For the time being, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not pursue enforcement action against facilities that missed the March 21, 2012, deadline to conduct a boiler tune-up as required by the Boiler Area Source Rule.
A no-action-assurance letter issued March 13 will remain in effect until Oct. 1, 2012, or the effective date of a final rule, whichever comes first.
The tune-up requires stack testing to measure carbon monoxide and oxygen. Many operators of older boilers told the EPA their facilities would have to undergo alterations, such as the installation of a sampling port or platform, for such testing to be conducted and that more time was needed. Additionally, many said their older boilers would have to be repaired to meet the requirement that combustion be optimized consistent with manufacturer specifications.
Units subject to the tune-up requirement include existing coal units with heat-input capacity of less than 10 million Btuh and existing biomass and oil units.
“Even though the EPA has extended the tune-up deadline for area-source boilers, we strongly recommend that these facilities take the necessary steps to meet this and other compliance requirements set forth in the rule,” Welch Goggins, president and chief executive officer of Cleaver-Brooks Inc., provider of boiler-room products and systems, said.
For more information about Boiler Area Source Rule requirements, go to www.cleaver brooks.com/epa.