Guide to 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart OOO Standards of Performance for Nonmetallic Mineral Processing Plants - PUB2387

This fact sheet was created to help clarify portions of 40 C.F.R. 60, Subpart OOO - Standards of Performance for Nonmetallic Mineral Processing Plants. This subpart typically applies to rock crushing plants in Missouri. This rule is often referred to as New Source Performance Standard, or NSPS-OOO.

Use of the term, affected facility, does not mean a complete rock crushing plant or installation. It refers to specific equipment including, but not limited to, a screen, conveyor, bucket elevator or a crusher.

Definitions

Please review the rule text for a complete list of definitions:

Affected Facility - Any crusher, grinding mill, screening operation, bucket elevator, belt conveyor, bagging operation, storage bin and enclosed truck or railcar loading station used at the installation. Static (non-moving) grizzly screens are not considered a screening operation and therefore are not considered an affected facility.

Capacity - The cumulative capacity rate of all initial crushers that are part of the plant.

Crush or Crushing - To reduce the size of nonmetallic mineral material by means of physical impaction of the crusher or grinding mill upon the material.

Fugitive Emission - Particulate matter not collected by a capture system and released to the atmosphere at the point of generation.

Initial Crusher - The point of initial crushing for any nonmetallic minerals at the plant.

Nonmetallic Mineral Processing Plant - Any combination of equipment used to crush or grind any nonmetallic mineral wherever located, including lime plants, power plants, steel mills, asphalt concrete plants, Portland cement plants or any other facility processing nonmetallic minerals.

Stack Emission - The particulate matter released into the atmosphere from a capture system.

Transfer Point - A point in a conveying operation where nonmetallic mineral is transferred to or from a belt conveyor, except where nonmetallic mineral is being transferred to a stockpile.

Nonmetallic Minerals

Following is a list of nonmetallic minerals as defined in the rule. A crushing plant that processes any of these nonmetallic minerals, or a mixture of which any of these are the majority, is considered a nonmetallic mineral processing plant.

Applicability and Affected Facilities

This rule applies to you if you own or operate an affected facility (or facilities) with a manufacture date on or after Aug. 31, 1983. However, affected facilities with a manufacture date on or after April 22, 2008, will usually have different emission limits and monitoring and performance testing requirements.

This rule does not apply to the following operations:

• Facilities located in underground mines.
• Plants with no crusher or grinding mill above ground.
• Wet material processing operations. See rule text for definition of wet material processing operation.
• Fixed crushing or sand and gravel plants with initial crushing capacity of 25 tons per hour or less.
• Portable crushing or sand and gravel plants with initial crushing capacity of 150 tons per hour or less.
• Common clay plants and pumice plants with initial crushing capacity of 10 tons per hour or less.
• An installation subject to 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart F or I. Note: If you have a facility (or facilities) located prior to the first bin at an asphalt plant, that facility (or facilities) may be subject to the rule.

Emission Limits

Emission limits for affected facilities manufactured before April 22, 2008, are:

• Particulate matter emission limit is 0.022 grains per dry standard cubic foot, or gr/ dscf.
• Opacity limit is seven percent for stack visible emissions.
• Opacity limit is 10% (15% for crushers) for fugitive visible emissions.

Emission limits for affected facilities manufactured on or after April 22, 2008, are:

• Particulate matter emission limit is 0.014 gr/dscf for stack emissions. There are ongoing baghouse monitoring requirements but no visible emission limit.
• Opacity limit is seven percent (12% for crushers) for fugitive visible emissions.

If you have a baghouse controlling emissions from a single storage bin, visible emissions from the baghouse exhaust are limited to seven percent opacity. There is no particulate matter emission limit for this exhaust. This does not apply to baghouses controlling multiple storage bins, only a baghouse controlling a single storage bin.

There is no emission limit specified in this rule for truck dumping of nonmetallic minerals into any screening operation, feed hopper or crusher. However, State Rule 10 CSR 10-6.170 – Restriction of Particulate Matter to the Ambient Air Beyond the Premises of Origin would apply to these fugitive emission sources.

