• Environmental

EPA Issues Proposed Debottlenecking/Aggregation Rules

Laura K. McAfee and Patrick R. Jacobi
Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., September 28, 2006

EPA recently proposed potentially far-reaching changes to three important concepts under its New Source Review (NSR) regulations.  71 Fed. Reg. 54,235 (Sept. 14, 2006).  First, EPA proposes three options for determining whether a given project will “debottleneck” operations elsewhere within a facility; second, the Agency proposes to clarify the rules for determining when multiple separate projects must be aggregated together for NSR purposes; and third, EPA proposes to alter the project-specific netting calculus.  Click here to read about the proposed changes. 

Comments on the proposal must be filed by November 13, 2006.  Because each of these changes could significantly alter the NSR landscape, we recommend that each regulated entity carefully scrutinize the proposal and consider submitting comments supporting specific aspects of the rules that could prove beneficial.