NITROGEN OXIDES REDUCTION 751
enforcing these regulations is the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The USEPA has
delegated authority to the NYSDEC to issue permits to con-
struct to sources for the modification or construction of any
stationary source subject to federal NSPS, NESHAPS, or
PSD (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) requirements,
and to implement and enforce the federal standards and PSD
requirements where they apply.^12 The NYSDEC requires that
any new or modified air emission source acquire a permit to
construct and a certificate to operate under the requirements of
6 NYCRR Part 201. Any air contamination source subject to
the NSPS, NESHAPS, or PSD requirements must be in com-
pliance with the federal standards as well as any applicable
State standards, such as New York State Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NYSAAQS) or New York State performance stan-
dards. The NYSAAQS for NO 2 is 0.053 ppm (100 m g/m^3 )^13
with the same averaging period as that of the USEPA NAAQS.
Recently, the NYSDEC made revisions to the 6 NYCRR
Part 200, 201, and 227 air pollution regulations. In particular,
these revisions included Subpart 227–2 entitled “Reasonably
Available Control Technology (RACT) for Oxides of Nitrogen
(NO x ).”^14 This subpart requires operators of existing major sta-
tionary sources of NO x to use RACT to limit NO x emissions.
A source is classified as a major source if it has the potential to
emit 100 tons NO x per year or if it has the potential to emit 25
tons NO x per year in a “severe” ozone nonattainment area. The
major stationary sources as defined in Subpart 227–2 are:^14- Very large boilers—Q MAX 250 MBtu/hr
- Large boilers—100 MBtu/hr Q MAX 250
MBtu/hr- Mid-size boilers—50 MBtu/hg Q MAX 100
MBtu/hr - Small boilers—20 MBtu/hr Q MAX 50 MBtu/hr
- Combustion turbines—Q MAX 10 MBtu/hr
- Internal combustion engines— ≥ 225 HP in severe
nonattainment areas; 400 HP in all other areas - Other combustion sources
- Mid-size boilers—50 MBtu/hg Q MAX 100
where, Q MAX is equal to the maximum heat input capacity
or rate.
Tables 4–8^14 contain information regarding the NO x
emission limits for the above sources. These limits were to
be met by the existing sources by May 31, 1995. Small boiler
operators are only required to perform annual tune-ups and
to maintain a log book containing process information. Other
major combustion sources of NO x not covered under one of
the specific sources above were required to submit a RACT
proposal detailing the technology and potential emissions to
the NYSDEC by May 31, 1995.
Outside of state and federal regulations, certain cities
promulgate their own air pollution control regulations.
The New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (NYC DEP) revised their air pollution code in
March, 1992. This document contains guidelines for obtain-
ing local permits and certificates as well as standards for air
pollutant emissions. In regards to NO x emissions, the NYC
DEP set a limit for boilers with a capacity of 500 MBtu/hr
depending on whether the boiler was completed before (150
ppmv NOx ) or after (100 ppmv NOx ) August 20, 1971.^15
The petrochemical and refinery sectors have been subjected
to stringent regulatory requirements in recent years by stateTABLE 3^
USEPA 40 CFR Part 60 Subpart
Db-industrial/commercial/institutional steam generating units
NO x emission limits 10Fuel/steam generating unit typeNOx emission limits, ng/J(lb/MBtu)
(expressed as NO 2 ) for heat input(1) Natural Gas and distillate oil, except (4)
(i) Low heat release rate 43 (0.10)
(ii) High heat release rate 86 (0.20)
(2) Residual oil
(i) Low heat release rate 130 (0.30)
(ii) High heat release rate 170 (0.40)
(3) Coal
(i) Mass-feed stoker 210 (0.50)
(ii) Spreader stoker and fluidized bed combustion 260 (0.60)
(iii) Pulverized coal 300 (0.70)
(iv) Lignite, except (v) 260 (0.60)
(v) Lignite mined in North Dakota, South Dakota, or
Montana, and is combusted in a slag tap furnace340 (0.80)(vi) Coal-derived synthetic fuels 210 (0.50)
(4) Duct burner used in a combined cycle system
(i) Natural gas and distillate oil 86 (0.20)
(ii) Residual oil 170 (0.40)C014_002_r03.indd 751C014_002_r03.indd 751 11/18/2005 1:26:53 PM11/18/2005 1:26:53 PM