United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance (2248A)
EPA 300-N-00-007
&EPA Enforcement Alert
Volume 3, Number 5
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
May 2000
EPA Announces Clean Air Act Compliance
Incentive Program Developed with API
Companies Encouraged to Participate in Environmentally Beneficial, Cost-Cutting
'Slotted Guidepole' Emission Reduction Program; June 12 Deadline
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has announced a
compliance agreement program devel-
oped with the American Petroleum
About
Enforcement Alert
"Enforcement Alert" i_
published periodically by the
Office of Regulatory
Enforcement to inform and
educate the public and
regulated community of
important environmental
enforcement issues, recent
trends and significant
enforcement actions.
This information should help
the regulated community
anticipate and prevent
violations of federal
environmental law that could
otherwise lead to enforcement
action. Reproduction and wide
dissemination of this newsletter
are encouraged.
See Page 2 for useful
compliance assistance
resources.
Eric V. Schaeffer
Director, Office of
Regulatory Enforcement
Editor: Virginia Bueno
(202) 564-8684
bueno.virginia@epa.gov
(Please email all address and
name changes or subscription
requests for this newsletter.)
Institute (API) for companies with
above-ground tanks that store substan-
tial quantities of volatile organic liquids,
including petroleum products (e.g., re-
fineries, gasoline distribution terminals,
chemical plants and other facilities).
The Storage Tank Emission Reduc-
tion Partnership Program is intended to
improve air quality by reducing smog-
causing volatile organic compound
(VOC) emissions from "slotted guide-
poles" expeditiously and at little or no
cost for industry, as well as help com-
panies meet their compliance obligations
under the Clean Air Act.
In return for participation, EPA has
agreed to eliminate any penalties from
companies that agree to audit, disclose,
and correct leaks in external floating
roofs on storage tanks.
Companies desiring to take ad-
vantage of this offer must register
with EPA no later than June 12,
2000, and submit an executed stan-
dard participation agreement by Dec.
11, 2000. Details of this partnership
program were published in the Federal
Register on April 13, 2000 (See http://
www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPAFR-CON-
TENTS/2000/April/Day-13/
contents.htm).
Slotted guidepoles are devices used
on tanks to guide the motion of the
external floating roof and sample the
contents of the tank for environmental
and quality-control purposes. Without
emission controls, these guidepoles
operate as chimneys, emitting an esti-
mated 20,000 pounds of volatile or-
ganic compounds annually per tank—
roughly equivalent to the emissions
from 380 cars and trucks. VOCs in-
clude a wide variety of hydrocarbons,
some of which are hazardous air pol-
lutants such as benzene, toluene, xy-
lene and ethyl benzene.
The petroleum industry conducted
extensive research on emissions from
slotted guidepoles. Subsequently, ac-
ceptable control options were developed
in consultation with the American Pe-
troleum Institute. These options were
reviewed and approved for use under
this program by EPA's Office of Air
Quality Planning Standards (OAQPS).
Under the terms of this compliance
agreement program, companies will not
be required to pay penalties if they com-
ply with their schedule for installing
acceptable controls no later than June
Inrmortant Deadlines:
June 12,2000: Register with EPA
for Storage Tank Emissions
Reduction Partnership Program
Dec. 11,2000: Submit
participation agreement to EPA
June 13, 2002: Install acceptable
slotted guidepole emissions
controls
Continued on page 2
on is found on the Internet at http://www. epa.gov/oeca/ore/enfalert/
-------
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
(2248A)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
'Enforcement Alert' newsletter
Continued from page 1
13, 2002. Additional time will be al-
lowed for those tanks that must be taken
out of service to install these controls.
'No Visible Gap'
Requirement in NSPS
Subparts Ka, Kb
The slots and the space between the
guidepoles and the tank's roof are ob-
servable emission pathways that vio-
late the "no visible gap" prohibition in
the Standards of Performance for Pe-
troleum and Organic Liquid Storage
Vessels (NSPS Subparts Ka and Kb).
40 CFR 60.112a(a) and 60.112b(a).
In a separate Jan. 14, 2000, Fed-
eral Register notice, EPA reaffirmed
prior determinations that uncontrolled
slotted guidepoles do not comply with
the "no visible gap" requirement in
NSPS Subparts Ka and Kb (See http://
www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2000/
January/Day- 14/a621 .htm).
The purpose of the Ka/Kb regula-
tions is to reduce emissions from tanks
and other petroleum storage vessels.
Furthermore, the intent of the "no vis-
ible gap" requirement is to eliminate or
minimize any pathway through which
evaporative tank losses could be emit-
ted to the atmosphere.
The only exceptions to this closed
cover ("no visible gap") requirement are
automatic bleeder vents, rim space
vents and leg sleeves, which are ex-
pressly identified in the rule. All other
openings and emission pathways in
the roof/cover, including slotted guide-
poles, are subject to the "no visible gap"
requirement.
EPA believes that the slotted guide-
poles in many storage tanks across the
nation may not be in compliance with
NSPS Subparts Ka and Kb. As such,
EPA urges companies to assess all of
their NSPS Subpart Ka/Kb external
floating roof tanks with slotted guide-
poles and encourages them to take ad-
vantage of this beneficial but short-term
compliance incentive program.
For more information about the
Storage Tank Emission Reduction
Partnership Program, contact James
K. Jackson, Office of Regulatory En-
forcement, Air Enforcement Division
(2242A), (202) 564-2002; Email:
jackson.james@epa. gov.
Useful Conrmliance
Assistance Resources
Office of Regulatory Enforcement:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
Air Enforcement Division:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/aed/
Audit Policy Information:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
apolguid.html
Audit Policy Update Newsletter:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
auditupd.html
Office of Compliance:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/main/
compasst/index.html
Compliance Assistance Centers:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/main/
compasst/compcenters.html#ccar
EPA's Small Business Gateway:
http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness/
' Recycled/Recyclable. Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paperthat contains at least 30% recycled fiber
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