§ 63.643 - Miscellaneous process vent provisions.

§ 63.643 Miscellaneous process vent provisions.

(a) The owner or operator of a Group 1 miscellaneous process vent as defined in § 63.641 shall comply with the requirements of either paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section or, if applicable, paragraph (c) of this section. The owner or operator of a miscellaneous process vent that meets the conditions in paragraph (c) of this section is only required to comply with the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section and § 63.655(g)(13) and (i)(12) for that vent.

(1) Reduce emissions of organic HAP's using a flare. On and after January 30, 2019, the flare shall meet the requirements of § 63.670. Prior to January 30, 2019, the flare shall meet the requirements of § 63.11(b) of subpart A or the requirements of § 63.670.

(2) Reduce emissions of organic HAP's, using a control device, by 98 weight-percent or to a concentration of 20 parts per million by volume, on a dry basis, corrected to 3 percent oxygen, whichever is less stringent. Compliance can be determined by measuring either organic HAP's or TOC's using the procedures in § 63.645.

(b) If a boiler or process heater is used to comply with the percentage of reduction requirement or concentration limit specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, then the vent stream shall be introduced into the flame zone of such a device, or in a location such that the required percent reduction or concentration is achieved. Testing and monitoring is required only as specified in §§ 63.644(a) and 63.645 of this subpart.

(c) An owner or operator may designate a process vent as a maintenance vent if the vent is only used as a result of startup, shutdown, maintenance, or inspection of equipment where equipment is emptied, depressurized, degassed or placed into service. The owner or operator does not need to designate a maintenance vent as a Group 1 or Group 2 miscellaneous process vent nor identify maintenance vents in a Notification of Compliance Status report. The owner or operator must comply with the applicable requirements in paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of this section for each maintenance vent according to the compliance dates specified in table 11 of this subpart, unless an extension is requested in accordance with the provisions in § 63.6(i).

(1) Prior to venting to the atmosphere, process liquids are removed from the equipment as much as practical and the equipment is depressured to a control device meeting requirements in paragraphs (a)(1) or (2) of this section, a fuel gas system, or back to the process until one of the following conditions, as applicable, is met.

(i) The concentration of the vapor in the equipment served by the maintenance vent has a is less than 10 percent of its lower explosive limit (LEL) of less than 10 percent.

(ii) If there is no ability to measure the LEL concentration of the vapor in the equipment based on the design of the equipment, the pressure in the equipment served by the maintenance vent is reduced to 5 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) or less. Upon opening the maintenance vent, active purging of the equipment cannot be used until the LEL concentration of the vapors in the maintenance vent (or inside the equipment if the maintenance is a hatch or similar type of opening) is less than 10 percent of its LEL.

(iii) The equipment served by the maintenance vent contains less than 72 pounds of total volatile organic compounds (VOC).

(iv) If the maintenance vent is associated with equipment containing pyrophoric catalyst (e.g., hydrotreaters and hydrocrackers) and a pure hydrogen supply is not available at the equipment at the time of the startup, shutdown, maintenance, or inspection activity, the LEL concentration of the vapor in the equipment must be less than 20 percent of its LEL, except for one event per year not to exceed 35 percent of its LEL.

(v) If, after applying best practices to isolate and purge equipment served by a maintenance vent, none of the applicable criterion in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section can be met prior to installing or removing a blind flange or similar equipment blind, the pressure in the equipment served by the maintenance vent is reduced to 2 psig or less. Active purging of the equipment may be used provided the equipment pressure at the location where purge gas is introduced remains at 2 psig or less.

(2) Except for maintenance vents complying with the alternative in paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section, the owner or operator must determine the LEL concentration of the vapor or, if applicable, equipment pressure using process instrumentation or portable measurement devices and follow procedures for calibration and maintenance according to manufacturer's specifications.

(3) For maintenance vents complying with the alternative in paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section, the owner or operator shall determine mass of VOC in the equipment served by the maintenance vent based on the equipment size and contents after considering any contents drained or purged from the equipment. Equipment size may be determined from equipment design specifications. Equipment contents may be determined using process knowledge.

(d) After February 1, 2016 and prior to the date of compliance with the maintenance vent provisions in paragraph (c) of this section, the owner or operator must comply with the requirements in § 63.642(n) for each maintenance venting event and maintain records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the requirements in § 63.642(n) including, if appropriate, records of existing standard site procedures used to deinventory equipment for safety purposes.

[60 FR 43260, Aug. 18, 1995, as amended at 80 FR 75242, Dec. 1, 2015; 81 FR 45241, July 13, 2016; 83 FR 60714, Nov. 26, 2018; 85 FR 6082, Feb. 4, 2020; 89 FR 23858, Apr. 4, 2024]