The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a process has been developed, through work with Flint Hills Resources (FHR) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), to transition FHR’s four air pollution permits that contain Texas Subchapter G flexible air permits to State Implementation Plan-approved (SIP-approved) permits consistent with the Clean Air Act.
The EPA press release states:
In September 2010, EPA and TCEQ released a draft four-step transition process at a meeting in Austin. While those discussions are continuing, FHR proceeded to tailor the draft transition process to its facilities with flexible permits.
The applications for SIP-approved permits will be implemented by TCEQ, which remains the primary air permitting authority in the state, reviewed by EPA, and available to the public for review and comment. The company will begin the transition process by submitting a permit application to the State within 30 days, followed by the preparation of a historical permit analysis and a permit amendment over the next 12-month period.
This effort began when EPA objected to a proposed minor revision of the Title V permit for FHR’s East Refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. EPA objected to 1) the incorporation of a flexible permit into the Title V permit, 2) the incorporation by reference of underlying permits into the Title V permit, 3) inadequate length of time that records were maintained under the general record keeping provision, and 4) the identification of stationary vents in the Title V permit. The transition process announced today and other changes to the FHR East Refinery permit resolve the EPA objections, clear the way for TCEQ to act on the company’s permit applications, bring regulatory certainty to the company and will provide the public the clarity they are entitled to in the permits being held by major FHR facilities in Corpus Christi, Port Arthur and Longview.
Flint Hills Resources Letter to EPA is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/pdf/10-20-10_entire_document_final-fhr_to_epa.pdf
EPA Letter to Flint Hills Resources is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/pdf/10-21-10_epa_letter_to_fha_with_all_transition_attachments.pdf
Brad Razook, President and Chief Executive Officer of Flint Hills, stated, “Since May, our team has worked cooperatively with EPA and TCEQ to identify a path forward for transitioning flexible air permits at our major facilities in Texas.”
Flint Hills will begin the transition for the Corpus Christi East Plant within the next 30 days and then move on the other plants, said Razook. The entire process for each site is expected to take about a year.
The complete statement from Razook is available at: http://www.fhr.com/newsroom/news_detail.aspx?id=195