(a) General exemptions. Units exempted from the provisions of this division (relating to Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Ozone Nonattainment Area Major Sources), except as specified in §§117.310(f), 117.340(j), 117.345(f)(6) and (10), 117.350(c)(1), and 117.354(a)(5) of this title (relating to Emission Specifications for Attainment Demonstration; Continuous Demonstration of Compliance; Notification, Recordkeeping, and Reporting Requirements; Initial Control Plan Procedures; and Final Control Plan Procedures for Attainment Demonstration Emission Specifications), include the following:
  (1) any new units placed into service after November 15, 1992, except for new units that are qualified, at the option of the owner or operator, as functionally identical replacement for existing units under §117.305(a)(3) of this title (relating to Emission Specifications for Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)). Any emission credits resulting from the operation of such replacement units are limited to the cumulative maximum rated capacity of the units replaced. This exemption no longer applies after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title (relating to Compliance Schedule for Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Ozone Nonattainment Area Major Sources);
  (2) any industrial, commercial, or institutional boiler or process heater with a maximum rated capacity of less than 40 million British thermal units per hour (MMBtu/hr). This exemption no longer applies after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title;
  (3) heat treating furnaces and reheat furnaces. This exemption no longer applies to any heat treating furnace or reheat furnace with a maximum rated capacity of 20 MMBtu/hr or greater after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title;
  (4) flares, incinerators, pulping liquor recovery furnaces, sulfur recovery units, sulfuric acid regeneration units, molten sulfur oxidation furnaces, and sulfur plant reaction boilers. This exemption no longer applies to the following units after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title:
    (A) incinerators with a maximum rated capacity of 40 MMBtu/hr or greater; and
    (B) pulping liquor recovery furnaces;
  (5) dryers, kilns, or ovens used for drying, baking, cooking, calcining, and vitrifying. This exemption no longer applies to the following units after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title:
    (A) magnesium chloride fluidized bed dryers; and
    (B) lime kilns and lightweight aggregate kilns;
  (6) stationary gas turbines and stationary internal combustion engines, that are used as follows:
    (A) in research and testing;
    (B) for purposes of performance verification and testing;
    (C) solely to power other engines or gas turbines during startups;
    (D) exclusively in emergency situations, except that operation for testing or maintenance purposes is allowed for up to 52 hours per year, based on a rolling 12-month average. Any new, modified, reconstructed, or relocated stationary diesel engine placed into service on or after October 1, 2001, is ineligible for this exemption. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the terms "modification" and "reconstruction" have the meanings defined in §116.10 of this title (relating to General Definitions) and 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §60.15 (December 16, 1975), respectively, and the term "relocated" means to newly install at an account, as defined in §101.1 of this title (relating to Definitions), a used engine from anywhere outside that account;
    (E) in response to and during the existence of any officially declared disaster or state of emergency;
    (F) directly and exclusively by the owner or operator for agricultural operations necessary for the growing of crops or raising of fowl or animals; or
    (G) as chemical processing gas turbines;
  (7) stationary gas turbines with a megawatt (MW) rating of less than 1.0 MW. This exemption no longer applies after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title;
  (8) stationary internal combustion engines with a horsepower (hp) rating of less than 150 hp. This exemption no longer applies after the appropriate compliance date(s) for emission specifications for attainment demonstration specified in §117.9020 of this title;
  (9) any boiler or process heater with a maximum rated capacity of 2.0 MMBtu/hr or less;
  (10) any stationary diesel engine placed into service before October 1, 2001, that:
    (A) operates less than 100 hours per year, based on a rolling 12-month average; and
    (B) has not been modified, reconstructed, or relocated on or after October 1, 2001. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the terms "modification" and "reconstruction" have the meanings defined in §116.10 of this title and 40 CFR §60.15 (December 16, 1975), respectively, and the term "relocated" means to newly install at an account, as defined in §101.1 of this title, a used engine from anywhere outside that account; and
  (11) any new, modified, reconstructed, or relocated stationary diesel engine placed into service on or after October 1, 2001, that:
    (A) operates less than 100 hours per year, based on a rolling 12-month average, in other than emergency situations; and
    (B) meets the corresponding emission standard for non-road engines listed in 40 CFR §89.112(a), Table 1 (October 23, 1998) and in effect at the time of installation, modification, reconstruction, or relocation. For the purposes of this paragraph, the terms "modification" and "reconstruction" have the meanings defined in §116.10 of this title and 40 CFR §60.15 (December 16, 1975), respectively, and the term "relocated" means to newly install at an account, as defined in §101.1 of this title, a used engine from anywhere outside that account.
(b) RACT exemptions. Units exempted from the emissions specifications of §117.305 of this title include the following:
  (1) any industrial, commercial, or institutional boiler or process heater with a maximum rated capacity less than 100 MMBtu/hr;
  (2) any low annual capacity factor boiler, process heater, stationary gas turbine, or stationary internal combustion engine as defined in §117.10 of this title (relating to Definitions);
  (3) boilers and industrial furnaces that were regulated as existing facilities by the United States Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Part 266, Subpart H, as was in effect on June 9, 1993;
  (4) fluid catalytic cracking units (including carbon monoxide (CO) boilers, CO furnaces, and catalyst regenerator vents);
  (5) duct burners used in turbine exhaust ducts;
  (6) any lean-burn, stationary, reciprocating internal combustion engine;
  (7) any stationary gas turbine with a MW rating less than 10.0 MW;
  (8) any new units placed into service after November 15, 1992, except for new units that were placed into service as functionally identical replacement for existing units subject to the provisions of this division as of June 9, 1993. Any emission credits resulting from the operation of such replacement units are limited to the cumulative maximum rated capacity of the units replaced;
  (9) stationary gas turbines and engines, that are demonstrated to operate less than 850 hours per year, based on a rolling 12-month average; and
  (10) stationary internal combustion engines with a hp rating of less than 150 hp.

Source Note: The provisions of this §117.303 adopted to be effective June 14, 2007, 32 TexReg 3206