Air Compliance Testing: EPA Announces Next Steps On Emissions for Boilers and Incinerators

    CLEVELAND, OH, January 24, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A federal District Court judge in Washington D.C. issued an order extending EPA's deadline to issue emission standards for large and small boilers and solid waste and sewage sludge incinerators by 30 days. EPA received more than 4,800 comments and additional data, including results of stack emission testing events, during the public comment period for these rules. This information shed new light on a number of key areas, including the scope and coverage of the rules and the way to categorize the various boiler types. Given the extensive comments, EPA filed a motion with the court asking for more time to fully evaluate all the comments and data and finalize the rules. www.aircomp.com

On December 7, 2010, EPA filed a motion seeking an extension until April 2012 to re-propose and finalize these standards. EPA is disappointed that the extension was not longer. However, the agency will work to issue these standards by this new deadline.

The standards will be significantly different than what EPA proposed in April 2010. The agency believes these changes still deserve further public review and comment and expects to solicit further comment through a reconsideration of the rules. The agency is considering all other options for addressing these issues before the rules would become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

For more information on the Emissions Standards for Boilers and Process Heaters and Commercial / Industrial Solid Waste Incinerators go to: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion

If you would like more information on stack testing, contact Louise Barton at 800-372-2471 ext. 225 or [email protected].

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