New Source Performance Standard
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) are pollution control standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The term is used in the Clean Air Act Extension of 1970 (CAA) to refer to air pollution emission standards, and in the Clean Water Act (CWA) referring to standards for discharges of industrial wastewater to surface waters.
Clean Air Act
NSPS under the CAA dictate the level of pollution that a new stationary source may produce. These standards are authorized by Section 111 of the CAA[1] and the regulations are published in 40 CFR Part 60.[2] An NSPS has been established for a number of individual industrial or source categories.[3]
Examples:[4]
- Landfills
- Boilers
- Petroleum refineries
- Turbines
- Wastewater (air emissions from wastewater treatment systems)
Basic process for establishing standards
- Identify type of emitting facility.
- For each type of facility, identify the type of pollutant control technology that is appropriate.
- From a study of all the plants and all the information available about the plants and their technologies, establish an allowed concentration of the criteria pollutants that is the upper limit of what can be emitted.
Clean Water Act
NSPS under the CWA set the level of allowable wastewater discharges from new industrial facilities. EPA issues NSPS for categories of industrial dischargers, typically in conjunction with the issuance of effluent guidelines for existing sources. In developing NSPS, the CWA requires that EPA determine the "best available demonstrated control technology" for the particular industrial category. This consideration may include setting a "no discharge of pollutants standard" (also called a zero discharge standard) if practicable.[5][6]
NSPS regulations are published at 40 CFR Subchapter N (Parts 405-499). NSPS issued by EPA include the following categories:
- Coal Mining
- Dairy Products Processing
- Inorganic Chemicals Manufacturing (including a zero discharge requirement for several subcategories)
- Iron and Steel Manufacturing
- Oil and Gas Extraction
- Petroleum Refining
- Pulp, Paper and Paperboard
- Sugar Processing (including a zero discharge requirement for one subcategory)
- Textile Mills
EPA has published a general definition of "new source" in the federal wastewater permit regulations.[7] More specialized definitions of "new source" are included in some of the individual category regulations, e.g., the definition for the Pulp, Paper and Paperboard category.[8]
See also
- Air pollution
- National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
- New Source Review
- Water pollution
References
- ↑ Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7411.
- ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources." Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR Part 60.
- ↑ EPA. "40 CFR Part 60--New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)."
- ↑ EPA. "Selected New Source Performance Standards."
- ↑ CWA sec. 306(a), 33 U.S.C. § 1316(a).
- ↑ EPA (2012). "Industry Effluent Guidelines: Frequent Questions."
- ↑ "EPA Administered Permit Programs: The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System." Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 122.2.
- ↑ "Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Point Source Category." Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 430.01(j).