Section 460. Repowering extensions

A. This section shall apply to the designated representative of:

1. Any existing affected unit that is a coal-fired unit and has a 1985 actual sulfur dioxide emissions rate equal to or greater than 1.2 lbs/mmBtu; or

2. Any new unit that will be a replacement unit, as provided in subdivision B 2 of this section, for a unit meeting the requirements of subdivision 1 of this subsection; or

3. Any oil- or gas-fired unit or both that has been awarded clean coal technology demonstration funding as of January 1, 1991, by the Secretary of Energy.

A repowering extension does not exempt the owner or operator for any unit governed by the repowering plan from the requirement to comply with such unit's acid rain emissions limitations for sulfur dioxide.

B. The designated representative of any unit meeting the requirements of subdivision A 1 of this section may include in the unit's acid rain permit application a repowering extension plan that includes a demonstration that:

1. The unit will be repowered with a qualifying repowering technology in order to comply with the emissions limitations for sulfur dioxide; or

2. The unit will be replaced by a new utility unit that has the same designated representative and that is located at a different site using a qualified repowering technology and the existing unit will be permanently retired from service on or before the date on which the new utility unit commences commercial operation.

C. In order to apply for a repowering extension, the designated representative of a unit under subsection A of this section shall:

1. Submit to the board, by January 1, 1996, a complete repowering extension plan;

2. Submit to the administrator before June 1, 1997, a complete petition for approval of repowering technology in accordance with 40 CFR 72.44(d) and submit a copy to the board; and

3. If the repowering extension plan is submitted for conditional approval, submit to the board by December 31, 1997, a notification to activate the plan in accordance with 9VAC5-80-450 C.

D. A complete repowering extension plan shall include the following elements:

1. Identification of the existing unit governed by the plan.

2. The unit's sulfur dioxide emissions limitation in the implementation plan.

3. The unit's 1995 actual sulfur dioxide emissions rate.

4. A schedule for construction, installation, and commencement of operation of the repowering technology approved or submitted for approval under 40 CFR 72.44(d) with dates for the following milestones:

a. Completion of design engineering;

b. For a plan under subdivision B 1 of this section, removal of the existing unit from operation to install the qualified repowering technology;

c. Commencement of construction;

d. Completion of construction;

e. Start-up testing;

f. For a plan under subdivision B 2 of this section, shutdown of the existing unit; and

g. Commencement of commercial operation of the repowering technology.

5. For a plan under subdivision B 2 of this section:

a. Identification of the new unit. A new unit shall not be included in more than one repowering extension plan.

b. Certification that the new unit will replace the existing unit.

c. Certification that the new unit has the same designated representative as the existing unit.

d. Certification that the existing unit will be permanently retired from service on or before the date the new unit commences commercial operation.

6. The special provisions of subsection G of this section.

E. The board shall not approve a repowering extension plan until the administrator makes a conditional determination that the technology is a qualified repowering technology, unless the board approves such plan subject to the conditional determination of the administrator.

1. Permit issuance shall be as follows:

a. Upon a conditional determination by the administrator that the technology to be used in the repowering extension plan is a qualified repowering technology and a determination by the board that such plan meets the requirements of this section, the board shall issue the acid rain portion of the federal operating permit including:

(1) The approved repowering extension plan; and

(2) A schedule of compliance with enforceable milestones for construction, installation, and commencement of operation of the repowering technology and other requirements necessary to ensure that emission reduction requirements under this section will be met.

b. Except as otherwise provided in subsection F of this section, the repowering extension shall be in effect starting January 1, 2000, and ending on the day before the date (specified in the acid rain permit) on which the existing unit will be removed from operation to install the qualifying repowering technology or will be permanently removed from service for replacement by a new unit with such technology, provided that the repowering extension shall end no later than December 31, 2003.

c. The portion of the federal operating permit specifying the repowering extension and other requirements under subdivision 1 a of this subsection shall be subject to the administrator's final determination, under 40 CFR 72.44(d)(4), that the technology to be used in the repowering extension plan is a qualifying repowering technology.

