Air Matters, February 2009

Volume 4, Issue 1

Bureau of Air Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707

• USEPA Approves Revisions to State New Source Permit Regulations
• Air Reporting System Video Now Available
• New Climate Change Activity Guide Available for Educators
• How to Save Energy in the Building Industry
• Wisconsin Companies and State Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Air Quality Electronic Media Kit Now Available

USEPA Approves Revisions to State New Source Permit Regulations
By Steve Dunn

In December 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) promulgated significant changes to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit program for major sources of air pollutants. In response to the federal changes, Wisconsin submitted revisions of its new source permit regulations which have now been approved by USEPA as of January 16, 2009.

The approved regulations are a part of Wisconsin’s federally approved State Implementation Plan for issuing air pollution permits. This means that major air pollution sources in Wisconsin may now use the rule changes to evaluate whether or not future projects require an air pollution construction permit.

The significant changes that now apply to the construction permit program include:

• Existing emission units can use a future predicted actual emissions rate to estimate the emissions increase from a proposed project. (Previously, new projects were required to use a future potential emission rate method).
• Replacement emission units can be treated as existing units and allows the use of future projected actual emission increase estimation method. (Previously, replacement units were treated as new units).
• The past actual emission rate of a pollutant has been changed to be the rate that an emissions unit emitted in any 2-year period in the past 10 years. (Previously, the requirement was to use a period of 2 years in the past 5 years).
• Sources can avoid PSD and other construction permit requirements by accepting a plant-wide applicability limit (PAL). The PAL is essentially a cap on emissions of a pollutant equal to the past actual emissions plus the significant increase level for that pollutant.
• Projects which are exempt from PSD review using the past actual to future projected actual emissions increase estimation method can now also be exempted from a minor source construction permit. For these projects, an applicant could begin construction after submitting a construction permit exemption, an operation permit revision, and paying the exemption review fee.

The Department of Natural Resources is currently working on a guidance manual for staff and affected facilities to help them implement the rule changes and expects to have the manual completed in this spring. The Department is also considering training sessions for affected facility owners and operators later in 2009, depending on interest.

If you have questions on these new rules, or on any other portion of the construction permit program, please contact Steve Dunn at 608.267.0566 or by e-mail at steven.dunn@wisconsin.gov.

Dunn is Team Leader for DNR’s Air Management Construction Permits program and is located in Madison.

Air Reporting System Video Now Available
By Autumn Sabo

During 2008 the Air Management program combined its permits, compliance, and emission inventory databases into a single data system. Because of this consolidation, the annual Air Reporting System (ARS) Internet software program used by businesses to report their emissions had to be refined. The most significant change for users is that companies can now generate calculated air emissions while running the program, after entering the required data.

To help businesses understand the changes made to emissions reporting, an online, on-demand video presentation was created in January 2009 so that users can learn directly from Air Management staff. The webcast video walks users through the most up-to-date version of ARS including logging onto the system and updating company contacts, devices, processes, and annual emissions. It is available at DNR's emissions inventory Mediasite.

For more information on this topic, please contact Ralph Patterson at 608-266-2060 or ralph.patterson@wisconsin.gov.

Sabo is a writer for the Bureau of Education and Information and is located in Madison.

New Climate Change Activity Guide Available for Educators
By Mary Hamel

This month the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is rolling out a brand new publication for 7th-12th grade educators, Climate Change: A Wisconsin Activity Guide. Air educators at the DNR wrote and designed the guide to teach students about how climate change affects all of us in Wisconsin. The guide includes twelve engaging activities suitable for classes in English and language arts, environmental education, math, science, art and social studies.  Students will be able to investigate the evidence and causes of climate change, examine its impacts on ecosystems, explore varied social and cultural perspectives, and learn ways to get involved in helping to address this local and global environmental issue.

Hamel is a Natural Resources Educator with the Bureau of Education and Information and is located in Madison.

How to Save Energy in the Building Industry
By Autumn E. Sabo

In these difficult economic times, many home buyers and owners are seeking extra ways to save energy and cash. Businesses in the building sector are trying to save money and energy too, while attracting customers and helping the environment by being “green.” Veridian Homes, Weather Shield, and INOV8 International are three Wisconsin companies in the building industry taking measures to be Earth-friendly.

Veridian Homes, Inc.

