On 24 July 2014 the Alabama Department of Environmental Maintenance (ADEM) notified the public of its intention to amend the current construction permit regulations and Major Source Operating Permit (MSOP) rules in to be consistent with the June 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) cannot be regulated under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V programs based solely on their GHG emissions. The proposed changes include:

• ADEM is proposing to delete the major source applicability permitting thresholds for GHGs from its regulations, but retaining the significant threshold of 75,000 tons/yr of CO2e for PSD permitting.
• ADEM is revising the global warming potentials (GWP) for certain GHGs to match EPA’s revised values, which went into effect on January 1, 2014.

ADEM is holding a public hearing on September 10, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.  All comments on the proposed rule must be received by September 12, 2014 at 5:00 pm.

Click here for a copy of the proposed revisions and public notice.

What this means to you
Alabama is proposing to delete major source applicability permitting thresholds for GHGs from its regulations, but will retain 75,000 tons/year of CO2e for PSD permitting. It is also revising global warming potentials for certain GHGs to match EPA’s revised values which went into effect on January1, 2014.

MIRATECH can help
Contact MIRATECH for emissions compliance solutions in Alabama.