Thursday, June 11, 2009

The presentation will explain what “vacating” a rule means, what the regulatory agency must do in response, and how the decision can be further appealed. A discussion will ensue on whether and how a company should respond, and what elements make up an effective strategy. The answers will vary depending on the rule and the court’s decision, so a brief description of the legal appeal process and available remedies will be discussed. A list of recent court decisions and current appeals relevant to the chemical and allied industries will be provided which will form the basis for understanding what to do if an appeal is likely and how to find out the status of an appeal and EPA’s response.

Industrial flares at petroleum and petrochemical manufacturing facilities are intended to combust large amounts of waste gas that may contain volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants. Because of the large volume of gas and the nature of the pollutants, any deterioration of combustion efficiency can lead to significant emissions and offsite impacts. Through its inspection and enforcement programs, US EPA has identified instances where flares were improperly operated and violating state and Federal regulations. This presentation briefly covers flare design, proper operation, EPA's regulatory framework, and operational problems and their remedies.

Getting the Most, and Avoiding the Worst, With Your Environmental Audit Program

Properly designed audit programs are among the very best tools for identifying potential noncompliance issues, getting them corrected, and resolving your potential enforcement liabilities. At the same time, the planning, performance, documentation, and followup involved in compliance audits all present major legal, enforcement, and other pitfalls. This presentation will explain some of these concerns, offer best practices for environmental auditing, and highlight relevant opportunities and developments relating to the federal and Texas audit programs.

Industry Perspective, Auditing under the Texas Audit Privilege Act

This presentation will focus on the Industry perspective of using the Texas Audit Privilege process when conducting compliance audits. Special considerations for Title V Reasonable Inquiry requirements and submittals will be reviewed.

Your site recently had a reportable emissions event and you have made the required STEERS initial and final reports. What happens next? Where your emission event ends-up can be influenced by how well you manage your compliance follow-up throughout the TCEQ's investigation and enforcement steps. There will be a presentation on the possible outcomes that can result from an unauthorized release to the air; from being granted an affirmative defense to receiving a consent order. A discussion of enforcement strategies that sites can use will follow, with a focus on what should be done to protect and maintain an accurate Compliance History score.

The presentation will explain what causes a state implementation plan gap (“SIP gap”), how to anticipate the occurrence of one, and how to develop an appropriate response. A brief review will be provided on SIP requirements and the procedural process, as well as the roles of TCEQ, EPA, and stakeholders. NSR and Title V Permits will be discussed in the context of a SIP gaps along with the permitting options available for handling them. The presentation will use examples of previous SIP gaps to illustrate how to anticipate and formulate permitting and compliance strategies, and will include TCEQ and EPA guidance on the subject. Lastly, future SIP gaps will be identified and evaluated.