Indirect Sources: NR 411 Rule Revision

DNR's proposed revision to chapter NR 411, Indirect Source Rule Revision, has the following objectives:

  1. Streamline the permit process to eliminate case by case modeling requirements and environmental assessment requirement in exchange for specific control measure adoption
  2. Eliminate carbon monoxide criteria
  3. Address Diesel Emissions, Ozone pre-cursor emissions, and particulate matter from mobile sources associated with indirect source projects
  4. Revise existing roadway requirements to eliminate screening level analysis

Applicability

The proposed rule revision will apply statewide for indirect source projects such as:

  • New heavy-duty diesel truck "hot spots"
  • Construction of heavy-duty diesel truck facilities such as distribution centers
  • Employers in metropolitan areas that construct parking lots with a capacity to accommodate 1,000 vehicles
  • New highway project with an anticipated peak hour volume of 1,200 or more vehicles per hour within 10 years
  • Any highway modification which will create two or more additional lanes of traffic and which will increase the annual peak hour volume by 1800 or more vehicles per hour within 10 years

Why revise NR 411?

  • Managing Resources and Streamlining Process - Staff time can be redirected to programs with greater potential for air quality improvement while comporting with Bureau of Air Management's objective to provide a simplified permit process
  • Carbon Monoxide no longer a pollutant of concern - Recently advances in vehicle emissions control technology and improved gasoline formulation have decreased the likelihood of producing potential carbon monoxide exceedances.
  • Focus efforts in controlling Oxides of Nitrogen (Nox), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and Particulate Matter - By shifting rule emphasis to ozone precursors such as NOx, VOCs and Particulate Matter, control measures can be introduced that make a tangible impact on improving air quality and public health.
  • The need to more effectively permit Distribution Centers based on public comment - The existing permit conditions are not adequate to address the public health concerns raised by citizens within close proximity to distribution centers with high volumes of diesel truck traffic.
  • Air Pollution Contribution from Off-Road Sector - Thirty-one percent of all construction industry diesel engines were manufacturted before emission regulations were implemenyed. The USEPA Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule will likely take decades to achieve full air quality benefits.
  • Current Ozone Non-Attainment Area and State Implementation Plan (SIP) Development - The eastern counties of Wiosconsin are designated as non-attainment with the 8-hour ozone standard. Emission reductions credits from the proposed rule revisions can be used for SIP purposes.
  • New Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Guidance and Transportation Conformity Credit - New language from the Transportation Authorization Bill allows states to use CMAQ funding for off-road diesel retrofil projects. Emission reductions asscociated with off-road retrofit or idle reduction control measures can be applied towards transportation conformity demonstrations
  • National trends related to Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks - Since diesel engines remain in use for up to 30 years, reducing pollution from existing diesel trucks will significantly reduce exposure to harmful diesel exhaust and improve air quality.
  • Eight years after the consent decree between EPA and Diesel Engine Manufacturers, fewer than nine percent of the low NOx rebuild kits under the consent decrees have been installed on defeat-device-equipped trucks.

Proposed Air Quality Control Measures

  1. Idle restriction for new heavy-duty diesel truck "hot spots"
  2. Low-NOx chip reflash requirement for new distribution centers where permittee has management control over fleet
  3. Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel requirement (15 PPM) in all off-road construction equipment for applicable highway projects and facilities
  4. 5-minute idle restriction on all off-road construction equipment that is not in use
  5. Retrofit some off-road construction equipment with diesel oxidation catalyst for applicable highway projects and facilities
  6. Transportation Demand Management plan requirement for employers in metropolitan areas that contract parking lots with a capacity to accommodate 1,000 vehicles (1,500 parking space threshold for employers located in non-metropolitan areas).

Invited Stakeholders

Dwight McComb Federal Highways Administration
Jeff Agee-Aguayo - Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
Kenneth Yunker - Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
John Jaekel - HNTB Consultant
Tory Kress - Strand Associates Consultant
Michael Leslie - EPA Region 5
Pat Stevens - Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association
Tom Walker- Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association
Peter Beitzel - Metropolitan Milwaukee Area of Commerce
Scott Manley - Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
Pat Trainer - Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Jay Waldschmidt - Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Carolyn Amegashie - Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Donna Brown - Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Jennifer Feyerherm - Sierra Club
Ward Lyle - 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
Bob and Karin Moreau - Citizen
Thomas Coogan - Wisconsin Department of Commerce
Mark Bentley - Wisconsin Trucking Association
Kevin Colemen - Madison Environmental Group, Inc.
Bob Cook - Transportation Development Association
Matt Hauser - Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Jim Boullion - Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Wisconsin, Inc
Erin Roth, Wisconsin Petroleum Council
Mike Dehaan - Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association
John Schommer - Wisconsin Warehouse Association

Public comments on proposed revisions

Upcoming meetings

December 7, 2006 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Room 717, GEF 2, 101 S. Webster Street, Madison.

Previous meetings

October 19, 2006

October 5, 2006

September 14, 2006

September 7, 2006

July 27, 2006

June 5, 2006

For more information, contact Mike Friedlander, michael.friedlander@wisconsin.gov, phone 608.267.0806.


Last Reviewed: September 26, 2006
Next Review: September 26, 2007
Last Revised: Monday November 26 2007