Section 115.127 - Exemptions(a) For all persons in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria areas, the following exemptions apply. In cases where vent gas streams emanating from multiple process locations are combined, compliance with the exemptions of this section is determined after the combination of the streams but prior to the combined stream entering a control device, if present. (1) A vent gas stream from a low-density polyethylene plant is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(1) of this title (relating to Emission Specifications) if no more than 1.1 pounds of ethylene per 1,000 pounds of product are emitted from all the vent gas streams associated with the formation, handling, and storage of solidified product.(2) The following vent gas streams are exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(1) of this title: (A) a vent gas stream having a combined weight of volatile organic compounds (VOC) equal to or less than 100 pounds in any continuous 24-hour period;(B) a vent gas stream specified in § 115.121(a)(1) of this title with a concentration of VOC less than 612 parts per million by volume (ppmv);(C) a vent gas stream which is subject to § 115.121(a)(2) or (3) of this title; and(D) a vent gas stream which qualifies for exemption under paragraphs (3), (4)(B), (4)(C), (4)(D), (4)(E), or (5) of this subsection.(3) The following vent gas streams are exempt from the requirements of §115.121(a)(2)(B) - (E) of this title: (A) a vent gas stream having a combined weight of VOC equal to or less than 100 pounds in any continuous 24-hour period;(B) a vent gas stream from any air oxidation synthetic organic chemical manufacturing process with a concentration of VOC less than 612 ppmv; and(C) a vent gas stream from any liquid phase polypropylene manufacturing process, any liquid phase slurry high-density polyethylene manufacturing process, and any continuous polystyrene manufacturing process with a concentration of VOC less than 408 ppmv.(4) For synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry (SOCMI) reactor processes and distillation operations, the following exemptions apply. (A) Any reactor process or distillation operation that is designed and operated in a batch mode is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(2)(A) of this title. For the purposes of this subparagraph, batch mode means any noncontinuous reactor process or distillation operation which is not characterized by steady-state conditions, and in which the addition of reactants does not occur simultaneously with the removal of products.(B) Any reactor process or distillation operation operating in a process unit with a total design capacity of less than 1,100 tons per year, for all chemicals produced within that unit, is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(2)(A) of this title.(C) Any reactor process or distillation operation vent gas stream with a flow rate less than 0.388 standard cubic feet per minute or a VOC concentration less than 500 ppmv is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(2)(A) of this title.(D) Any distillation operation vent gas stream which meets the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §60.660(c)(4) or §60.662(c) (concerning Subpart NNN--Standards of Performance for VOC Emissions From SOCMI Distillation Operations, December 14, 2000) is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(2)(A) of this title.(E) Any reactor process vent gas stream which meets the requirements of 40 CFR §60.700(c)(2) or § 60.702(c) (concerning Subpart RRR--Standards of Performance for VOC Emissions From SOCMI Reactor Processes, December 14, 2000) is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(2)(A) of this title.(5) Bakeries are exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(a)(3) and § 115.122(a)(3) of this title (relating to Emission Specifications and Control Requirements) if the total weight of VOC emitted from all bakery ovens on the property, when uncontrolled, is less than 25 tons per calendar year.(6) A vent gas stream is exempt from this division if all of the VOCs in the vent gas stream originate from a source(s) for which another division within Chapter 115 (for example, Storage of Volatile Organic Compounds) has established a control requirement(s), emission specification(s), or exemption(s) which applies to that VOC source category in that county.(7) A combustion unit exhaust stream is exempt from this division provided that the unit is not being used as a control device for any vent gas stream which is subject to this division and which originates from a non-combustion source.