40 CFR § 63.1429 - Process vent monitoring requirements.

(a) Monitoring equipment requirements. The owner or operator of a process vent that uses a combustion, recovery, or recapture device to comply with the process vent control requirements in § 63.1425(b)(1), (b)(2), (c)(1), (c)(3), or (d) shall install monitoring equipment specified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of this section, depending on the type of device used. Also, the owner or operator that uses a recovery or recapture device to comply with § 63.1425(c)(4) shall install monitoring equipment as specified in paragraph (a)(4), (5), (6), or (7) of this section. All monitoring equipment shall be installed, calibrated, maintained, and operated according to manufacturers' specifications or other written procedures that provide adequate assurance that the equipment would reasonably be expected to monitor accurately.

(1) Where an incinerator is used, a temperature monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder is required.

(i) Where an incinerator other than a catalytic incinerator is used, a temperature monitoring device shall be installed in the firebox or in the ductwork immediately downstream of the firebox in a position before any substantial heat exchange occurs.

(ii) Where a catalytic incinerator is used, temperature monitoring devices shall be installed in the gas stream immediately before and after the catalyst bed.

(2) Where a flare is used, the following monitoring equipment is required: a device (including but not limited to a thermocouple, ultra-violet beam sensor, or infrared sensor) capable of continuously detecting the presence of a pilot flame.

(3) Where a boiler or process heater of less than 44 megawatts design heat input capacity is used, the following monitoring equipment is required: a temperature monitoring device in the firebox equipped with a continuous recorder. Any boiler or process heater in which all process vent streams are introduced with primary fuel or are used as the primary fuel is exempt from this requirement.

(4) Where an absorber is used, a scrubbing liquid flow rate meter or a pressure monitoring device is required and should be equipped with a continuous recorder. If an acid or base absorbent is used, a pH monitoring device to monitor scrubber effluent is also required. If two or more absorbers in series are used, a scrubbing liquid flow rate meter, or a pressure monitoring device, equipped with a continuous recorder, is required for each absorber in the series. An owner or operator may submit a request to instead install the scrubbing liquid flow rate meter, or a pressure monitoring device, equipped with a continuous recorder, on only the final absorber in a series, in accordance with the alternative parameter monitoring reporting requirements in § 63.1439(f).

(5) Where a condenser is used, a condenser exit temperature (product side) monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder is required.

(6) Where a carbon adsorber is used, an integrating regeneration stream flow monitoring device having an accuracy of + 10 percent or better, capable of recording the total regeneration stream mass or volumetric flow for each regeneration cycle, and a carbon bed temperature monitoring device, capable of recording the carbon bed temperature after each regeneration and within 15 minutes of completing any cooling cycle are required.

(7) As an alternative to paragraphs (a)(4) through (6) of this section, the owner or operator may install an organic monitoring device equipped with a continuous recorder.

(b) Alternative parameters. An owner or operator of a process vent may request approval to monitor parameters other than those listed in paragraph (a) of this section. The request shall be submitted according to the procedures specified in the process vent reporting and recordkeeping requirements in § 63.1430(j) and the alternative parameter monitoring reporting requirements in § 63.1439(f). Approval shall be requested if the owner or operator:

(1) Uses a combustion device other than an incinerator, boiler, process heater, or flare; or

(2) For a Group 2 continuous process vent, maintains a TRE greater than 1.0 but less than or equal to 4.0 without a recovery device or with a recovery device other than the recovery devices listed in paragraph (a) of this section; or

(3) Uses one of the combustion, recovery, or recapture devices listed in paragraph (a) of this section, but seeks to monitor a parameter other than those specified in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) Monitoring of bypass lines. The owner or operator of a process vent using a process vent system that contains bypass lines that could divert a process vent stream away from the combustion, recovery, or recapture device used to comply with the process vent control requirements in § 63.1425(b), (c), or (d) shall comply with paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section. Equipment such as low leg drains, high point bleeds, analyzer vents, open-ended valves or lines, and pressure relief devices needed for safety purposes are not subject to paragraphs (c)(1) or (2) of this section.

(1) Properly install, maintain, and operate a flow indicator that takes a reading at least once at approximately equal intervals of about 15 minutes. Records shall be generated as specified in the process vent reporting and recordkeeping provisions in § 63.1430(d)(3). The flow indicator shall be installed at the entrance to any bypass line that could divert emissions away from the combustion, recovery, or recapture device and to the atmosphere; or

(2) Secure the bypass line valve in the non-diverting position with a car-seal or a lock-and-key type configuration. A visual inspection of the seal or closure mechanism shall be performed at least once every month to ensure that the valve is maintained in the non-diverting position and emissions are not diverted through the bypass line. Records shall be generated as specified in the process vent reporting and recordkeeping provisions in § 63.1430(d)(4)(i).

(d) Establishment of parameter monitoring levels. Parameter monitoring levels for process vents from continuous or batch unit operations using a combustion, recovery, or recapture device to comply with the process vent control requirements in § 63.1425(b), (c), or (d) shall be established as specified in paragraphs (d)(1) through (3) of this section.

(1) For each parameter monitored under paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, the owner or operator shall establish a level, defined as either a maximum or minimum operating parameter as denoted in Table 7 of this subpart (the table listing the operating parameters for which monitoring levels are required to be established for process vent streams), that indicates that the combustion, recovery, or recapture device is operated in a manner to ensure compliance with the provisions of this subpart. The level shall be established in accordance with the procedures specified in § 63.1438(a) through (d), as applicable. The level may be based upon a prior performance test conducted for determining compliance with a regulation promulgated by the EPA, and the owner or operator is not required to conduct a performance test under the process vent requirements for determining organic HAP concentration, control efficiency, and aggregated organic HAP emission reductions in § 63.1426, provided that the prior performance test meets the conditions of § 63.1426(b)(3).

(2) The established level, along with supporting documentation, shall be submitted in the Notification of Compliance Status or the operating permit application as required in the Notification of Compliance Status requirements in § 63.1439(e)(5) or in the operating permit application requirements in § 63.1439(e)(8), respectively.

(3) The operating day shall be defined as part of establishing the parameter monitoring level and shall be submitted with the information in paragraph (d)(2) of this section. The definition of operating day shall specify the time(s) at which an operating day begins and ends.

[64 FR 29439, June 1, 1999, as amended at 79 FR 17377, Mar. 27, 2014]