Notice of Public Comment Period - Draft Air Quality Permits 7414 - 7417 - Department of General Services - DC Jail Complex

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Public Comment Period - Draft Air Quality Permits 7414 through 7417 , District of Columbia Department of General Services, DC Jail Complex

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 20 DCMR §210, the Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), located at 1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor, Washington DC, proposes to issue Permit Nos. 7414 through 7417 to the District of Columbia Department of General Services, to construct and operate four (4) Cleaver Brooks dual fuel-fired (natural gas and No. 2 fuel oil) fire tube boilers (listed below), located at the DC Jail Complex Central Boiler Plant, 1901 D Street SE, Washington DC 20003. The contact person for the applicant is Brian D. Killian, Environmental Health and Safety, Facilities Management Division, Department of General Services, at (202) 359-5625 or [email protected].

The following boilers are to be permitted:

Emissions:

The estimated maximum annual emissions from the boilers, assuming the highest emissions of each pollutant from 1) a scenario of 100% natural gas operation (8,760 hours per year) or 2) a scenario of 33.3% operation on oil (2,920 hours per year, an operational limit discussed below) and the balance of operations on natural gas (5,840 hours per year) are as follows:

^{† PM Total is the sum of the filterable PM and condensable PM.}

The proposed emission limits are as follows:

1. Each of the boilers shall not emit pollutants in excess of those specified in the following table [20 DCMR 201]:

^{†PM Total includes both filterable and condensable fractions.}

1. Visible emissions shall not be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere from any boiler except that discharges shall be permitted for two (2) minutes during any startup, cleaning, adjustment of combustion or operational controls, or regeneration of emission control equipment, provided that such discharge shall not exceed the following opacities (unaveraged) [20 DCMR 606.1(a)(2), 20 DCMR 606.2(a)(1) and (2), and 606.6(a)]:

1. When burning exclusively natural gas, twenty percent (20%); and
   
2. When burning fuel oil or a combination of fuel oil and natural gas, twenty seven percent (27%).

These visible emissions standards shall not apply to visible emissions when the presence of uncombined water is the only reason for failure of visible emissions to meet the visible emissions standards.

1. An emission into the atmosphere of odorous or other air pollutant from any source in any quantity and of any characteristic, and duration which is, or likely to be injurious to the public health or welfare, or which interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of life and property is prohibited. [20 DCMR 903.1]

Violation of this condition that occurs as a result of unavoidable malfunction, despite the conscientious employment of control practices, shall be an affirmative defense for which the owner or operator shall bear the burden of proof. A malfunction shall not be considered unavoidable if the owner or operator could have taken, but did not take, appropriate steps to eliminate the malfunction within a reasonable time, as determined by the Department. [20 DCMR 903.13(b)]

1. Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) emissions from each of the boilers shall not be greater than 0.09 pounds per million BTU. [20 DCMR 600.1].
2. Oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from the boilers shall not exceed those achieved with the performance of combustion process tune-ups as specified in Conditions III(d) and (e). [20 DCMR 805.1(a), 20 DCMR 805.5(b), and 20 DCMR 805.9]

Important Operational Limits:

In addition to the above emissions limitations, the draft permit incorporates the following limits to the operation of the equipment, taken pursuant to 20 DCMR 200.7, to avoid applicability of 40 CFR 63, Subpart JJJJJJ and 20 DCMR 209, respectively:

1. The boilers shall operate on No. 2 fuel oil only for the following reasons: [20 DCMR 200.7, 20 DCMR 201, 40 CFR 63.11195(e) and 40 CFR 63.11237]
2. During periods of gas curtailment;

1. During periods of gas supply interruption; or
2. For periodic testing, maintenance, or operator training on liquid fuel not to exceed a combined total of 48 hours (per boiler) during any calendar year.

1. Fuel oil shall not be burned in any single boiler for more than 2,920 hours in any 12-consecutive-month period. [20 DCMR 200.7]

The permit application and supporting documentation, along with the draft permit are available for public inspection at AQD and copies may be made available between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. Interested parties wishing to view these documents should provide their names, addresses, telephone numbers and affiliation, if any, to Stephen S. Ours at (202) 498-8143 or [email protected]. Copies of the draft permit and related technical support memorandum are also available in the attachments section below.

Interested persons may submit written comments or may request a hearing on this subject within 30 days of publication of this notice. The written comments must also include the person's name, telephone number, affiliation, if any, mailing address and a statement outlining the air quality issues in dispute and any facts underscoring those air quality issues. All relevant comments will be considered before taking final action on the permit application.

Comments on the proposed permit and any request for a public hearing should be addressed to:

Stephen S. Ours Chief, Permitting Branch
Air Quality Division - Department of Energy and Environment

1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor
Washington DC 20002

[email protected]

No comments or hearing requests submitted after November 17, 2025 will be accepted.

For more information, please contact Stephen S. Ours at (202) 498-8143