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Home My WebLink AboutExhibit 09_Department of Ecology, Notice of Penalty STATE OF WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY PO Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600 • 360-407-6000 Notice of Penalty 21441 Cover Letter December 12, 2022 Page 1 December 12, 2022 Bert Brown, Interim Mill Manager Port Townsend Paper Corporation 100 Mill Road Port Townsend, Washington 98368 Re: Notice of Penalty Notice of Penalty Docket # 21441 Site Location Port Townsend Paper Corporation Penalty Amount $56,250 Due Date Within 30 days after receiving this Notice of Penalty The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has issued the enclosed Notice of Penalty to you for violating provisions of: • Air Operating Permit #0000922 • Chapter 173-400 Washington Administrative Code (WAC) – General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources • Chapter 70A.15 Revised Code of Washington (RCW) – Washington Clean Air Act Please read the following enclosure(s): • Notice of Penalty: Describes the violation(s) and the options for responding to the penalty. • News Release: Ecology issues news releases for all major penalties and enforcement actions, including this one. A courtesy copy of the draft news release is included. If you have a comment or question, contact Ecology communication manager Jeff Zenk at 360- 280-3704 or jeff.zenk@ecy.wa.gov by 9 A.M. the business day following receipt of the draft news release. If you have questions, please contact Emily Toffol at 360-790-8363 or emily.toffol@ecy.wa.gov. Sincerely, ____________________________________ James DeMay, P.E. Industrial Section Manager Sold Waste Management Program Enclosures: Notice of Penalty Docket No. 21441 Draft News Release cc: Micheal Clea, Port Townsend Paper Corporation Penalty Desk – Fiscal Office, Ecology Issuing Region Section Secretary Program Manager’s Secretary Notice of Penalty 21441 December 12, 2022 Page 1 State of Washington Department of Ecology In the Matter of Penalty Assessment Against PORT TOWNSEND PAPER CORPORATION Notice of Penalty Incurred and Due Docket # 21441 To: Bert Brown, Interim Mill Manager 100 Mill Road Port Townsend, WA 98368 The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has assessed a penalty against you in the amount of $56,250 for violating provisions of: • Permit #0000922 • Chapter 173-400 Washington Administrative Code (WAC) – General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources • Chapter 70A.15 Revised Code of Washington (RCW) – Washington Clean Air Act This Notice of Penalty is in reference to the Notice of Violation, Docket #21402 Ecology issued on September 30, 2022. Ecology has authority to issue this penalty under RCW 70A.15.3160. 1. Findings of Fact Port Townsend Paper Corporation (PTPC) operates a Recovery Furnace which is subject to the requirements of 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart MM, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at Kraft, Soda, Sulfite and Stand- Alone Semichemical Pulp Mills. The Recovery Furnace is subject to the particulate matter standard from the rule under 40 CFR Part 63.862(a)(1)(i)(A), which states that the owner or operator of each existing kraft or soda Recovery Furnace must ensure that the concentration of particulate matter in exhaust gases discharged to the atmosphere is less than or equal to 0.044 grain per dry standard cubic foot corrected to 8 percent oxygen (gr/dscf at 8% oxygen). Emissions from PTPC’s Recovery Furnace are controlled by three electrostatic precipitator cells. Precipitator Cell No.1 contains three fields (Field A, Field B, and Field C). Precipitator Cell No.2 contains four fields (Field A, Field B, Field C, and Field D). Precipitator Cell No.3 contains four fields (Field A, Field B, Field C, and Field D). PTPC demonstrates compliance with the 0.044 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen limit with a stack test by averaging results from three one-hour test runs. On August 9, 2022, PTPC sent the Department of Ecology (Ecology) a letter via email. The email stated that a third party (Montrose Air Quality Services, LLC, “Montrose”) performed stack testing on behalf of PTPC at the Recovery Furnace on July 6, 2022 and that PTPC received the associated draft stack test report on August 5, 2022. The stack test report indicated that the Notice of Penalty 21441 December 12, 2022 Page 2 three-run average during stack testing was 0.051 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen. The letter stated that preliminary results had originally indicated that the emission rate measured during the stack test would be below the 0.044 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen limit. The letter stated that the emissions Montrose measured during one of the three runs appeared to be significantly higher than the other two runs. The letter stated that even if PTPC excluded the high run, the stack test results would still exceed the limit of 0.044 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen. Ecology received a stack test report from PTPC for the July 6, 2022 stack testing at the Recovery Furnace on August 11, 2022. The August 9, 2022 letter stated that PTPC performed scheduled maintenance on the Recovery Furnace on July 7, 2022. PTPC opened Precipitator Cell No.1 and found that the inlet perforated plate was partially plugged. PTPC’s letter stated that the plugging may have channeled flue gas through Precipitator Cell No.1, resulting in reduced contact area and increased velocities throughout the unit. This flow pattern would reduce