Process Data Control Corporation (PDC Corp) Releases Guidelines for Record Keeping under the U.S. EPA's MACT Subpart FFFF ("MON") Rule

    /24-7PressRelease/ - ARLINGTON, TX, August 31, 2008 - The Compliance Assurance System ("COMPASS"), developed and supported by PDC Corp, is a tool designed to facilitate reporting and record keeping for environmental, health and safety compliance in industrial plants. Air regulations place the greatest demand on the COMPASS at most manufacturing plants due to the detailed nature of compliance records under state and federal rules, as well as various permits. An area of especially strong interest among chemical producers is the so-called MON rule.

Title III of the federal Clean Air Act directed the U.S. EPA to establish Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for industrial facilities. MACT standards for many chemical manufacturing plants were first published under the Hazardous Organic NESHAP ("HON") in 1994. Subsequent rules addressed specific industry source categories, such as tire and rubber, ethylene, and gasoline refining. Industrial operations that did not "fit" into one of the defined source categories are regulated under a more general category called "miscellaneous organic" sources under 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart FFFF - better known as the "MON." Manufacturers subject to the MON rule have been required to be in compliance since November 10th, 2006.

To assist COMPASS users to develop an effective approach to collecting and maintaining compliance records, PDC has published a MON rule compliance task list accompanied by a recommended methodology for grouping tasks to streamline record keeping. Although published by PDC in written form, the data can be utilized directly as a COMPASS "plug-in" module to insert MON compliance tasks and create record keeping task groups. "The COMPASS is designed to import generic tasking instructions and put monitoring, reporting, and record keeping strategies into immediate production in the user's database," explained PDC Corp CEO Jerry O'Brien. "These features have been used primarily to update task lists following rule amendments by the agencies, and to efficiently create site-wide COMPASS databases for new users of the system. MON rule compliance provided the first opportunity to use these features to create a record keeping "plug-in" module for a single rule, and our success with this approach will undoubtedly lead to other, similar users of these tools in the future."

With respect to the types of industrial facilities that could benefit from the COMPASS Mon Rule compliance guidelines, the rule applies to Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes: 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 289, 325 or 386, with certain exceptions, as well as other codes not otherwise covered by a previously published MACT rule. Facilities that are subject to the MON rule are employing several different strategies to ensure that records are maintained as required. These include documenting exemptions, using "family of materials" groupings, identifying their affected units and collecting data about them (in particular, process vents and wastewater units), and developing so-called Group 1 / Group 2 designations for their equipment.

PDC Corp (www.pdccorp.com) is the largest distributor of regulatory compliance software in the Southwest, supporting more than 200 customer sites with effective, reliable compliance solutions. These solutions manage data about air emissions, solid waste, wastewater, and other media, using a multi-faceted perspective involving regulatory, engineering, and work flow optimization strategies. Interested parties should contact Anna O'Brien, Communications Director, at 817-459-4488.

About Process Data Control Corp.

PDC is an environmental corporation who authors software, and implements compliance systems. Some current areas of industry include Oil & Gas, Semiconductor, Aeorspace, petrochemical etc.

# # #