STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

OFFICE OF AIR RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL REGULATION NO. 8

SULFUR CONTENT OF FUELS 

Effective 2 1 October 1971

Last Amended 19 July 2007

AUTHORITY:	These regulations are authorized pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws
§ 42-17.1-2(s) and 23-23, as amended, and have been promulgated
pursuant to the procedures set forth in the R.I. Administrative
Procedures Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-35.

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

OFFICE OF AIR RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL REGULATION NO. 8

SULFUR CONTENT OF FUELS

TABLE OF CONTENTS  TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496714"  8.1	Definitions	  PAGEREF _Toc169496714
\h  1  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496715"  8.2	General Limitations	  PAGEREF
_Toc169496715 \h  2  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496716"  8.3	Exceptions	  PAGEREF _Toc169496716
\h  2  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496717"  8.4	Determination of Compliance	 
PAGEREF _Toc169496717 \h  8  

  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496718"  8.5	General Provisions	  PAGEREF
_Toc169496718 \h  9  

	  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc169496719"  POLICY FOR INCREMENT CONSUMPTION FROM
APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 8.3.3 OF REGULATION 8 - 14 MARCH 1985	 
PAGEREF _Toc169496719 \h  12  

 



RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 

OFFICE OF AIR RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL REGULATION NO. 8

SULFUR CONTENT OF FUELS

Definitions

Unless otherwise expressly defined in this section, the terms used in
this regulation shall be defined by reference to the Rhode Island Air
Pollution Control General Definitions Regulation.. As used in this
regulation, the following terms shall, where the context permits, be
construed as follows:

"Approved stack gas cleaning process" means a process, approved by the
Director, which removes sulfur dioxide from the products of combustion
of fossil fuel.

"Effective stack height" means the sum of the physical stack height and
the plume rise as calculated according to the current practice of the
Department of Environmental Management as described in the Rhode Island
Guideline for Air Quality Modeling.

"Fuel burning device" means any device engineered to burn fuel for the
primary purpose, as determined by the Director, of producing steam, heat
or power.

"High sulfur fuel" means any fuel except fuel oil containing more than
0.55 pounds of sulfur per million Btu heat release potential or fuel oil
containing more than 1.0 percent sulfur by weight.

"Low sulfur fuel" means any fuel except fuel oil containing 0.55 pounds
or less of sulfur per million Btu heat release potential or fuel oil
containing 1.0 percent sulfur or less by weight.

"Permanent energy conservation measures" means any combination of
permanent measures designed to increase the available heat, power, or
steam output for a given fuel input or to increase the amount of heat or
steam required to produce an equivalent amount of product or heat an
equivalent amount of space.

"Significant impact" means an increase in the annual average or maximum
short-term ambient concentration of a pollutant that would exceed any of
the following:

 PRIVATE  

Averaging Time (Hours)

Pollutant	Annual	24	8	3	1

SO2	1.0 ug/m3	5 ug/m3

25 ug/m3

	TSP	1.0 ug/m3	5 ug/m3



	NO2	1.0 ug/m3





CO

	0.5 mg/m3

2 mg/m3



General Limitations

Unless the Director declares in writing after a hearing that a shortage
of low sulfur  fuel exists, no person shall store for sale, offer for
sale, sell or deliver for use in  Rhode Island and no person shall use
or store high sulfur fuel except as provided in Section 8.3.

Exceptions

Limitations with Stack Gas Cleaning Process

The Director may approve the use of high sulfur fuel when combined with
an approved stack gas cleaning process, provided the sulfur compound
emissions (expressed as sulfur dioxide) from the stack do not exceed 1.1
pounds per million Btu actual heat input, and the person using such
process gives evidence satisfactory to the Director that the emissions
do not exceed the requirements of this subsection.

Emission Bubbling

The provisions of Section 8.2 shall not apply to fuels included in an
emissions bubble.  In an emissions bubble, the owner or operator of a
source with more than one fuel burning device, each of which is subject
to specific emission requirements under the applicable regulations, may
propose to meet the total emission control requirements of the
applicable regulations, for a given pollutant, through a different mix
of control technology than that mandated by existing regulations. 
Sulfur compound emissions (expressed as sulfur dioxide) from such a
bubble shall not exceed 1.1 pounds per million Btu actual heat  input
and the sulfur content of any fuel used within the bubble shall not
contain  over 1.21 pounds of sulfur per million Btu heat release
potential. Particulate emissions from the bubble shall not exceed 0.10
pounds per million Btu actual heat input and particulate emissions from
any single fuel burning device within the bubble shall not exceed 0.15
pounds per million Btu actual heat input.

