with legal team

Keep them in the loop, their guidance is essential

Minimize Enforcement Outcome

˃ Respond to NOV or other enforcement action promptly and thoroughly. Consider engaging legal counsel (e.g., to retrieve confidential

documents, negotiate rule and statute requirements, etc.) Consider engaging technical support (e.g., expedited review

of data, permits, retroactive applicability assessment, performance of air dispersion modeling or risk analysis, etc.)

Request supporting documentation from Agency Clarify facts surrounding the allegation(s) Avoid being penalized twice for the same allegation Respond quickly and meet with Agency in person If necessary, amend permit

Notes on OEPA Inspections

˃ Every 1-2 years for Title V sources Less often for minor sources

˃ Typically receive 1-2 weeks notice˃ Typically a close-out meeting is held and

issues are discussed before seeing them in future correspondence

˃ Generally consist of facility walkthrough and records review but will depend on how often inspector is at the site

˃ No news is good news

Local Fallout from Flint

˃ Uptick in inspections˃ Prompt issuance of Notices of Violation

(NOVs)˃ NOV final resolutions:

Resolution of Violation (ROV) – no penalties Findings and Orders – includes penalties Enforcement Action Request

Questions?

Mike Zimmer - [email protected] Covington Office859-341-8100

workshop n - beyond ehs staff - mec seminars · workshop n operationalizing air permit compliance:...

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