Achieving Compliance Under the New EPA Clean Air Regulations

Inspectioneering recently had the opportunity to chat with Kent Cheese, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, certification and inspection. Mr. Cheese has more than 20 years of experience working across several industries, including petrochemical and refining.  Our discussion focused on the recent fenceline monitoring rule set by EPA to reduce plant emissions and the steps owner-operators can take to achieve compliance.

What is EPA rule 325 and why is it important for refining and petrochemical facility owners to be aware of this law? 

Kent Cheese (KC): In September of 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to better control toxic air emissions from petroleum refineries and provide important information about refinery emissions to neighboring communities. The 325 rule aims to reduce toxic emissions from refineries, improve air quality, and significantly reduce risk to public health in communities surrounding these facilities. An estimated 149 refineries fall under this regulation and must implement proven systems by February 1, 2018 to continuously monitor emissions at their fencelines to ensure the facilities are effectively managing toxic emissions and taking corrective measures to protect surrounding communities from pollution. Since fenceline monitoring is a relatively new approach to controlling emissions from a refinery, the EPA has initially only proposed monitoring requirements for benzene, which is found at most refineries.