All Veridian-built homes are Energy Star and Green Built certified, which means that they meet various energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and erosion control standards. According to Gary Zajicek, Veridian’s Vice President of Construction, “Not all customers understand what an Energy Star and/or Green Built home is. What is interesting, though, is when we visit our customers after closing. They are very happy…because of the energy savings they are incurring....” And it doesn’t necessarily cost more for a greener house that is built with certified sustainable wood, low VOC coatings, and reused and recycled materials. Veridian combines these items with basic building techniques, correctly done, to yield a high performance finished product. Their green practices are not just to please their customers, though. “The lakes and rivers that make up the City of Madison and surround Dane County, we have an opportunity to help clean them up with our actions,” says Zajicek.

• Veridian Homes [exit DNR]
• Energy Star [exit DNR]
• Green Built Homes [exit DNR]

Weather Shield Manufacturing, Inc.

Veridian Homes buys from Weather Shield Manufacturing, Inc. because they have “a great reputation for producing high quality energy efficient windows,” according to Zajicek. While Weather Shield, based out of Medford, WI, has many green products and practices, their Corporate Environmental Manager, Richard Harding, is most proud of their recent shift to rail transport. Since 2004, they have reduced the need for 1,660 truck loads and associated road deterioration and traffic, saved 183,150 gallons of fuel, and reduced tailpipe emissions including 4 million pounds of carbon dioxide (the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change). “If you handle bulk goods, look at developing a rail transport system,” advises Harding. If companies can allow for one to two weeks of lead time with shipments, using rail is extremely cost effective and can result in significant reductions in air pollution. For guidance, go to http://www2.uwsuper.edu/trans/ [exit DNR] under Resources and Research Reports to download a Rail Study - Toolkit. Harding says that Weather Shield’s environmentally-friendly changes have “helped to keep the company solvent” and have been supported by its owners because “if we don’t get on board [with the green revolution] we will be left behind.” View information about Weather Shield’s other Going Green initiatives at http://www.weathershield.com [exit DNR].

INOV8 International, Inc.

Environmental stewardship is the core principle of INOV8’s philosophy. Founder Harry Foust tells us that “INOV8 products are designed to utilize wastes that are difficult and expensive to dispose of as fuel. Using waste oil on-site for energy recovery saves the consumption of new fuels.”

INOV8 manufactures furnaces, boilers, and burners for homes and businesses worldwide that run safely on standard fuels as well as alternative and used fuels including bio-diesel, jet fuel, mineral spirits, glycerin, and crankcase, transmission, and vegetable oils. “Renewable energy fuels, such as seed crops grown by our farmers...could greatly reduce our dependence [on fossil fuels] while reducing carbon emissions,” says Foust. “Each year in the U.S. restaurants generate over two billion gallons of waste oil that could be used as fuel onsite.” He believes that “most folks inherently desire to be responsible citizens and just need to be shown how.”

• INOV8 International [exit DNR]

If you are interested in exploring ways to reduce energy usage and air emissions in your buildings, please contact Ed Jepsen at edward.jepsen@wisconsin.gov or 608.266.3538.

Sabo is a writer in the DNR Bureau of Education and Information and is located in Madison.

Wisconsin Companies and State Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Four Wisconsin companies and the State reduced their greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 under EPA's Green Power Partners program by buying more than 386 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity from renewable resources such as solar and wind power. This is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of some 50,420 passenger cars per year, or the amount of electricity needed to power some 35,286 average homes annually. The partners are:

• Kohl's Department Stores, Menomonee Falls, 259 million kWh;
• The State of Wisconsin, 92 million kWh;
• River Falls, Wisconsin, Community, 18 million kWh;
• GE Healthcare Headquarters, Waukesha, 16 million kWh; and
• Monsanto/Agracetus Campus, Middleton, 916 thousand kWh.

To view EPA's press release on this topic, please visit: EPA'S Wisconsin Green Power Partners Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions [exit DNR].

Air Quality Electronic Media Kit Now Available

In Wisconsin, Air Quality Watches and Advisories are related to the levels of ozone and fine particle pollution in the air. To help educate the public about these two pollutants and the air quality index (a color chart used to show air pollution levels), the DNR has developed an electronic media kit now available on the web. The media kit is a one-stop shop for news and information on air quality and is available at DNR's Air Quality Media Kit Web page.

 

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