Controlling Air Pollution Under The Environmental Management Act

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Controlling Air Pollution Under
TheEnvironmental Management Act Air Pollution
ENSC 412 March 18, 2009 Mellissa
Winfield-Lesk, M.Sc. Section Head, Environmental
Quality Environmental Protection Division, BC MOE
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• Environmental Management Act (2004)
• MOE - Environmental Protection Division
• Key legislation to achieve mandate of clean air,
  water and soil
• Supported by
• 35 Regulations, Codes of Practice, Policies
• Site-specific authorizations
• Approvals
• permits

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• EPD Mandate
• Prevent Pollution
• Continuous improvement in Air, Land and Water
  Quality
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Environmental Stewardship

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How does EMA work? EMA prescribes industries,
trades, businesses, operations, and activities
that require an authorization to discharge waste
to the receiving environment
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• What is a Waste?
• Air contaminants
• Litter
• Effluent
• Refuse
• Biomedical waste
• Hazardous waste

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CN Rail Spill August 4-5, 2007
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Bears at the landfill
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Intercon PG Pulp
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What is an Air Contaminant?

• A substance emitted into the air that
• Injures or is capable of injuring
• human health safety
• property, or any life form
• Interferes or is capable of interfering with
  visibility or the normal conduct of business
• Causes or is capable of causing physical
  discomfort to a person
• Damages or is capable of damaging the environment

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Proof of Concept
How do you demonstrate injury has occurred,
visibility impaired, or physical discomfort
experienced? - ambient guidelines - opacity -
nuisance
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Types of authorizations for waste discharges
General
Environmental Management Act

• Waste Discharge Regulation

Regulations

• Asphalt Plant Regulation

Codes of Practice
Codes of Practice

• Concrete Concrete Products Industry

Site-Specific Authorizations

• Permit

• Approval
• Order
• Waste Management Plan

Specific
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Regulations

• Apply across the province to specified operations
  or wastes
• Provide little flexibility for statutory decision
  makers to consider site-specific factors
• Most suitable for a fairly uniform, simple
  operation or waste

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Asphalt Plant Regulation

• Amended June 2008 to include emission standards
  for Prince George
• Limits for particulate decreased from 120 to 90
  mg/m3
• Limits for organics decreased from 120 to 60
  mg/m3

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Permits/Approvals

• Authorizations issued regionally for waste
  discharges at discrete facilities
• Approval short term authorization (15 months
  max.)
• Permits long-term, expiry dates starting to be
  included
• Provides flexibility to SDM to consider unique
  circumstances at a facility and local ambient
  conditions
• Dispersion modeling required in Technical
  Assessment Report to evaluate impacts to
  sensitive receptors

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• Pacific BioEnergy PA 18312
• Section 1 Authorized Discharges
• One primary dryer 9 m3/s, 8119 hours/year
• Discharge consists of exhaust gases from a
  woodfibre heated drum dryer including particulate
  matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile
  organic compounds and carbon monoxide
• Maximum authorized discharge rate not to exceed a
  concentration of 390 mg/m3 total particulate
  matter and condensable organics

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• Pacific BioEnergy PA 18312
• Section 1 Authorized Discharges Contd
• Pollution control works consist of one high
  efficiency cylcone discharging to a 9.1 m stack
• Discharge authorization for the dryer shall
  expire on December 31, 2010 unless a reasonable
  plan and firm timetable of implementation for
  improvements to further reduce permitted
  particulate matter discharges is submitted in
  writing and approved by the Director prior to
  December 31, 2010.

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• Pacific BioEnergy PA 18312
• Section 2.4 Fugitive Dust Control
• Section 3 Plant Production Restrictions (Phase
  I, II, and III)
• Section 3.3 Air Quality Advisory Restrictions
• Section 3.4 Environmental Management Plan
• Section 4 Monitoring Reporting Requirements

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How do we track compliance?

• Review stack testing and ambient monitoring data
  (if any), compare against permit limits or
  ambient guidelines
• Inspections Audits (e.g. opacity, monitoring
  instruments, stack testing methodology)
• Investigate complaints
• Monitor ambient air quality

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How is compliance enforced?

• Conservation Officer Service (COS)
• Progressive Enforcement Strategy
• - Compliance history of the operation
• - Nature of violation
• - Impact of the violation on human health or the
  environment

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Compliance Tools

• Advisories letter notifying party they are not
  in compliance, request for non-compliance to be
  corrected
• Warnings ticket for minor offences, letter same
  as above but with warning of escalated response
• Formal Charges - Violation Ticket
• - Form 2 Information, JP
• Administrative penalties - suspension,
  restriction or cancellation of Ministry
  authorizations

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Compliance Tools Contd

• Directives
• Pollution Prevention Order
• Pollution Abatement Order
• Information Order
• Area-Based Management Order
• Powers to
• - Enter on property (not into a private
  residence)
• - Examine and take away records
• - Inspect vehicles

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Offences Penalties
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What if all authorized waste discharges are in
compliance, but ambient air guidelines are being
exceeded?
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Section 6(4) .waste must not be introduced into
the environment in such a manner or quantity as
to cause pollution
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Managing Cumulative Impacts

• Voluntary Airshed Plans
• stakeholder driven process to coordinate
  activities affecting air quality in a given
  airshed
• recognizes local air quality is influenced by
  many sources
• recognizes overlapping regulatory jurisdictions
• Since no one jurisdiction controls all sources,
  a collaborative approach to air quality
  protection is needed

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Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (PG AIR)

• Consensus-based, non-profit society
• Multi-stakeholder group (21 seats)
• Develop and implement PG Airshed Management Plan
• - How do emission sources affect air quality and
  receptors?
• - Airshed Management Plan (currently in Phase III)

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Other instruments to address AQ issues

• Emission fees (in combination with regulations)
• Subsidies (e.g. Woodstove rebates)

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What if a source is causing pollution, but there
is no provincial jurisdiction?

• Examples
• - Airports
• - Rail
• Commercial sources (restaurants)
• Federal jurisdiction?
• Municipal jurisdiction?

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Questions?
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