Download PDF

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an April 2nd Order denying a Petition of Objection to a Clean Air Act Title V Permit for Yuhuang Chemical, Inc., methanol plant (“Plant”) in St. James Parish, Louisiana. See Petition Nos. VI-2017-5 and VI-2017-13.

Both the Sierra Club and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (“Petitioners”) submitted petitions in 2017 pursuant to Section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act requesting that the EPA Administrator object to the modification of operating permit no. 2560-00295-VI issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

The federal Clean Air Title V program includes a provisions that allows the EPA Administrator to object to a Title V permit issued by a delegated state. In other words, Congress provided EPA a Clean Air Act oversight role by mandating that every Title V permit be subjected to a 45-day EPA review period before the Title V permit is finalized.

The EPA Administrator can object to the Title V permit at two points. An objection may be made during the 45-day review period and in response to a public petition within 60 days after the end of the 45-day review period. Further, even if EPA fails to object to a proposed Title V permit, a right to petition the agency to reconsider its failure to object to the permit is potentially available. However, only those who have submitted comments on the draft permit during the applicable public comment period have a right to petition. The right to petition EPA arises at the close of the agency’s 45-day review period.

The areas of objection by the Petitioners generally addressed:

• Steam methane reformer (“SMR”) carbon monoxide (“CO”) emissions and auxiliary boiler CO emissions
• SMR volatile organic compound (“VOC”) emissions
• Auxiliary boiler VOC emissions
• Fugitive CO emissions
• Truck, railcar, and marine loading VOC emissions
• Storage tank VOC and hazardous air pollutant emissions
• Flare VOC, particulate matter and CO emissions

EPA denies a request for an objection on each of the claims. As a result, EPA Administrator denies both petitions.

A copy of the Order can be downloaded here.