Compliance Requirements Initial Performance Testing

Initial performance testing is required for affected facilities and must be conducted within 180 days of initial startup of the affected facility. If the deadline to conduct performance testing falls during a seasonal shutdown, you may postpone the test date to no later than 60 days after resuming operation; however, you must obtain prior approval from the Department of Natural Resources’ Air Pollution Control Program.

If you control emissions from your affected facilities with a baghouse or any other type of capture and control system, initial performance testing for particulate matter emissions may be conducted using either EPA Method 5 or 17. If required (see emission limits above) opacity of visible emissions from a stack must be determined using EPA Method 9. For performance tests involving Method 5 or 17 testing, you are required to notify the Department of Natural Resources 30 days prior to testing.

If you have fugitive emissions from your affected facilities, initial performance testing must be conducted using EPA Method 9. The duration of the performance test is 30 minutes. There is no requirement to test for three hours. Compliance with opacity limit is based on the average of the five consecutive six minute averages. This applies to facilities manufactured prior to, or on or after April 22, 2008. For performance tests involving only Method 9 testing, you are required to notify the Department of Natural Resources seven days prior to testing.

If fugitive emissions are escaping a capture system you have installed, those fugitive emissions points are also subject to initial performance testing requirements mentioned in the previous paragraph. An example of this situation is a capture system not capable of capturing all emissions from an emission point. Sources should ensure all capture systems, ducting and control devices are working properly prior to any testing.

If you have a baghouse controlling emissions from a single storage bin you do not need to test for particulate matter emissions, only opacity of visible emissions. You must use EPA Method 9 to conduct the initial performance test. The duration of the test must be 60 minutes.

Ongoing Compliance

Except for ongoing monitoring requirements for wet scrubbers, most monitoring requirements generally affect facilities with a manufacture date on or after April 22, 2008. Following is a summary of monitoring requirements that may affect you.

If you use a baghouse to control emissions from your affected facilities manufactured on or after April 22, 2008, you must conduct ongoing monitoring of the baghouse. This includes, but is not limited to, conducting quarterly 30 minute visible emissions inspections using EPA Method 22. See Sections 60.674 – Monitoring of Operations and 60.676 – Reporting and Recordkeeping, of rule for specific requirements.

If you use a wet suppression system, or “carryover” from a wet suppression system, to control fugitive emissions from your affected facilities manufactured on or after April 22, 2008, you must conduct ongoing monitoring of the wet suppression system. This includes, but is not limited to, monthly inspections and corrective actions when needed. See Sections 60.674 – Monitoring of Operations and 60.676 – Reporting and Recordkeeping of the rule for specific requirements.

If you do not use a wet suppression system, or “carryover” from a wet suppression system, to control fugitive emissions from an affected facility manufactured on or after April 22, 2008, you must conduct a repeat EPA Method 9 performance test for that affected facility within five years of the previous performance test. However, if the affected facility is enclosed in a building, a repeat performance test is not required.

If you use a wet scrubber to control emissions from your affected facilities, whether they were manufactured before, or on or after, April 22, 2008, you must conduct ongoing monitoring of the wet scrubber parameters in accordance with Sections 60.674 – Monitoring of Operations and 60.676 – Reporting and Recordkeeping of the rule.

Buildings that Enclose Affected Facilities

The rule contains an optional compliance method that allows emission measurement from any buildings that enclose any affected facilities, instead of each affected facility within the building. The rule limits visible emissions from any building opening, except vents, to seven percent opacity. To demonstrate initial compliance using this option, you must use EPA Method 9 for the initial performance test, the same way you would for a fugitive emission point. Vents must meet the stack emission limits and initial performance test requirements mentioned above. See the rule text for vent definition.

Notifications and Reports

The rule requires notifications and reports be only sent to the Department of Natural Resources’ Air Pollution Control Program or to a local agency that has jurisdiction in your area. There is no requirement to send these to EPA.

Contact Information

For more information, you may contact the department’s Air Pollution Control Program or one of the department’s Regional Offices.

Disclaimer: The statements in this document are intended solely as guidance. This document is not intended, nor can it be relied on, to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation. This guidance may be revised without public notice to reflect changes in law, regulation or policy.