Sec. 216.10. Exemptions

(a) A source owner required to install the blast furnace emission reduction equipment specified in section 216.8(a) of this Part, may be exempted from such equipment requirements upon the acceptance by the commissioner of an alternative emission reduction plan submitted by the source owner. The plan shall become effective upon approval by the Environmental Protection Agency. For such a plan to be acceptable to the commissioner, the following requirements must be met:

(1) a complete plant-wide particulate emission inventory for both traditional and nontraditional sources must be included in the alternative emission reduction plan;

(2) the alternative emissions reduction plan must include air quality dispersion modeling results which show attainment of air quality standards off-plant property when the plant-wide emissions inventory required by paragraph (1) of this subdivision is modeled in place of the plan's emission inventory in the State implementation plan;

(3) the emission reductions in the alternative emission reduction plan must be permanent; and

(4) the alternative emission reduction plan must be included in a legally binding agreement which allows future State and Federal enforcement of the credited emission reductions.

(b) Source owners subject to the opacity requirements of section 216.4 of this Part may apply for and be granted an equivalent opacity which will replace the opacity listed in Table 2 of this Part for that source, if either of the following conditions are met:

(1) if the source owner can demonstrate through acceptable tests for any confined source that the source is in compliance with all applicable emission requirements other than the opacity standard and that the source and any associated emission controls are being operated and maintained in a manner acceptable to the commissioner; or

(2) the source owner has obtained approval of an alternative emission reduction plan under subdivision (a) of this section, which covers the source for which equivalent opacity is desired.

(c) For sources, other than blast furnaces equipped with emission shrouding and suppression systems, that are not subject to the mass emission limits shown in Table 1 of this Part, source owners may apply to the commissioner for an opacity standard for that source. The assigned opacity standard shall be based on operation of the source in a manner to minimize the generation of visible emissions consistent with normal operating practices.

TABLE 1

MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE PARTICULATE EMISSION CONCENTRATIONS FOR CONFINED SOURCES

Source category	Date application for permit to construct received	Mass emission limits in grains/cubic foot of exhaust gas at standard conditions on a dry gas basis
Blast furnace cast	All	0.010
Basic oxygen furnace	On or before 6/11/73	0.050, except 0.010 for any tapping or charging emissions connected to a separate secondary system for control of fugitive emissions.
Basic oxygen furnace	After 6/11/73	0.022, except 0.010 for any tapping or charging emissions connected to a separate secondary system for the control of fugitive emissions.
Electric arc furnace	On or before 7/1/73	0.15
	After 7/1/73, but on or before 10/21/74	0.050
	After 10/21/74	0.0052
Other confined iron and/or	On or before 7/1/73	0.15
steel processes	After 7/1/73	0.050

TABLE 2

MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE VISIBLE EMISSION OPACITY LIMITS

Source category	Date application for permit to construct received	Emission point	Six minute average opacity shall not exceed
Basic oxygen furnace	On or before 6/11/73	Stack	20%
	After 6/11/73	Stack	*10%
	All	Fugitive	20%
Electric arc furnace	On or before 10/21/74	Stack	10%
		Fugitive	20%
	After 10/21/74	Stack	3%
		Fugitives
		during tapping	40%
		Fugitives
		during charging	20%
		Fugitives at
		other times	**0%
Blast furnaces	All	Stack	*20%
If equipped with exhaust hoods (216.8[a][1] and [b])	All	Fugitives	20%
If equipped with an emission		Fugitives during
shrouding and suppression		drilling & plug-
system (216.8[a][2])	All	ging of taphole	40%
		Fugitives
		all other times	15%
All other iron and/or steel industry sources	All	Stack and Fugitives	20%

*

Except that an average of opacity exceeding 10% but less than 20% may occur once during the steel production cycle.

**

Except 10% for emissions associated with particulate storage and transfer equipment collected by an air cleaning device.

Notation

*

Except that an average of opacity exceeding 10% but less than 20% may occur once during the steel production cycle.

**

Except 10% for emissions associated with particulate storage and transfer equipment collected by an air cleaning device.