It is the responsibility of the owner or operator of the source to
develop a specific emission bubble.  Application for approval of an
emission bubble shall be made to the Department and must include the
following:

Certification that all fuel burning devices to be included in the
emissions bubble are at the same plant location and are under the
control of, or operated by, the same person; and

Identification of each fuel burning device and stack to be included in
the emissions bubble, including the types of fuel to be burned  in each
unit, the maximum sulfur content of each fuel, the heat input capacity
for each unit, the annual fuel use and operating hours per year for each
unit; and for each stack, the physical stack height; the exit velocity
of the stack gas, the inside diameter of the stack exit and the exit
stack gas temperature; and 

Sufficient information to evaluate aerodynamic downwash effects in
accordance with all applicable federal requirements; and

Air quality modeling meeting the requirements of the Rhode Island
Guideline for Air Quality Modeling, including aerodynamic downwashing
modeling, to demonstrate that the bubble will not cause a violation of
any National Ambient Air Quality Standard, or applicable PSD increment,
and will not have a significant  impact on any nonattainment area or
Class I PSD area.  If there is no increase in actual emissions, the air
quality modeling requirement may be waived under the following
conditions:

All the fuel burning devices included in the bubble discharge through
the same stack; or

Emissions from the most polluting fuel are released at an effective
stack height within 10 percent of the greatest effective stack height
within the bubble and all stacks included in the bubble are co-located. 
Co-located shall be held to mean within 100 meters of each other.

The Department shall not approve any emissions bubble without first
giving public notice and affording all interested persons opportunity to
comment on the emissions bubble.  Additionally, the Department shall
notify the public after each final approval.

An emissions bubble shall not allow a source to supersede any of the
following applicable conditions or standards:

Conditions of any Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit; or

Conditions of any nonattainment area permit; or

Federal New Source Performance Standards; or

National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

An approved bubble shall be in effect for a period of no more than three
years from the date of issuance.  At the end of such three-year period,
the Department shall review the bubble for compliance and may either
terminate or extend approval of the bubble based on consideration of air
quality, control technology innovation, and such other determinations as
the Department deems appropriate.

The provisions of any bubble shall be incorporated in a permit issued in
accordance with the provisions of Air Pollution Control Regulation 9.

Any bubble approved by the Department and incorporated into the State
Implementation Plan prior to the effective date of this regulation may
be continued at the discretion of the Department, subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of this subsection..

Conversion and Conservation Incentive

The Department may authorize the use of high sulfur fuel oil for a
period of up to 30 months in any fuel burning device with an energy
input capacity of less than 250 million Btu's per hour.  The use of the
high sulfur fuel oil will be contingent on the source committing to
implement permanent energy conservation measures to convert to a fuel
(other than a petroleum product such as coal, wood, coal-oil mixture,
etc.).  The savings realized from burning high sulfur fuel oil during
this period shall be used to finance the necessary modifications or
installation of pollution control equipment.

Approval for burning of high sulfur fuel oil under this section may be
granted provided that:

The applicant demonstrates by means of air quality modeling, including
aerodynamic downwash modeling meeting the requirements of the Rhode
Island Guideline for Air Quality Monitoring, that the increase in sulfur
dioxide and particulate emissions resulting from the use of the high
sulfur fuel oil will not cause a violation of any National Ambient Air
Quality Standard or any applicable PSD increment and will not have a
significant impact on any nonattainment area or Class I PSD area; and

The applicant enters into a Consent Agreement with the Department that
specifies a schedule with deadlines by which time various aspects of the
conversion and installation of pollution control equipment or the
implementation of energy conservation measures shall be completed. .In
no event shall final installation of pollution control equipment and
completion of the conversion or complete implementation of energy
conservation measures be accomplished more than 30 months from the
commencement of installation unless the Department finds good cause for
a longer time.  Financial difficulty will not be considered a good
cause; and

The applicant agrees to submit to the Department a quarterly report
stating the quantity of high sulfur fuel oil used, the cost of fuel, the
cost of an equivalent quantity of low sulfur fuel oil and the hours of
operation for the high sulfur fuel burning unit; and

The applicant, where practicable and deemed necessary by the Department,
shall have a three-day supply of low sulfur fuel oil on hand and be
prepared to convert as soon as possible after receiving notice from the
Department.  If the above is not practicable, then, at a minimum, the
company shall have a commitment from its fuel oil supplier to supply the
low sulfur fuel within a specified time; and

If the conversion does not take place or the energy conversion measures
are equivalent to the difference between the cost of the high sulfur
fuel oil used and the equivalent amount of low sulfur fuel oil.  The
applicant shall put up a bond for the amount of money estimated to be
saved during the burning of high sulfur fuel oil.  This money shall be
forfeited if the final conversion or implementation of energy
conservation measures does not take place; and