Precipitator Cell No.1’s ability to remove particulate matter from the Recovery Furnace exhaust. PTPC cleaned the perforated plate while the unit was down. PTPC noted that opacity at the Recovery Furnace, on average, was reduced after the maintenance event on July 7, 2022. The letter stated that Field A at the Precipitator Cell No.2 has been offline since March 26, 2022. The letter stated that repair attempts failed on March 26, April 14, and July 7, 2022. Sean Chase, PTPC interim environmental manager, stated via a phone call with Ecology on August 29, 2022, that PTPC planned to repair Field A at the Precipitator Cell No.2 during a maintenance outage scheduled for October 2022. Sean Chase said during the August 29, 2022 phone call that PTPC plans to have the original equipment manufacturer onsite during the outage to help with the repairs. The letter stated that PTPC was having a partial mill outage from August 8 through August 18, 2022, and that the mill would not be producing amounts of black liquor necessary to perform a subsequent representative stack test at the Recovery Furnace. Montrose completed subsequent stack testing at the Recovery Furnace on August 25, 2022, PTPC submitted the stack test report to Ecology on October 14, 2022. The stack test indicated that the Recovery Furnace emitted 0.035 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen. The measured emissions are below the limit of 0.044 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen and therefore demonstrated compliance. 2. Determination of Violations Ecology based NOV 21402 based on the information below: Notice of Penalty 21441 December 12, 2022 Page 3 Table 1. Summary of Violation Date of Stack Test Unit Pollutant Emission Limit Applicable Requirements Reported Emissions July 6, 2022 Recovery Furnace Hazardous Air Pollutants (Particulate Surrogate) 0.044 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen 40 CFR 63.862(a)(1)(i)(A) Air Operating Permit No. 0000922, Condition A.1* 0.051 gr/dscf at 8% oxygen *Air Operating Permit No. 0000922 issued January 17, 2007, and modified on April 28, 2010, was effective at the time of the violation. 3. Eligibility for Paperwork Violation Waiver and Opportunity to Correct Ecology has determined the violation(s) described in this Notice of Penalty are not paperwork violations under RCW 34.05.110 and therefore you are not eligible for a waiver for a first-time paperwork violation. 4. Options for Responding to a Notice of Penalty Option 1: Pay the penalty within 30 days after receiving the Notice of Penalty. Make your payment payable to the Department of Ecology. Please include the penalty docket number on your payment. Mail payment to: Department of Ecology Cashiering Unit PO Box 47611 Olympia, WA 98504-7611 Note: Ecology may take legal action to collect the penalty if you have not paid 30 days after receiving the Notice of Penalty and have not appealed. Option 2: Appeal to the PCHB and serve Ecology within 30 days after the date of receipt of the Notice of Penalty. The appeal process is governed by Chapter 43.21B RCW and Chapter 371-08 WAC. “Date of receipt” is defined in RCW 43.21B.001(2). To appeal you must do both of the following within 30 days after the date of receipt of this Notice of Penalty: Notice of Penalty 21441 December 12, 2022 Page 4 • File your appeal and a copy of this Notice of Penalty with the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) during regular business hours. • Serve a copy of your appeal and this Notice of Penalty on Ecology in paper form, by mail or in person. E-mail is not accepted. You must also comply with other applicable requirements in Chapter 43.21B RCW and Chapter 371-08 WAC. 5. Address and Location Information Street Addresses: Department of Ecology Attn: Appeals Processing Desk 300 Desmond Drive SE Lacey, WA 98503 Pollution Control Hearings Board 4224 – 6th Avenue SE Rowe Six, Building 2 Lacey, WA 98503 Mailing Addresses: Department of Ecology Attn: Appeals Processing Desk PO Box 47608 Olympia, WA 98504-7608 Pollution Control Hearings Board PO Box 40903 Olympia, WA 98504-0903 E-Mail Address: Department of Ecology Not currently available (see WAC 371-08) Pollution Control Hearings Board Pchb-shbappeals@eluho.wa.gov Notice of Penalty 21441 December 12, 2022 Page 5 6. Contact Information Please direct all questions about this Notice of Penalty to: Emily Toffol Washington State Department of Ecology Solid Waste Management Program, Industrial Section PO Box 47600 Olympia, Washington 98504 Phone: 360-790-8363 Email: emily.toffol@ecy.wa.gov 7. Americans with Disabilities Act Information Accommodation Requests To request ADA accommodation including materials in a format for the visually impaired, call Ecology at 360-407-7668 or visit https://ecology.wa.gov/accessibility. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341. 8. More Information • Pollution Control Hearings Board https://www.eluho.wa.gov/Board/PCHB • Chapter 43.21B RCW, Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office – Pollution Control Hearings Board https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.21B • Chapter 371-08 WAC – Practice and Procedure https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=371-08 • Chapter 34.05 RCW – Administrative Procedure Act https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=34.05 • Chapter 70A.15 RCW, Washington Clean Air Act https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=70A.15 9. Signature ______________________________________ James DeMay, P.E. Industrial Section Manager Solid Waste Management Program 12/12/2022____________________________ Date