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Stay Ordered on The Final NSR Reform Rule for Routine Maintenance, Repair, and Replacement Exclusion |
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On October 27, 2003, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published the final rule under New Source Review (NSR) reform for Routine Maintenance, Repair and Replacement (RMRR) Exclusion, with an effective date on December 26, 2003 [68 FR 61248-61280]. However, on the same date of rule publication, a lawsuit was filed by 12 states in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia claiming the rule will weaken protections for the environment and public health. The attorneys for the states argue that only Congress can make such changes to the Clean Air Act (CAA). The states participating in the lawsuit include New York, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. A Federal Appeals Court ordered a Stay on the USEPA’s routine maintenance definition blocking the NSR revision. The new rule allowed certain equipment replacement activities to automatically qualify for the RMRR exclusion (called the equipment replacement provision (ERP) if: (1) it involves replacement of any existing components of a process unit with identical components or components that serve the same purpose as the replaced component; (2) the fixed capital cost of the replaced component does not exceed 20% of the current replacement value of the process unit; (3) the replacement does not alter the basic design parameters of the process unit or cause the process unit to exceed any emission limitation or operational limitation. Note that the new rule did not incorporate the annual maintenance, repair and replacement “allowance” proposed last December. A copy of the rule can be obtained through EPA at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr. Any questions, please contact Kimberly Coy of ACCI at 412-826-3636. Author: Kimberly Coy and Jill Merrill Date: 10/28/03, revised 3/22/03
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