If the applicant implements permanent energy conservation measures, they
must reduce oil consumption by at least 50,000 gallons/year below
average consumption in the two calendar years immediately preceding the
30-month period. The applicant can continue to burn high sulfur fuel
after the 30-month period if, through the use of permanent energy
conservation measures, annual oil consumption has been reduced by 56
percent from the average annual consumption during the two calendar
years immediately preceding the 30- month period; and

In the case of conversion, the capacity of the unit that will be
converted or installed shall be at least equal to the estimated average
heat input rate of high sulfur fuel oil during the 30-month period. 
This requirement may be waived by the Director if, in his judgment, an
increase in the efficiency of the unit due to conversion would decrease
the required capacity of the converted unit; and

Approval to burn high sulfur oil shall be granted for only one 30- month
period per facility.  Such approval may not be renewed or extended
except as provided in paragraph 8.3.3(a)(6).  After the 30- month
period, the source must meet the sulfur dioxide and particulate emission
standards which were in effect prior to the approval, except if an
applicable standard is amended during the 30-month period, in which case
the source may elect to meet the new standard; or except as may be
allowed under paragraph 8.3.3(a)(6). Additionally, the applicant must
agree to conduct stack testing of any converted unit at his expense to
verify compliance with applicable standards for sulfur dioxide and
particulates.  The Department may, where appropriate, approve fuel
testing rather than stack testing for determining compliance with sulfur
dioxide emission limits; and

The sulfur content of the high sulfur fuel oil used in this section
shall not exceed 1.21 pounds of sulfur per million Btu actual heat
input.

An application for approval under this section shall be made to the
Department and must include the following:

The required air quality modeling; and

A proposed schedule for completing conversion or for implementing
conservation measures; and

Information on any proposed modifications intended to be made at the
facility before it burns high sulfur oil; and 

For conversions, information on the facility as it will exist after the
conversion; and 

For conservation applications, a listing of each conservation measure
and a preliminary estimate of the fuel savings expected; and 

Historical fuel usage for the facility and preliminary estimates of the
quantity of high sulfur fuel oil to be consumed and the total hours
burning of high sulfur fuel oil that will take place.

Any fuel burning device included in a plan under this section must have
been installed and in operation prior to the effective date of this
regulation.

Large Fuel Burning Devices Using Coal

Any fuel burning device with a rated energy input capacity of 250
million Btu's per hour or more may use high sulfur fuel provided that:

the high sulfur fuel is coal; and

the average sulfur content does not exceed 1.21 pounds per million Btu's
heat release potential in any 30-day period of 2.31 pounds per million
Btu's in any 24-hour period; and

the stack height, from which emissions resulting from the burning of the
high sulfur fuel exit, meets or exceeds good engineering practice; and

emissions resulting from the use of the high sulfur fuel will not cause
a violation of any National Ambient Air Quality Standard or any
applicable PSD increment and will not have a significant impact on any
nonattainment area.

It is the responsibility of the owner or operator of the facility to
provide evidence, satisfactory to the Department, and meeting the
requirements of the Rhode Island Guideline for Air Quality Modeling,
that the above conditions are met.

If any new or amended federal law requires a reduction in the total
emissions of sulfur oxides or nitrogen oxides in Rhode Island or sets a
maximum limit on such emissions, then the owner or operator of a
facility burning high sulfur fuel under the provisions of paragraph
8.3.4(a) must obtain emission offsets or emission reductions for the
increased sulfur oxide emissions due to coal burning.

The actual amount of emission offsets or emission reductions at any time
shall be the difference between the actual annual sulfur oxide emission
rate and the actual annual sulfur oxide emission rate during the
baseline period established by federal law; except that the amount of
emission offsets or reductions required shall be reduced to the extent
that the new or amended federal law does not count the increased sulfur
oxide emissions due to coal burning as part of the maximum allowable
emissions for sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in Rhode Island.

Such emission offsets or emission reductions must meet any conditions
specified in federal law to be creditable against Rhode Island sulfur
oxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and must be obtained within the
period established by the new or amended federal law

The Director may waive any or all of the required emission offsets or
emission reductions at his discretion, provided that the total emissions
of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides in Rhode Island shall not exceed
the maximum amount allowed under federal law.

Storage Facilities

Any person seeking to store for sale, sell or deliver, high sulfur fuel
for use in Rhode Island under the provisions of Subsections 8.3.1,
8.3.2, 8.3.3 and 8.3.4 or for use outside of Rhode Island shall obtain
the prior written approval of the Director.

Exemptions

The limitations of this regulation shall not apply to marine vessels or
motor vehicles.