(8) As an alternative to complying with the requirements of this division (or, in the case of bakeries, as an alternative to complying with the requirements of § 115.121(a)(1) and § 115.122(a)(1) of this title) for a source that is addressed by a Chapter 115 contingency rule (i.e., one in which Chapter 115 requirements are triggered for that source by the commission publishing notification in the Texas Register that implementation of the contingency rule is necessary), the owner or operator of that source may instead choose to comply with the requirements of the contingency rule as though the contingency rule already had been implemented for that source. The owner or operator of each source choosing this option shall submit written notification to the executive director and any local air pollution control program with jurisdiction. When the executive director and the local program (if any) receive such notification, the source will then be considered subject to the contingency rule as though the contingency rule already had been implemented for that source.(b) For all persons in Nueces and Victoria Counties, the following exemptions apply. In cases where vent gas streams emanating from multiple process locations are combined, compliance with the exemptions of this subsection is determined after the combination of the streams, but prior to the combined stream entering a control device, if present. (1) A vent gas stream from a low-density polyethylene plant is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(b)(1) of this title if no more than 1.1 pounds of ethylene per 1,000 pounds of product are emitted from all the vent gas streams associated with the formation, handling, and storage of the solidified product.(2) The following vent gas streams are exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(b) of this title: (A) a vent gas stream having a combined weight of the VOC or classes of compounds specified in § 115.121(b)(2) and (3) of this title equal to or less than 100 pounds in any continuous 24-hour period; and(B) a vent gas stream with a concentration of the VOC or classes of compounds specified in § 115.121(b)(2) and (3) of this title less than 30,000 ppmv.(3) A vent gas stream is exempt from this division if all of the VOCs in the vent gas stream originate from a source(s) for which another division within Chapter 115 (for example, Storage of Volatile Organic Compounds) has established a control requirement(s), emission specification(s), or exemption(s) which applies to that VOC source category in that county.(4) A combustion unit exhaust stream is exempt from this division provided that the unit is not being used as a control device for any vent gas stream which is subject to this division and which originates from a non-combustion source.(c) For all persons in Aransas, Bexar, Calhoun, Matagorda, San Patricio, and Travis Counties, the following exemptions apply. In cases where vent gas streams emanating from multiple process locations are combined, compliance with the exemptions of this subsection is determined after the combination of the streams, but prior to the combined stream entering a control device, if present. (1) The following vent gas streams are exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(c)(1) of this title: (A) a vent gas stream from a low-density polyethylene plant provided that no more than 1.1 pounds of ethylene per 1,000 pounds of product are emitted from all the vent gas streams associated with the formation, handling, and storage of solidified product;(B) a vent gas stream having a combined weight of the VOC or classes of compounds specified in §115.121(c)(1)(B) - (C) of this title equal to or less than 100 pounds in any continuous 24-hour period; and(C) a vent gas stream having a concentration of the VOC specified in § 115.121(c)(1)(B) and (C) of this title less than 30,000 ppmv.(2) A vent gas stream specified in § 115.121(c)(2) of this title which emits less than or equal to five tons of total uncontrolled VOC in any one calendar year is exempt from the requirements of § 115.121(c)(2) of this title.(3) A vent gas stream is exempt from this division if all of the VOCs in the vent gas stream originate from a source(s) for which another division within Chapter 115 (for example, Storage of Volatile Organic Compounds) has established a control requirement(s), emission specification(s), or exemption(s) which applies to that VOC source category in that county.(4) A combustion unit exhaust stream is exempt from this division provided that the unit is not being used as a control device for any vent gas stream which is subject to this division and which originates from a non-combustion source.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 115.127
The provisions of this §115.127 adopted to be effective February 19, 1990, 15 TexReg 549; amended to be effective August 1, 1992, 17 TexReg 4683; amended to be effective November 16, 1992, 17 TexReg 7782; amended to be effective December 3, 1993, 18 TexReg 8538; amended to be effective May 27, 1994, 19 TexReg 3703; amended to be effective January 27, 1995, 20 TexReg 221; amended to be effective March 7, 1996, 21 TexReg 1548; amended to be effective May 22, 1997, 22 TexReg 4213; amended to be effective November 16, 1999, 24 TexReg 10555; amended to be effective January 18,2001, 26TexReg 493; amended to be effective January 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 113; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 25, June 19, 2015, TexReg 3941, eff. 6/25/2015