42 U.S.C. § 7479 — Definitions

Page 7269 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7479 ting of such facility shall be in accordance with the regulations for the prevention of significant deterioration in effect prior to August 7, 1977. (July 14, 1955, ch. 360, title I, § 168, as added Pub. L. 95–95, title I, § 127(a), Aug. 7, 1977, 91 Stat. 740; amended Pub. L. 95–190, § 14(a)(52), Nov. 16, 1977, 91 Stat. 1402.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1977—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–190 substituted ‘‘(in ac- cordance with the definition of ‘commenced’ in section 7479(2) of this title)’’ for ‘‘in accordance with this definition’’. § 7479. Definitions For purposes of this part— (1) The term ‘‘major emitting facility’’ means any of the following stationary sources of air pollutants which emit, or have the po- tential to emit, one hundred tons per year or more of any air pollutant from the following types of stationary sources: fossil-fuel fired steam electric plants of more than two hun- dred and fifty million British thermal units per hour heat input, coal cleaning plants (thermal dryers), kraft pulp mills, Portland Cement plants, primary zinc smelters, iron and steel mill plants, primary aluminum ore reduction plants, primary copper smelters, municipal incinerators capable of charging more than fifty tons of refuse per day, hydrofluoric, sulfuric, and nitric acid plants, petroleum refineries, lime plants, phosphate rock processing plants, coke oven batteries, sulfur recovery plants, carbon black plants (furnace process), primary lead smelters, fuel conversion plants, sintering plants, secondary metal production facilities, chemical process plants, fossil-fuel boilers of more than two hundred and fifty million British thermal units per hour heat input, petroleum storage and transfer facilities with a capacity exceed- ing three hundred thousand barrels, taconite ore processing facilities, glass fiber processing plants, charcoal production facilities. Such term also includes any other source with the potential to emit two hundred and fifty tons per year or more of any air pollutant. This term shall not include new or modified facili- ties which are nonprofit health or education institutions which have been exempted by the State. (2)(A) The term ‘‘commenced’’ as applied to construction of a major emitting facility means that the owner or operator has obtained all necessary preconstruction approvals or permits required by Federal, State, or local air pollution emissions and air quality laws or regulations and either has (i) begun, or caused to begin, a continuous program of physical on- site construction of the facility or (ii) entered into binding agreements or contractual obliga- tions, which cannot be canceled or modified without substantial loss to the owner or oper- ator, to undertake a program of construction of the facility to be completed within a rea- sonable time. (B) The term ‘‘necessary preconstruction ap- provals or permits’’ means those permits or approvals, required by the permitting author- ity as a precondition to undertaking any ac- tivity under clauses (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. (C) The term ‘‘construction’’ when used in connection with any source or facility, in- cludes the modification (as defined in section 7411(a) of this title) of any source or facility. (3) The term ‘‘best available control tech- nology’’ means an emission limitation based on the maximum degree of reduction of each pollutant subject to regulation under this chapter emitted from or which results from any major emitting facility, which the permit- ting authority, on a case-by-case basis, taking into account energy, environmental, and eco- nomic impacts and other costs, determines is achievable for such facility through applica- tion of production processes and available methods, systems, and techniques, including fuel cleaning, clean fuels, or treatment or in- novative fuel combustion techniques for con- trol of each such pollutant. In no event shall application of ‘‘best available control tech- nology’’ result in emissions of any pollutants which will exceed the emissions allowed by any applicable standard established pursuant to section 7411 or 7412 of this title. Emissions from any source utilizing clean fuels, or any other means, to comply with this paragraph shall not be allowed to increase above levels that would have been required under this para- graph as it existed prior to November 15, 1990. (4) The term ‘‘baseline concentration’’ means, with respect to a pollutant, the ambi- ent concentration levels which exist at the time of the first application for a permit in an area subject to this part, based on air quality data available in the Environmental Protec- tion Agency or a State air pollution control agency and on such monitoring data as the permit applicant is required to submit. Such ambient concentration levels shall take into account all projected emissions in, or which may affect, such area from any major emit- ting facility on which construction com- menced prior to January 6, 1975, but which has not begun operation by the date of the base- line air quality concentration determination. Emissions of sulfur oxides and particulate matter from any major emitting facility on which construction commenced after January 6, 1975, shall not be included in the baseline and shall be counted against the maximum al- lowable increases in pollutant concentrations established under this part. (July 14, 1955, ch. 360, title I, § 169, as added Pub. L. 95–95, title I, § 127(a), Aug. 7, 1977, 91 Stat. 740; amended Pub. L. 95–190, § 14(a)(54), Nov. 16, 1977, 91 Stat. 1402; Pub. L. 101–549, title III, § 305(b), title IV, § 403(d), Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2583, 2631.