Modifications to Existing Facilities under Senate Bill 1126
To qualify as "Modifications to Existing Facilities under Senate Bill 1126," changes must meet each of these criteria:
- Either meet 10-year-old BACT (best available control technologies) or pertain to a facility that has been permitted in the last 120 months
- Chemical, Refinery, Oil and Gas, and Bulk Fuel Sources
- All Other Source Types
- Result in no net increase in emissions for each pollutant category
When modifications to an existing facility meet these criteria, Senate Bill 1126 of the 78th Texas Legislature allows the existing permit to be modified through an expedited process. This process is less cumbersome than other methods for changing the conditions of the permit.
Additional Requirements
On September 15, 2010 the commission adopted amendments to the rules related to the qualified facility program to address EPA indentified deficiencies in the program which led to its disapproval as a SIP amendment. The major features of the amended rules, which become effective on October 7, 2010, include:
- Applicants must make a determination of the applicability of major NSR. For those of you who have reviewed applications, this is not a new requirement; we have just made it very explicit.
- Qualified facility changes to case-by-case permits require an application for a permit revision in addition to the PI-E form. Revision has a specific meaning for qualified facilities.
- Qualified facility changes in facilities authorized by standard permit require an update to registration representations and the PI-E.
- Changes involving PBRs require the PI-E only.
- All qualified facility changes require prior notification.
- VOCs de-listed by EPA may be interchanged with those currently on the list. No interchange of current VOC for de-listed compounds.
For more information about these and other requirements, read Modifications to Existing Facilities under Senate Bill 1126.
To Modify Your Permit under SB 1126:
May 17, 2010 update
Please be advised that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has disapproved the rules implementing the Qualified Facility (QF) program, effective May 14, 2010. While the QF (or 1126) authorization is still available for use under state law, it should be understood that EPA would be expected to view any QF changes as non-compliant with the Texas state implementation plan (SIP). The EPA opinion would include permits for the facilities involved in the QF actions because those permits are also part of the SIP. Because the QF Program has never been SIP-approved, all QF 1126 actions since inception of the program are subject to the same review by EPA."
Questions? We Can Help
If you have questions please contact Beecher Cameron at 512-239-1495 or becamero@tceq.texas.gov.
