Impact of New Industrial Boiler and Process Heater Air Regulations on the Chemical Industry

The US EPA is obligated to develop national emission standards for hazardous air pollutant (NESHAP) for industrial boilers and process heaters. These standards are to be based on the maximum achievable control technology (MACT). EPA promulgated the original industrial Boiler and Process Heater MACT rule in 2004, with a compliance date of 2007. However, that rule was vacated by the court in 2007 just a few months prior to the compliance date. Since that time, EPA has been collecting additional information and proposed a new industrial Boiler and Process Heater MACT rule in June 2010. Industry groups provided extensive comments on the proposed rule, which is much more stringent than the original version. Compliance with the Boiler and Process Heater MACT will be extremely difficult and very costly to achieve for many sources. This paper will discuss the court decisions relevant to the vacatur of the original industrial Boiler and Process Heater MACT, how they are impacting EPA’s currently rule development process, issues with the proposed rule, impacts on the chemical industry, and a summary of the final rule (if promulgated on time).