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1990—Par. (1). Pub. L. 101–549, § 305(b), struck out ‘‘two hundred and’’ after ‘‘municipal incinerators capable of charging more than’’. Par. (3). Pub. L. 101–549, § 403(d), directed the insertion of ‘‘, clean fuels,’’ after ‘‘including fuel cleaning,’’, Page 7270 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7491 which was executed by making the insertion after ‘‘in- cluding fuel cleaning’’ to reflect the probable intent of Congress, and inserted at end ‘‘Emissions from any source utilizing clean fuels, or any other means, to comply with this paragraph shall not be allowed to in- crease above levels that would have been required under this paragraph as it existed prior to November 15, 1990.’’ 1977—Par. (2)(C). Pub. L. 95–190 added subpar. (C). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries STUDY OF MAJOR EMITTING FACILITIES WITH POTENTIAL OF EMITTING 250 TONS PER YEAR Pub. L. 95–95, title I, § 127(b), Aug. 7, 1977, 91 Stat. 741, directed Administrator, within 1 year after Aug. 7, 1977, to report to Congress on consequences of that portion of definition of ‘‘major emitting facility’’ under this subpart which applies to facilities with potential to emit 250 tons per year or more. SUBPART II—VISIBILITY PROTECTION Editorial Notes CODIFICATION As originally enacted, subpart II of part C of sub- chapter I of this chapter was added following section 7478 of this title. Pub. L. 95–190, § 14(a)(53), Nov. 16, 1977, 91 Stat. 1402, struck out subpart II and inserted such subpart following section 7479 of this title. § 7491. Visibility protection for Federal class I areas (a) Impairment of visibility; list of areas; study and report (1) Congress hereby declares as a national goal the prevention of any future, and the remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in man- datory class I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution. (2) Not later than six months after August 7, 1977, the Secretary of the Interior in consulta- tion with other Federal land managers shall re- view all mandatory class I Federal areas and identify those where visibility is an important value of the area. From time to time the Sec- retary of the Interior may revise such identi- fications. Not later than one year after August 7, 1977, the Administrator shall, after consulta- tion with the Secretary of the Interior, promul- gate a list of mandatory class I Federal areas in which he determines visibility is an important value. (3) Not later than eighteen months after Au- gust 7, 1977, the Administrator shall complete a study and report to Congress on available meth- ods for implementing the national goal set forth in paragraph (1). Such report shall include rec- ommendations for— (A) methods for identifying, characterizing, determining, quantifying, and measuring visi- bility impairment in Federal areas referred to in paragraph (1), and (B) modeling techniques (or other methods) for determining the extent to which manmade air pollution may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to such impairment, and (C) methods for preventing and remedying such manmade air pollution and resulting visi- bility impairment. Such report shall also identify the classes or categories of sources and the types of air pollut- ants which, alone or in conjunction with other sources or pollutants, may reasonably be antici- pated to cause or contribute significantly to im- pairment of visibility. (4) Not later than twenty-four months after August 7, 1977, and after notice and public hear- ing, the Administrator shall promulgate regula- tions to assure (A) reasonable progress toward meeting the national goal specified in paragraph (1), and (B) compliance with the requirements of this section. (b) Regulations Regulations under subsection (a)(4) shall— (1) provide guidelines to the States, taking into account the recommendations under sub- section (a)(3) on appropriate techniques and methods for implementing this section (as pro- vided in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of such subsection (a)(3)), and (2) require each applicable implementation plan for a State in which any area listed by the Administrator under subsection (a)(2) is located (or for a State the emissions from which may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to any impairment of visibility in any such area) to contain such emission limits, schedules of compliance and other measures as may be necessary to make reason- able progress toward meeting the national goal specified in subsection (a), including— (A) except as otherwise provided pursuant to subsection (c), a requirement that each major stationary source which is in exist- ence on August 7, 1977, but which has not been in operation for more than fifteen years as of such date, and which, as determined by the State (or the Administrator in the case of a plan promulgated under section 7410(c) of this title) emits any air pollutant which may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to any impairment of visibility in any such area, shall procure, install, and op- erate, as expeditiously as practicable (and maintain thereafter) the best available ret- rofit technology, as determined by the State (or the Administrator in the case of a plan promulgated under section 7410(c) of this title) for controlling emissions from such source for the purpose of eliminating or re- ducing any such impairment, and (B) a long-term (ten to fifteen years) strat- egy for making reasonable progress toward meeting the national goal specified in sub- section (a). In the case of a fossil-fuel fired generating pow- erplant having a total generating capacity in ex- cess of 750 megawatts, the emission limitations required under this paragraph shall be deter- mined pursuant to guidelines, promulgated by the Administrator under paragraph (1). (c) Exemptions (1) The Administrator may, by rule, after no- tice and opportunity for public hearing, exempt any major stationary source from the require- ment of subsection (b)(2)(A), upon his deter- mination that such source does not or will not, by itself or in combination with other sources, emit any air pollutant which may reasonably be anticipated to cause or contribute to a signifi-