3. Allowances shall be allocated in accordance with 40 CFR 72.44(f)(3) and (g).

F. The following provisions apply with respect to failed repowering projects:

1. If, at any time before the end of the repowering extension under subdivision E 1 b of this section, the designated representative of a unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan submits the notification under 9VAC5-80-470 D that the owners and operators have decided to terminate efforts to properly design, construct, and test the repowering technology specified in the plan before completion of construction or start-up testing, the designated representative may submit to the board a proposed permit modification demonstrating that such efforts were in good faith. If such demonstration is to the satisfaction of the administrator, the unit shall not be deemed in violation of the federal Clean Air Act because of such a termination and the board shall revise the federal operating permit in accordance with subdivision 2 of this subsection.

2. Regardless of whether notification under subdivision 1 of this subsection is given, the repowering extension shall end beginning on the earlier of the date of such notification or the date by which the designated representative was required to give such notification under 9VAC5-80-470 D. The administrator shall deduct allowances (including a pro rata deduction for any fraction of a year) from the allowance tracking system account of the existing unit to the extent necessary to ensure that, beginning the day after the extension ends, allowances are allocated in accordance with 40 CFR 73.21(c)(1).

3. The designated representative of a unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan may submit to the board a proposed permit modification demonstrating that the repowering technology specified in the plan was properly constructed and tested on such unit but was unable to achieve the emissions reduction limitations specified in the plan and that it is economically or technologically infeasible to modify the technology to achieve such limits, the unit shall not be deemed in violation of the federal Clean Air Act because of such failure to achieve the emissions reduction limitations. In order to be properly constructed and tested, the repowering technology shall be constructed at least to the extent necessary for direct testing of the multiple combustion emissions (including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) from such unit while operating the technology at nameplate capacity. If such demonstration is to the satisfaction of the administrator, the following shall occur:

a. The unit shall not be deemed in violation of the federal Clean Air Act because of such failure to achieve the emissions reduction limitations;

b. The board shall revise the acid rain portion of the federal operating permit in accordance with subdivisions 3 b and 3 c of this subsection;

c. The existing unit may be retrofitted or repowered with another clean coal or other available control technology; and

d. The repowering extension shall continue in effect until the earlier of the date the existing unit commences commercial operation with such control technology or December 31, 2003. The board shall allocate or deduct allowances as necessary to ensure that allowances are allocated in accordance with paragraph (f)(3) of 40 CFR 72.44.

G. 1. The following special provisions apply with regard to emissions limitations:

a. For sulfur dioxide, allowances allocated during the repowering extension under paragraphs (f)(3) and (g)(2)(iii) of 40 CFR 72.40 to a unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan shall not be transferred to any allowance tracking system account other than the unit accounts of other units at the same source as that unit.

b. For nitrogen oxides, any existing unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan shall be subject to the acid rain emissions limitations for nitrogen oxides in accordance with 40 CFR Part 76 beginning on the date that the unit is removed from operation to install the repowering technology or is permanently removed from service.

c. No existing unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan shall be eligible for a waiver under § 111(j) of the federal Clean Air Act.

d. No new unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan shall receive an exemption from the requirements imposed under § 111 of the federal Clean Air Act.

2. Each unit governed by an approved repowering extension plan shall comply with the special reporting requirements of 40 CFR 72.94.

3. The following provisions regarding liability apply:

a. The owners and operators of a unit governed by an approved repowering plan shall be liable for any violation of the plan at that or any other unit governed by the plan, including liability for fulfilling the obligations specified in 40 CFR Part 77 and § 411 of the federal Clean Air Act.

b. The units governed by the plan under paragraph (b)(2) of 40 CFR 72.40 shall continue to have a common designated representative until the exiting unit is permanently retired under the plan.

4. Except as provided in paragraph (g) of 40 CFR 72.40, a repowering extension plan shall not be terminated after December 31, 1999.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 12, Issue 25, eff. October 15, 1996; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 04, eff. January 1, 2001.

Statutory Authority

§ 10.1-1308 of the Code of Virginia.