Rule Development

Current Rules And Regulations

Air Pollution Control Board

Advisory Committee

Public Workshops

Public Consultation

Rule Development Calendar

Compliance Dates

Publication & Subscription Order Form


 

Tyler Harris, Manager – Planning, Rules and Incentives (805) 303-3661

 

Do Young Maeng, Air Quality Engineer (805) 303-3662

Danny McQuillan, Air Quality Engineer (805) 303-3678

 

CURRENT PROJECTS:

 

  • District staff are evaluating recommended amendments made by EPA to Rule 74.15 Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters, and Rule 74.23 Stationary Gas Turbines and are expecting to host public consultation meetings in 2024.

 

 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) classify Ventura County as a non-attainment area for both the federal and state ozone air quality standards. In addition, Ventura County does not meet state particulate matter (PM) standards.

 

Therefore, the District must develop and implement rules designed to reduce air pollutants being emitted from local sources. The District's rules apply to many activities including open burning, incineration, gasoline storage, painting, solvent use, dry cleaning, screen printing, asphalt paving, chrome plating, fuel burning, landfills, and others.

 

With pollution still threatening our skies, the economy and public health continue to be at risk. The Rule Development Section is challenged with the task of developing rules to reduce emissions while minimizing their socioeconomic impacts.

 

Air Pollution Control Board Meetings

Calendar     |     Archives


 

September 10, 2024

Proposed Amendments to Rule 71.3 – Transfer of Reactive Organic Compound Liquids, Rule 74.15 – Boilers, Steam Generators and Process Heaters, & Rule 74.23 – Stationary Gas Turbines

The Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board will consider adoption of amendments to Rule 71.3, Transfer of Reactive Organic Compound Liquids; 74.15, Boilers, Steam Generators, and Process Heaters; and 74.23, Stationary Gas Turbines. The USEPA identified deficiencies in Rules 71.3, 74.15, and 74.23 in its review of the VCAPCD portion of the California SIP. The proposed amendments address the deficiencies related to the USEPA’s startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) requirements (80 FR 33840) and recordkeeping and reporting requirements (81 FR 89188). The proposed amendments clarify rule language, emissions requirements during startup, shutdown, and malfunction and the demonstration of compliance with these standards through recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

 

The proposed rules and staff report have been posted to the District website on the rule development page (www.vcapcd.org). The meeting will be held at the following time and location:

 

Tuesday – September 10, 2024
1:30 p.m.
Board of Supervisors Meeting Room
Ventura County Government Center
800 S. Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA

And Available to Stream at:
http://www.ventura.org/meetings

 

The public is invited to attend this meeting and be heard on this matter. Written comments may be emailed to danny@vcapcd.org and doyoung@vcapcd.org, mailed to 4567 Telephone Road, 2nd Floor, Ventura, CA, 93003, or faxed to (805) 456-7797. Please submit all comments no later than September 9.
 


 

Advisory Committee Meetings

Calendar


 

No Advisory Committee meetings on new or amended rules are presently scheduled.

 

Public Workshops

No Public Workshops on new or amended rules are presently scheduled.

 

Public Consultation Meetings

 

No Public Consultation Meetings on new or amended rules are presently scheduled.

 

Rule Development Calendar

 

2024 Rule Development Calendar:

On December 12, 2023, the Air Pollution Control Board adoped the 2024 Rule Development Calendar. Health and Safety Code §40923(a) requires the District to publish each January a list of regulatory measures scheduled, or tentatively scheduled, for consideration during the following year. Except for limited exceptions, the District may only propose consideration of regulatory measures during a year if those measures appear on the published list. State law does not require that the rulemaking calendar include control measures to comply with federal requirements, to abate substantial endangerment to the public health, to implement Air Toxic Control Measures published by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), or to implement contingency measures after a CARB determination of inadequate progress. The 2024 Rule Development Calendar is available below as a download. For additional information or questions, contact Danny McQuillan by email.

 

 

Compliance Dates

 

January 1, 2024

 

Components at Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities, Pipeline Transfer Stations and Natural Gas Production, Storage and Processing Facilities

On December 12, 2023, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District Rule 74.10, Components at Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities, Pipeline Transfer Stations and Natural Gas Production, Storage and Processing Facilities was amended. Rule 74.10, Section E requires that all operators submit to the District a revised Operator Management Plan (“Plan”). The amended rule requires that the Plan be submitted to the District by December 31, 2024 and may be submitted at the facility’s annual compliance inspection.
New requirements for Plan submittals include, but is not limited to:

 

  • Establishment of a database of every component to be monitored and its location
  • Sitemap of facility
  • Justification of critical process units
  • Identification and justification of unsafe-to-monitor components
  • Identification and justification of inaccessible components

 

The full compliance assistance advisory may be found below.
 


 

Flares

On September 12, 2023, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District Board adopted the new Rule 74.35 Flares. The purpose of Rule 74.35 is to reduce reactive organic compounds (ROC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from flares with a heat input rating of one (1) million (MM)BTU per hour and greater. Rule 74.35 was created under the California Clean Air Act and as an implementation of Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) required by Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Garcia, Chapter 136, statutes of 2017). The rule requirements are based on similar standards adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (Rule 1118.1 Control of Emissions from Non-Refinery Flares).

As an effort to improve facility compliance with the adoption of Rule 74.35, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) has prepared the following guide to help owners and operators subject to the flare rule to determine requirements for their specific equipment and can be found below.

If you have questions regarding permit requirements, please contact Keith Macias, APCD Compliance Division Manager, at (805) 303-3701.