Determination of Compliance

Compliance with the applicable limitations set forth in this regulation
shall be determined by procedures referenced below or deemed equivalent
by the Director.  Such procedures shall include but not be limited to
any of the following:

Emission testing conducted by the owner or operator of the source
according to the Reference Methods of Appendix A to 40 CFR 60; and

Laboratory analysis of fossil fuels by the owner or operator of the
source or by the supplier.  A sampling valve shall be installed in the
fuel line between the feed pump and the burner by the owner or operator
for sample collection.  Fossil fuels must be sampled and analyzed
according to ASTM methods which have the prior approval or are required
by the Director.

Residual Fuel Oil Shipments to Marine Terminals

Each shipment of residual fuel oil received at a marine terminal shall
be sampled and tested for sulfur content using methods approved by the
Director. Such sampling and testing shall be performed by a qualified
referee laboratory. Results of such tests must be reported to the
Director.  In addition, a representative sample of each shipment of oil
shall be submitted to the Rhode Island Health Laboratory or other
laboratory designated by the Director, by the close of business on the
next business day after the oil has been received at the terminal.  The
following information shall be included with each sample:

The name of the vessel delivering the oil and compartment or tank number
where applicable.

The name of the inspector taking the sample and the name of the referee
laboratory.

The name of the terminal where the oil was delivered and the name of the
owner of the oil.

The amount of oil in the shipment.

Results of tests conducted by the Rhode Island Health Laboratory or
other designated laboratory shall be reported to the owner of the oil.

Taking of Fossil Fuel Samples

The Director may require, under his supervision, the collection of
fossil fuel samples for the purpose of determining compliance with this
regulation. Sampling and analysis of fossil fuels under Subsection 8.4.2
shall not limit the collection of samples under this section.

Sulfur Variability in Coal

Coal burning devices with a rated energy input capacity of less than 250
million Btu's per hour shall be considered in compliance with sulfur
dioxide and particulate emission limitations if the average emission
rate in any 24-hour period does not exceed the applicable emission
limitation.

General Provisions

Purpose

The purpose of this regulation is to limit the sulfur content of fuels.

Authority

These regulations are authorized pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
42-17.1-2(s) and 23-23, as amended, and have been promulgated pursuant
to the procedures set forth in the R.I. Administrative Procedures Act,
R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-35

Application

The terms and provisions of this regulation shall be liberally construed
to permit the Department to effectuate the purposes of state law, goals
and policies.

Severability

If any provision of this regulation or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance, is held invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the validity of the remainder of the regulation shall not
be affected thereby.

Effective Date

The foregoing regulation, "Sulfur Content of Fuels”, as amended, after
due notice, is hereby adopted and filed with the Secretary of State this
_29th____ day of _______June____, 2007_ to become effective twenty (20)
days thereafter, in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 23-23,
42-35, 42-17.1, 42-17.6, of the General Laws of Rhode Island of 1956, as
amended.



W. Michael Sullivan, PhD., Director

Department of Environmental Management

Notice Given on:	February 21, 2007

Public Hearing held:	  March 23, 2007

Filing Date:	June 29, 2007

Effective Date: July 19, 2007

POLICY FOR INCREMENT CONSUMPTION FROM APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 8.3.3
OF REGULATION 8 - 14 MARCH 1985

As part of an application under the Conversion and Conservation
Incentive Section of Regulation 8, the applicant must demonstrate
"...that the increase in sulfur dioxide and particulate emissions
resulting from the use of the high sulfur oil will not cause a violation
of ... any applicable PSD increment..."

Air Pollution Control Regulation 9, Section 9.15, contains the rules
governing increment consumption, and these requirements supersede those
of any other regulations.  Section 9.15.1 (c) allows for the exclusion
of certain concentrations from increment consumption.  One such
exclusion is for "...concentrations attributable to the temporary
increase in emissions of sulfur dioxide of particulate matter from
stationary sources which are affected by State Implementation Plan
revisions meeting the following criteria:

The duration of the State Implementation Plan revision shall not exceed
thirty (30) months; and

The duration of the exclusion is not renewable; and

The emissions increase from the source would not cause or contribute to
the violation of a national ambient air quality standard or impact an
area where an applicable increment is known to be violated; and

At the end of the State Implementation Plan revision, the emission
levels from the source shall not exceed those levels occurring before
the State Implementation Plan revision was approved..."

Any approval under the Conversion and Conservation Incentive Section of
Regulation 8 would satisfy all of these criteria.  Therefore, in
general, applications under Section 8.3.3 will no longer be required to
assess increment consumption as part of the application.  If, however,
an applicant will have a significant impact in either Massachusetts or
Connecticut, it will be required to assess increment consumption in that
state.

For those applications where the impacts are in Rhode Island only, the
applicant will be required to assess compliance with the applicable
NAAQS, impacts on nonattainment areas, impacts on Class I PSD areas and
impacts on any area where an increment is known to be violated.

 

 

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