Boiler Owners Must Submit Notification to EPA by July 19, 2014

If you own or operate a boiler, keep reading.

In December 2012, the U.S. EPA finalized changes to its National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Source Boilers at 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart JJJJJJ.  Under this regulation, owners or operators of virtually any boiler were required to conduct an initial tune-up by March 21, 2014, as described in a prior alert, and must now submit a notice of compliance status (NOCS) to EPA. 

Boilers located at major sources of hazardous air pollutants* are not subject to the July 19 notice requirement.

Other exemptions: 

  • Hot water boilers (i.e., not generating steam) rated at less than 1.6 million Btu per hour;
  • Residential boilers;
  • Gas-fired boilers;
  • Boilers that burn solid waste;
  • Waste heat recovery steam generators;
  • Temporary boilers;
  • Electric utility steam generating units; and
  • Electric powered boilers.

By July 19th, owners or operators of affected boilers must submit the NOCS to EPA electronically using EPA’s Compliance and Emissions Data Reporting Interface (CEDRI).  CEDRI available through EPA’s central data exchange:  www.epa.gov/cdx.

If your facility has a boiler and an air license, you are probably required to submit the NOCS unless your facility is a major source of HAPs. 

Note that even if you do not have an air license because your facility’s boilers fall below the air licensing thresholds, you may still be required to submit a NOCS for your boiler(s).

If you have any questions about the NOCS, please contact Brian Rayback at (207-791-1188).

*  A major source of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) is a source that has the potential to emit more than 10 tons per year of any single HAP and/or more than 25 tons/year of all HAPs combined.