Pod Technologies: Update: 12/2006

New Mercury and Hydrocarbon Emission Limits for Cement Kilns

US EPA announced new mercury and hydrocarbon emission limits for cement kilns built after December 2, 2005. The emission limits will reduce annual mercury emissions by about one ton and annual hydrocarbon emissions by about 1,100 tons. Kilns built before that time must meet work practice requirements, such as removing cement kiln dust when it no longer can be recycled and operating kilns properly to ensure complete combustion.

In addition, the amendments prohibit all cement kilns from using fly ash from utility boilers equipped with mercury emission controls where the fly ash mercury content has been increased through the use of activated carbon or any other sorbent, unless the cement kiln can demonstrate that use of that fly ash will not increase its mercury emissions.

In a separate action, US EPA announced that it will reconsider the mercury and hydrocarbon emissions for new kilns. This step is being taken because US EPA recently became aware of information and questions about mercury and hydrocarbon controls at cement kilns that were not available during the public comment period on the proposed rule. For more information, see:

• Fact Sheet;
• National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry: Final Rule (pdf, 210pp., 280kB); and
• National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From the Portland Cement Manufacturing Industry: Notice of Reconsideration (pdf, 12pp., 28kB).

12/17/2006

Clean Air Markets CEMS Monitoring Plan and QA Data

US EPA Monitoring Data Checking Software (MDC) Export Files data are updated as of December 6, 2006. US EPA Clean Air Markets Division (CAMD) EDR-format files exported from the MDC database contain facility-level files for continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) monitoring plan and quality assurance test data.

12/14/2006

Mercury News: 4th Quarter 2006

• Midwest Gen, Illinois governor agree on mercury reduction plan. Power Engineering, 12/12/2006
• Dominion chooses coal imports over scrubbers for Chesapeake plant. Power Engineering, 12/08/2006
• N.C. power plants face new mercury rules. The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., 11/10/2006
• Pennsylvania tightens up mercury rules. Power Engineering, 10/20/2006
• New York seeks comment on mercury rules; generators worried equipment not ready. Power Magazine, 10/06/2006
• ADA-ES to install mercury controls at new US western coal plant. Power Engineering, 10/04/2006

12/08/2006

Fundamentals of Successful Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification

US EPA has published Fundamentals of Successful Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification under a Cap-and-Trade Program (pdf 8 pp, 100 kB). The paper discusses several elements that were fundamental to the success of two USEPA cap-and-trade programs—the Acid Rain Program (ARP) and the NOx Budget Trading Programs (NBTP). The authors believe these elements may be useful to the design and implementation of other cap-and-trade programs both within and outside of the United States. (ISSN 1047-3289, J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc., 56:1576–1583)

12/07/2006