Facilities that own and operate air emissions sources in the State of Missouri, such as manufacturing plants, chemical plants, and similar industrial air sources, will want to take note of recent proposed changes to the notification obligations involving certain excess emission events.
As described in the June 3, 2019, Missouri Register, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is seeking to amend the state rules to require facility owners and operators to notify and report start-up, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) conditions “as-soon-as-possible, but no more than two (2) business days” if the event resulted in excess emissions exceeding one (1) hour. Under current Missouri regulations at 10 CSR 10-6.050, facility owners and operators have up until two business days to report SSM triggering conditions.
In addition to amending the SSM notification timeframe, MDNR is also adding the following proposed definitions in the proposed rulemaking: Excess emissions; Malfunction; Shutdown; and Start-up. MDNR’s proposed definition of Malfunction provides that “[e]xcess emissions caused by improper design is not a malfunction.”
Facilities interested in providing comments on the proposed rule changes have several opportunities. MDNR will host a public hearing on July 25, 2019. In addition, public comments can be submitted until 5:00 pm on August 1, 2019, by clicking on link enclosed here.
This post was drafted by Andrew Brought, an attorney in the Kansas City, MO office of Spencer Fane LLP. For more information, visit spencerfane.com.