Application Process and Inspections to be Covered

Business owners, consultants and others interested in learning about Delaware’s air quality permitting application process are invited to a virtual training session from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Sept. 20 hosted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Certificates for professional development hours can be earned by participants.

The virtual session, presented by the DNREC Division of Air Quality, will focus on the permitting process, from pre-application meetings to permit issuance, and facility/site inspections. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required by DNREC close of business (4:30 p.m. EDT) Friday, Sept. 16. Registration and DNREC contact information can be found at de.gov/aqtraining.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov, Joanna Wilson, Joanna.wilson@delaware.gov.

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An outage early this morning at the Delaware City Refining Company that resulted in excess emissions of pollutants was resolved by midday when the refinery’s carbon monoxide boiler on the fluid coking unit was brought back online, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced this afternoon. The outage resulted in unpermitted emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and particulate matter.

The DNREC Division of Air Quality continued to assess and monitor the situation at the refinery after the CO boiler came back online. DNREC’s monitoring station near Delaware City did not show elevated levels of particulate matter resulting from the CO boiler outage, and DNREC does not expect the excess emissions to impact public health and safety.

DNREC is investigating the refinery’s unpermitted release of pollutants and will take appropriate follow-up action, to include enforcement if warranted.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

45-Day U.S. EPA Review Required Before Permit Renewal Is Granted

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has developed a proposed air pollution permit renewal for the Delaware City Refining Company (DCRC). DNREC will submit the proposed federal Clean Air Act (CAA) Title V major source air pollution permit renewal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a 45-day EPA review period before DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin can grant the final air permit for DCRC’s Delaware City refinery.

“It is important to facilities to have up-to-date permits to operate under because the permit documents how they must operate to remain in compliance with applicable air regulations,” Secretary Garvin said after approving DCRC’s permit application that led to DNREC’s development of the proposed DCRC CAA Title V permit renewal.

DNREC held a public hearing on July 14, 2020 for DCRC’s draft Title V air pollution permit renewal, with comments accepted through July 31, 2020. The proposed permit renewal has incorporated applicable requirements of Delaware Air Regulation 1102 permits for the refinery’s Ethanol Marketing Project; elimination of the maximum data capture requirements from the crude nitrogen oxides (NOx) continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS); incorporation of requirements from a consent decree issued to a previous owner of the facility in “United States of America et al., v. Motiva Enterprises LLC, No. H-01-0978”; replacement of the EPA’s Tanks 4.09 requirement with the Tanks ESP Pro Version; and modification of short-term NOx limits per the July 2019 settlement agreement between DNREC and DCRC.

The Department received extensive comments on the draft permit renewal and responded to the comments in a technical response memo (TRM) from the DNREC Division of Air Quality. The TRM is posted as an attachment to the hearing officer’s report with the DNREC’s Secretary Order at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/secretarys-orders/permitting/. The TRM also discusses revisions to be made to the draft permit renewal as a result of comments the Department received. Information presented at the Delaware City Refining Company public hearing and comments received at the hearing and during the public comment period can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

Upon receipt of DNREC’s proposed Title V permit renewal for DCRC, the U.S. EPA will begin reviewing it. Questions about the EPA’s review process can be directed to Mary Cate Opila, Air Permits Branch Chief, EPA Region III, email: opila.marycate@epa.gov.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov ; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

Two Inspection and Maintenance Program Virtual Workshops To Be Held
May 25 To Ensure Delaware Compliance With Clean Air Act Requirements

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today virtual workshops will be held by DNREC’s Division of Air Quality on Wednesday, May 25 to discuss updates to Delaware’s Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program for new on-road vehicles. The first workshop on proposed I/M program changes will begin at 10 a.m., with the second workshop starting at 6 p.m. More information about the proposed amendments for the I/M program can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

The federal Clean Air Act requires areas of the country that are not in attainment with the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard – areas, like Delaware, that have had days where ozone exceeds the standard – to implement an I/M program for registered vehicles to ensure vehicle emission systems are operating properly in preventing pollution.

DNREC’s Division of Air Quality is proposing amendments to Delaware’s Vehicle I/M Program to reduce expected emissions from new vehicles and to develop consistent emissions requirements statewide. The proposed changes will amend state regulations, with the regulations going through the state’s regulatory process that includes public review and a comment period. Before the formal regulatory process starts, the I/M workshops will be held by DNREC to preview and discuss the I/M program changes with the public. Once finalized, the changes will be implemented by the Delaware Department of Transportation’s (DelDOT) Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The I/M program is part of the vehicle inspection process in Delaware when a vehicle is registered or the vehicle registration is renewed. Vehicle emissions negatively impact quality. I/M programs ensure that vehicle emissions meet the manufacturers’ requirements. Current I/M regulations exempt new cars from having to go through an emissions test for a vehicle’s first five years on the road, and the Delaware General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation to extend that exemption from emissions testing to the first seven years of a new vehicle’s life.

Extending the I/M exemption for new vehicles (which already has been implemented) requires changes to emissions testing for other vehicles to ensure air quality is not negatively affected. These program updates are a necessary follow-up to the 2017 legislation, and have been anticipated by DNREC and DelDOT since the legislation was passed.

More information about the proposed changes to Delaware’s Vehicle I/M Program can be found at dnrec.delaware.gov.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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DNREC air quality monitoring station in Wilmington. DNREC photo.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control maintains a network of 11 permanent air monitoring sites throughout the state to track pollutants that impact Delaware’s air quality. For National Air Quality Awareness Week, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin today visited the air monitoring station at MLK Jr. Boulevard in Wilmington, the most comprehensive monitoring station in the state.

“Part of DNREC’s mission is to ensure clean air for all Delawareans. Clean air is especially important for our most vulnerable populations: children, older people, and people living with health conditions,” said Secretary Garvin. “Our monitoring network data shows our air quality is good overall, but good is not good enough. DNREC is committed to working continuously to make our air quality better.”

The air today is cleaner than when EPA first implemented control measures, known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), under the Clean Air Act in the early 1970s. The MLK station, for example, monitors the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s six pollutants of greatest concern under the NAAQS: ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and two sizes of particulate matter.

The station also utilizes the latest technologies for real-time monitoring of the weather, including wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, pressure ultraviolet and solar radiation, cloud height and rain gauge, all of which are factors in air quality.

The DNREC Division of Air Quality, which maintains and operates the station, encourages residents to learn about important air quality resources. Delawareans can consult the Air Quality Index (AQI) to plan their outdoor activities to protect their health from air pollution. This online resource from the EPA monitors and reports on air quality each day.

In Delaware, air quality is rated as “good” for most days of the year. However, there are days when local air quality can pose health risks to sensitive populations, and the AQI offers up-to-the-minute data on when and where such days might be occur. Visit de.gov/airmonitoring to sign up for air quality email alerts.

More information about Delaware’s air quality and DNREC’s monitoring work can be found at de.gov/airmonitoring.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov