Chemical Industry Air Regulation

MGKF attorneys and technical consultants have extensive experience providing air regulatory services to our clients that manufacture, process, transport, and store chemical materials. We have handled matters addressing a broad range of air quality issues associated with a variety of chemical industry operations, including the manufacture of paint, zinc, and other chemical products, as well as the storage and/or processing of chemical waste. With respect to these and other types of operations, we counsel our clients on a wide variety of issues, including permitting, enforcement, and compliance questions among others.

We have advised our chemical industry clients on the interpretation and application of the New Source Performance Standards ("NSPS") and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAP"). With respect to the NESHAP, we are familiar with and have counseled our clients on Leak Detection and Repair ("LDAR"), the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Hazardous Organic NESHAP ("SOCMI HON") and the Miscellaneous Organic NESHAP ("MON"). We also have experience in interpreting and applying the standards for waste and recovery operations under Subpart DD, and those that apply to emissions from process wastewater. In addition, we regularly advise clients on their obligations under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act to develop plans to minimize the consequences of accidental releases as required under EPA’s Risk Management Program or the more expansive General Duty Clause.  Finally, we have assisted our clients in obtaining, interpreting, and complying with case-by-case determinations for Maximum Achievable Control Technology ("MACT").

At MGKF, we recognize that many chemical facilities face challenges that are unique to the chemical industry. In particular, many chemical manufacturers conduct batch processing operations, which use an array of raw and intermediate materials, to create varied chemical products. Batch processing operations implicate a host of unique monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting issues, as well as concerns about LDAR and the use of Reasonably Available Control Technology ("RACT") to control volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"). Accordingly, these facilities' permits must provide necessary operational flexibility and account for the many operating scenarios and configurations that the facilities may confront. We work closely with facility operators to identify these potential operating conditions, develop accurate, defensible but not unduly conservative emission estimates, and then identify for the facility operators the variety of regulatory requirements implicated by the alternative degrees of flexibility preserved through the permit.

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Examples of our air matters in the chemical industry sector include the following:

• MGKF provided counseling on permitting issues related to organic and specialty organic chemical operations, and batch processing operations involving multiple raw and intermediate material changes.
• We created a Plantwide Applicability Limit ("PAL") for a specialty inorganic chemical facility.
• The firm provided analysis and counseling on the HON and MON to complex chemical operations facilities.
• We assisted chemical manufacturing facilities in managing and responding to releases and other conditions, including conducting and analyzing potential impact modeling and addressing federal and state enforcement actions.