Regulation of Petcoke in Chicago Dave Graham and Jennifer Hesse February 18, 2015

What is Petcoke? Petroleum Coke, or “petcoke,” is a solid, carbon material derived as a byproduct of the oil refining process. Petcoke is typically used as a fuel source in power plants and cement kilns.

Why has petcoke been in the news? On August 30, 2013, a resident posted a photo on Facebook showing a cloud of black dust. At the end of 2013, BP completed the expansion of its refinery in Whiting, IN, resulting in a massive influx of petcoke on Chicago’s southeast side.

Where is petcoke stored? KCBX Terminals Company has two sites along the Calumet River with outdoor storage piles. The Beemsterboer family also had two sites, which have since shut down. A small amount of petcoke is also stored at Horsehead, Corp., for use in their manufacturing process KCBX South – S. Burley

What are the health impacts of petcoke? Breathing any dust, whether from petcoke, coal, or other materials, can cause short-term health impacts such as coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath. Dust can also aggravate respiratory conditions, such as asthma. There are no other known illnesses associated with exposure to petcoke, according to a report issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based on available scientific data.

How did the City respond to public concern? Increased inspections Issued a public call asking residents to report petcoke issues through 311 or by Filed a lawsuit with the State Attorney General against one of the facilities (Beemsterboer), resulting in the removal of all petcoke from the site Created Rules and Regulations for Bulk Solid Materials Passed an ordinance to ban new petcoke transfer facilities & require quarterly reporting from existing facilities

Why did CDPH issue Regulations? CDPH enforces the Environmental Code and regulates facilities that impact the environment. Previously, there were no specific rules for facilities handling dusty bulk materials. The purpose of the regulations is to protect public health and the environment by minimizing emissions of airborne particulate matter.

Public Process Proposed rules were posted and opened for public comment on December 19, 2013 CDPH received verbal comments at a special public community hearing held on January 14, 2014 After an extended 50-day comment period, CDPH received written comments from 60+ individuals and organizations, totaling approx pgs

What do the Regulations require? Full enclosure of petcoke and coal within 2 years, plus stringent dust control measures in the interim Prohibition on visible dust beyond the property line and opacity limit within the site Submission of a Fugitive Dust Plan describing dust control measures at all facilities Continuous dust monitoring around all facilities Other best management practices to control dust

What is required for full enclosure? Coke and coal must be entirely surrounded by a completely roofed and walled structure Must be designed, permitted and constructed in accordance with the Building Code

When are outdoor piles allowed? Coke and coal may be stored outdoors while the enclosure is being constructed, subject to an Interim Fugitive Dust Plan Non-coke and coal materials may be stored outside subject to all the requirements set forth in the regulations

How will outdoor piles be controlled? The piles may not be higher than 30 feet The piles must be sprayed with water or other dust suppressants as needed Piles may not be disturbed during high wind conditions without effective controls

Other requirements for both indoor & outdoor sites All conveyors must be covered or enclosed All transfer points must be controlled Must follow an approved Dust Control Plan

More requirements to keep neighborhoods clean Vehicles must be tarped Facility roads must be paved Trucks must be cleaned Stormwater runoff must be managed Surrounding streets must be swept

How can we be sure the controls are working? Facility must install and maintain real-time dust monitors with a data logger to record all readings Facilities must test visible dust and opacity on a quarterly basis City will conduct random, unannounced inspections

When do the rules take effect? Immediately (3/13/14): Ban on fugitive dust; roadway cleaning & housekeeping, recordkeeping, monthly enclosure reports 90 days (6/11/14): Dust plan, enclosure plan, dust monitoring, wind monitoring, vehicle covering, etc. Six months (9/13/14): Covered conveyors One Year (3/13/15): Paved facility roads Two Years from submission of Enclosure Plan (6/9/16): Construction of buildings

What if a facility does not comply? Violators can be fined $1,000 - $5,000 per day for any air pollution violation Repeat violators are subject to additional enforcement, including shut-down of operations

What if a facility needs more time? The Rules include a variance process Facilities may apply for a variance from any requirement other than enclosure Rules set forth criteria for issuing variances, including consideration of public comments Variances may be granted only if they will not adversely impact the surrounding environment and properties and will not create a public nuisance

Variance Requests KCBX initially submitted a request for a variance from 5 requirements: -Pile height -Covering of conveyors -Winter operation of dust suppressant system -Suspending disturbance of piles during maintenance -Runoff management Eight other bulk material facilities requested variances from some of the rules, including the dust monitoring requirement

Variance Decision After an extended comment period, CDPH received 12 comments on KCBX’s variance request, including detailed comments from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Southeast Environmental Task Force (SETF) With technical assistance from environmental consultant CDM Smith, CDPH issued the variance determination on December 9, 2014 We denied the request to increase pile height and leave certain conveyors uncovered. The other requests were granted with conditions.

Enclosure Time Line KCBX also requested a 14-month extension of the deadline for enclosing all petcoke and coal, from June 9, 2016 to August 24, On February 16, 2015, CDPH informed KCBX that the variance request was insufficient and would not be granted at this time.

Next Steps KCBX asked for reconsideration of the variance denial regarding conveyors. This request is under review. Decisions will be made on the non-petcoke variance requests after additional information is received from the applicants CDPH will continue to inspect the facilities, respond to complaints, and review dust plans