New York (Platts)--28May2009

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to revise some of the new
source review standards it first offered in 2008 for coal preparation and
processing plants.

Based on comments that stakeholders made regarding last year's proposals, EPA
seeks to revise the particulate matter emissions and opacity limits for
thermal dryers and pneumatic coal-cleaning and handling equipment, and to
expand the standards for thermal dryers so that they apply to direct contact
and indirect contact dryers and pneumatic coal-cleaning equipment for all coal
ranks.

One of the reasons stakeholders sought the revision to last year's proposal
has to do with the overall emission limit at a coal-fired power plant. In
comments, stakeholders said that while power plant emissions may decrease, if
emissions standards are not set up for the pre-combustion process, there would
be no environmental benefit.

The NSR proposal, first issued in April, applied to facilities that process
more than 200 short tons/day of coal. EPA sets no requirement change under
this proposal.

Under the 2008 proposal, particulate matter limits for thermal dryers were set
to 0.046 grams/dry standard cubic meter, and opacity limits were set at less
than 20%. Now, EPA is proposing a PM limit of 0.023 g/dscm with an opacity
limit of less than 10%. These standards would apply to units constructed after
April 28, 2008.

For units reconstructed after that date, EPA is proposing a PM standard of
0.045 g/dscm and the original opacity limit of less than 20%.

In 2008, EPA said PM limits for pneumatic coal-cleaning should be 0.011 g/dscm
and opacity limits less than 5%. EPA now sets the PM limit to 0.023 g/dscm and
the opacity limit to no greater than 5%.

There are no sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emission
limits for coal prep plants under the existing NSR standards and EPA didn't
put forth standards in the 2008 proposal. But stakeholders called on EPA to
issue standards for each pollutant because thermal dryers emit these gases.

Now EPA says SO2 limits for owners/operators of thermal dryers constructed,
modified, or reconstructed after May 27, 2009, should be 20 lb/MMBtu and a
combined NOx and CO limit of 1.0 lb/MMBtu.