POWER November 2012 - 28

EPA's Title V Source Policy
Takes a Hit
By Angela Neville, JD
L
ocation, location, location. This has long been the guiding
principle for selling real estate. Now, due to a recent appellate
case, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has learned this concept's importance in determining under what
conditions multiple facilities can be aggregated as a single source
under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Title V permitting program.
The Summit Case's Background
On August 7, in the case Summit Petroleum Corporation v. EPA
(Case Nos. 09-4348; 10-4572), the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth
Circuit, vacated the EPA's determination that a Michigan natural
gas operation's plant and production wells constituted a single
major source and remanded the case to the agency for a reassessment
of Summit Petroleum Corp.'s Title V source determination.
The case arose from the EPA's final action determining that
a natural gas sweetening plant near Rosebush, Mich., and various
production wells, commonly owned by Summit and separately
located, constitute a single stationary source under the Title V
permitting program. The EPA had determined that Summit's plant
and wells were " adjacent " to one another, in part, because they
are functionally interrelated.
Summit's plant by itself has the potential to emit just under
100 tons of pollutants per year, which is below the threshold
for being considered a major source. On the other hand, if the
plant and the nearby wells are considered to be one source, their
combined pollution totals exceed 100 tons and they would be
classified as a major source under Title V.
Summit's plant " sweetens " the " sour " gas from approximately
100 sour gas production wells by removing hydrogen sulfide so
that the gas can be used. Summit owns all of the production
wells and the subsurface pipelines that connect each of the wells
to the sweetening plant. The wells themselves are located over
an approximately 43-square-mile area at varying distances from
the plant-from 500 feet to 8 miles away-and Summit does not
own the property between the individual well sites nor the property
between the wells and the plant. None of the well sites share
a common boundary with each other, nor do any well sites share
a common boundary with Summit's production plant. The closest
flare is located approximately 0.5 mile from the plant, while the
remaining flares are each over 1 mile away.
Debate over Defi nition of " Adjacent "
The EPA defines a " stationary source " as " any building, structure,
facility, or installation " that emits or may emit a regulated
air pollutant under 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Section
52.21(b)(5). Multiple pollutant-emitting activities can be aggregated
and considered a single source under a three-prong
test (also known as the " Aggregation Factors " ) only if they: are
under common control, are located on one or more contiguous
28
or adjacent properties, and belong to the same major industrial
grouping (such as SIC code).
The EPA explained its reasoning with respect to adjacency in
making its Title V source determination for the multiple Summit
facilities. Although the Summit plant and wells were separated by
large distances, the agency had never established a fixed distance
beyond which facilities would not be considered " adjacent. " The
EPA also asserted that the " degree of interdependence " between
the Summit facilities and the fact that they " together produced
a single product " suggested that the facilities were not " truly
independent. "
In its decision, the Sixth Circuit ruled that the EPA's source
determination regarding the Summit facilities is contrary to
the plain meaning of the word " adjacent. " The court ultimately
concluded that the EPA's interpretation of the aggregation rule
" undermines the plain meaning of the text, which demands by
definition that would-be aggregated facilities have physical
proximity. " The court vacated the EPA's source determination and
remanded the case to the EPA for reassessment " in light of the
proper, plain meaning application " of the adjacency prong of the
Aggregation Factors.
Moving Forward
Down the road, the EPA may seek a rehearing of the Summit case
before the Sixth Circuit en banc or U.S. Supreme Court review. In
the meantime, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, located
in the Sixth Circuit, are bound by the Summit case. Additionally,
the Sixth Circuit's arguments will no doubt be cited in other parts
of the country in ongoing judicial and administrative matters
involving Title V source designations.
The Sixth Circuit's decision will also probably have important
consequences for existing and future power plants. The threat
of environmental authorities combining widely dispersed yet
functionally related emission points, where ownership is the only
common factor, into a single point source is unlikely to occur,
given this decision.
In her dissent in the Summit case, Circuit Judge Karen Nelson
Moore argued that " absent a bright-line rule as to how far is too
far for numerous sources to be considered adjacent " source designations
based on adjacency may continue to be " subjective. "
How far is too far? This recent ruling shows that, indeed,
the EPA went too far in stretching the meaning of " adjacent. "
The agency needs to pay more attention to sources' actual geographical
proximity to one another when determining adjacent
locations for Title V permit purposes. In the future, the EPA
should assume the plain meaning of the word " adjacent " as
used in the CAA when aggregating sources under its permitting
programs. ■
www.powermag.com
-Angela Neville, JD, is POWER's senior editor.
POWER | November 2012
http://www.powermag.com

POWER November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER November 2012

Contents
POWER November 2012 - Cover1
POWER November 2012 - Cover2
POWER November 2012 - Contents
POWER November 2012 - 2
POWER November 2012 - 3
POWER November 2012 - 4
POWER November 2012 - 5
POWER November 2012 - 6
POWER November 2012 - 7
POWER November 2012 - 8
POWER November 2012 - 9
POWER November 2012 - 10
POWER November 2012 - 11
POWER November 2012 - 12
POWER November 2012 - 13
POWER November 2012 - 14
POWER November 2012 - 15
POWER November 2012 - 16
POWER November 2012 - 17
POWER November 2012 - 18
POWER November 2012 - 19
POWER November 2012 - 20
POWER November 2012 - 21
POWER November 2012 - 22
POWER November 2012 - 23
POWER November 2012 - 24
POWER November 2012 - 25
POWER November 2012 - 26
POWER November 2012 - 27
POWER November 2012 - 28
POWER November 2012 - 29
POWER November 2012 - 30
POWER November 2012 - 31
POWER November 2012 - 32
POWER November 2012 - 33
POWER November 2012 - 34
POWER November 2012 - 35
POWER November 2012 - 36
POWER November 2012 - 37
POWER November 2012 - 38
POWER November 2012 - 39
POWER November 2012 - 40
POWER November 2012 - 41
POWER November 2012 - 42
POWER November 2012 - 43
POWER November 2012 - 44
POWER November 2012 - 45
POWER November 2012 - 46
POWER November 2012 - 47
POWER November 2012 - 48
POWER November 2012 - 49
POWER November 2012 - 50
POWER November 2012 - 51
POWER November 2012 - 52
POWER November 2012 - 53
POWER November 2012 - 54
POWER November 2012 - 55
POWER November 2012 - 56
POWER November 2012 - 57
POWER November 2012 - 58
POWER November 2012 - 59
POWER November 2012 - 60
POWER November 2012 - 61
POWER November 2012 - 62
POWER November 2012 - 63
POWER November 2012 - 64
POWER November 2012 - 65
POWER November 2012 - 66
POWER November 2012 - 67
POWER November 2012 - 68
POWER November 2012 - 69
POWER November 2012 - 70
POWER November 2012 - 71
POWER November 2012 - 72
POWER November 2012 - Cover3
POWER November 2012 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/pwr_march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/pwr_february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/pwr_january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/pwr_december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/pwr_november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/re-tech-supp-to-power-september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-and-re-tech-supp-september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/Power-October-2022-140th-Anniversary-Supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/Power-October-2022-and-Anniversary-Supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-and-re-tech-supp-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/Power-July-2022-Intl
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2022-intl
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2022-intl
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/Power-April-2022-Intl
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-top-plants-supp-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-april-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-march-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-february-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-september-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-august-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-july-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-june-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-may-2010
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com