20061011-IR-326060436FNA DEVELOPMENT OF AMENDMENTS TO RULES CONCERNING THE PERMITTING AND OPERATION OF GRAIN ELEVATORS AND GRAIN PROCESSING OR MILLING OPERATIONS  

TITLE 326 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

FIRST NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD

LSA Document #06-436

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is soliciting public comment on repealing 326 IAC 2-9-6 and amending rules 326 IAC 2-11-3 and 326 IAC 2-11-4 concerning permits by rule for grain elevators and grain processing or milling operations. IDEM seeks comment on the affected citations listed and any other provisions of Title 326 that may be affected by this rulemaking.

The basic purposes of this proposed rulemaking are to update and simplify the permitting process for grain elevators and grain processing or milling operations, to make permit requirements for that industry clearer and more predictable, and to amend or add mineral oil and soybean oil application limits to become consistent with Federal Drug Administration requirements.

Since the initial Title V rules were adopted (326 IAC 2-7), the department has continued to seek ways to eliminate the need for a Title V permit for certain categories of small sources. Two such mechanisms, a 'source specific operating agreement (SSOA)' and a 'permit by rule' have been used by small sources to limit their potential air emissions below the applicability threshold of 326 IAC 2-7. By limiting allowable emissions or potential to emit below the thresholds specified and otherwise complying with the requirements of the permit by rule, affected sources are no longer subject to the requirements of 326 IAC 2-6.1, 326 IAC 2-7, 236 IAC 2-8, or 326 IAC 2-9, unless otherwise required by federal law.

This rulemaking will consider repealing 326 IAC 2-9-6, grain elevators SSOA, and incorporating the particulate matter emission control measures from that rule into the grain elevators and grain processing or milling permit by rule language at 326 IAC 2-11-3 and 326 IAC 2-11-4. Updated emission factors from AP-42 (May, 2003 ''Compilation of Air Pollution Emission Factors, Section 9.9.1, Grain Elevators and Grain Processes Plants'') will be considered for recalculation of the throughput limits in the existing rules. Emission factors are used to estimate emissions from industry sources and can be used to assure compliance with emission limits. IDEM anticipates that the use of updated emission factors to recalculate throughput limits will result in additional grain elevators and milling operations meeting the applicability of 326 IAC 2-11-3 and 326 IAC 2-11-4 and avoiding possible applicability of 326 IAC 2-6.1, 326 IAC 2-5.1, or 326 IAC 2-7. Broadening the applicability of the permit by rule simplifies the permitting process for those affected operations. IDEM specifically requests comments on the quality and use of updated AP-42 emission factors to estimate particulate matter emissions from grain elevators and grain processing or milling operations.

Currently, the grain elevator SSOA at 326 IAC 2-9-6(3)(B) states that particulate matter (PM) emissions shall be limited by the application of mineral oil or soybean oil to all grain received at a grain elevator at an application rate of 0.03% by weight of grain or greater. The application rate of 0.03% is cited in a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture entitled ''Examining the Use of Additives to Control Grain Dust''. The Indiana Grain and Feed Association referred to this study, and its recommended application rate, while commenting on the draft language for 326 IAC 2-9-6. The application rate of 0.03% was included in 326 IAC 2-9-6(3)(B)'s language, but the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) rule at 21 CFR 172, which pertains to food additives permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption, limits the use of white mineral oil as a dust control agent for wheat, corn, soybean, barley, oats, rye, and sorghum to a level no more than 0.02% by weight. Since IDEM's minimum mineral oil application requirement is greater then FDA's maximum application requirement, this rulemaking is necessary to ensure that state standards are consistent with federal standards. Laboratory testing and industry experience have shown that oil additives applied at 0.02% by weight can provide effective dust control. IDEM has found that due to an odor issue and the prohibitive cost of using soybean oil as a dust control agent, grain elevator operators prefer to use mineral oil.