COMPLYING WITH EPA'S SMALL MWC UNITS EMISSION GUIDELINES IN DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y

摘要

This has been an interesting example of what, I would assume, were unintended consequences of establishing national regulations on one specific member of the regulated community. Dutchess was one of the leaders in providing emission control from MWC plants. We were the first MWC plant in the eastern U.S. to install fabric filters as part of its emission control system. Even now, our system produces particulate emissions (PM) that are one tenth of the standards now being proposed in the new guidelines. With low particulate emissions come low emissions of MWC metals and organics. Only with respect to acid gas removals does our system fail to comply with the new rules, and even with respect to these pollutants, we will probably wind up very close to the new requirements. Unfortunately, the new rules as currently written to not allow much flexibility. It would be a shame if Dutchess County were forced by regulatory inflexibility to make what for a small community are huge expenditures, and which would yield only minimal environmental benefits.