Petroleum Refinery Sector Risk and Technology Review and NSPS

Petroleum refineries are facilities engaged in refining and producing products made from crude oil or unfinished petroleum derivatives. Sources include petroleum refinery-specific process units unique to the industry, such as fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCU) and catalytic reforming units (CRU), as well as units and processes commonly found at other types of manufacturing facilities (including petroleum refineries), such as storage vessels and wastewater treatment plants. Refinery MACT 1 regulates hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from common processes such as miscellaneous process vents (e.g., delayed coking vents), storage vessels, wastewater, equipment leaks, loading racks, marine tank vessel loading and heat exchange systems at petroleum refineries. Refinery MACT 2 regulates HAP from those processes that are unique to the industry including sulfur recovery units (SRU) and from catalyst regeneration in FCCU and CRU. This action primarily proposes: 1) amendments to Refinery MACT 1 and 2 to address our obligation to assess the risk remaining after application of the original standards in accordance with CAA section 112(f)(2) and 2) amendments resulting from EPA's review of developments in practices, processes and control technologies that have occurred since the time the EPA adopted the refinery MACT standards in accordance with CAA sections 112(d)(6). In addition, it proposes: 1) new requirements related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown and malfunction to ensure that the MACT standards are consistent with court opinions requiring that standards apply at all times and other Clean Air Act programs and 2) technical corrections and clarifications for Refinery NSPS Ja. These technical corrections and clarifications were raised in a 2008 petition for reconsideration from the American Petroleum Institute, and we are addressing these petition issues in this action because they also affect sources subject to Refinery MACT 2. On January 16, 2009, the EPA Administrator signed a final rule addressing RTR standards for Refinery MACT 1. Upon further review, we determined that this rule may not have accurately characterized the risk posed by this source category. Therefore, we withdrew the risk and technology portions of the rulemaking (76 FR 42052, July 18, 2011). Subsequently, we began a significant effort to gather additional information in 2010 through a comprehensive industry-wide Information Collection Request (ICR) to gather data on HAP, criteria and other pollutants from all refinery processes sufficient to support both the Refinery MACT and NSPS reviews. Data received in response to the ICR will be used to support the analyses for this rulemaking.