Virginia Law

Article 54
Emission Standards for Large Municipal Waste Combustors (Rule 4-54)

A. Except as provided in subsections D and E of this section, the affected facility to which the provisions of this article apply is each municipal waste combustor unit with a combustion capacity greater than 250 tons per day of municipal solid waste for which construction was commenced on or before September 20, 1994.

B. The provisions of this article apply throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

C. Air curtain incinerators that meet the capacity specifications in subsection A of this section and that combust municipal solid waste other than yard waste are subject to all provisions of this article.

D. Exempted from the provisions of this article are the following:

1. Any waste combustion unit that is capable of combusting more than 250 tons per day of municipal solid waste and is subject to a federally enforceable permit limiting the maximum amount of municipal solid waste that may be combusted in the unit to less than or equal to 11 tons per day is not subject to this article if the owner:

a. Notifies the board of an exemption claim;

b. Provides a copy of the federally enforceable permit that limits the firing of municipal solid waste to less than 11 tons per day; and

c. Keeps records of the amount of municipal solid waste fired on a daily basis.

2. Physical or operational changes made to an existing municipal waste combustor unit primarily for the purpose of complying with this article are not considered in determining whether the unit is a modified or reconstructed facility under subpart Ea or subpart Eb of 40 CFR Part 60.

3. A qualifying small power production facility, as defined in § 3(17)(C) of the Federal Power Act (16 USC § 796(17)(C)), that burns homogeneous waste (such as automotive tires or used oil, but not including refuse-derived fuel) for the production of electric energy is not subject to this article if the owner of the facility notifies the board of this exemption and provides data documenting that the facility qualifies for this exemption.

4. A qualifying cogeneration facility, as defined in § 3(18)(B) of the Federal Power Act (16 §USC 796(18)(B)), that burns homogeneous waste (such as automotive tires or used oil, but not including refuse-derived fuel) for the production of electric energy and steam or forms of useful energy (such as heat) that are used for industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes, is not subject to this article if the owner of the facility notifies the board of this exemption and provides data documenting that the facility qualifies for this exemption.

5. Any unit combusting a single-item waste stream of tires is not subject to this article if the owner of the unit notifies the board of an exemption claim, and provides data documenting that the unit qualifies for this exemption.

6. Any cofired combustor located at a plant that meets the capacity specifications in subsection A of this section is not subject to this article if the owner of the cofired combustor:

a. Notifies the board of an exemption claim;

b. Provides a copy of the federally enforceable permit (specified in the definition of cofired combustor in 9VAC5-40-7960); and

c. Keeps a record on a calendar quarter basis of the weight of municipal solid waste combusted at the cofired combustor and the weight of all other fuels combusted at the cofired combustor.

7. Air curtain incinerators that meet the capacity specifications in subsection A of this section and that combust a fuel stream composed of 100% yard waste are exempt from all provisions of this article except the opacity limit under 9VAC5-40-8060 C, the testing procedures under 9VAC5-40-8140, and the reporting and recordkeeping provisions under 9VAC5-40-8160.

8. Pyrolysis/combustion units that are an integrated part of a plastics/rubber recycling unit are not subject to this article if the owner of the plastics/rubber recycling unit keeps records of:

a. The weight of plastics, rubber, and rubber tires, or a combination thereof, processed on a calendar quarter basis;

b. The weight of chemical plant feedstocks and petroleum refinery feedstocks produced and marketed on a calendar quarter basis; and

c. The name and address of the purchaser of the feedstocks. The combustion of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, fuel oils, residual oil, refinery gas, petroleum coke, liquefied petroleum gas, propane, or butane produced by chemical plants or petroleum refineries that use feedstocks produced by plastics/rubber recycling units are not subject to this article.

E. The provisions of this article do not apply to the following:

1. Any unit required to have a permit under § 3005 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 USC § 6901 et seq.).

2. Any materials recovery facility (including primary or secondary smelters) that combusts waste for the primary purpose of recovering metals.

3. Any cement kiln firing municipal solid waste.

F. The provisions of 40 CFR Part 60 cited in this article are applicable only to the extent that they are incorporated by reference in Article 5 (9VAC5-50-400 et seq.) of Part II of 9VAC5 Chapter 50.

G. The requirement of subdivision E 1 of this section with regard to obtaining a permit under § 3005 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 USC § 6901 et seq.) may be met by obtaining a permit from the department as required by 9VAC20 Chapter 60.