Regulatory Meeting December 7, 2010

12/07/2010
Regulatory Meeting
A clock icon
Time
A location icon
Location
9:30 A.M.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Nevada Department of Wildlife
Conference Room A
1100 Valley Road
Reno, NV

Minutes, Agenda, & Audio

Penalty Assessments for Air Quality Violations

Lake Tahoe Horizon Casino Resort

Penalty Assessments for Air Quality Violations No. 2232 and 2252: failure to apply for a renewal of an air quality operating permit prior to expiration, continuing to operate without a valid permit, and failure to conduct emission compliance tests (source tests) required by an air quality operating permit (recommended penalty $38,100). 

Eagle Peak Rock and Paving, Inc.

Penalty Assessments for Air Quality Violations No. 2248, 2249, 2257 and 2258: failure to install water sprays and enclosures and failure to comply with permitted emission limits-exceeding the permitted emission limit for visual emissions during operation of sources PF1.014, PF1.016 and PF1.023 (recommended penalty $30,800). 

Newmont Nevada Energy Investments, LLC

Penalty Assessments for Air Quality Violation No. 2226: Exceeding permitted emissions limits (PM10) on a coal-fired boiler as required by a Class I Air quality Operating Permit (recommended penalty $13,725).

Ames Construction, Inc.

Penalty Assessments for Air Quality Violations No. 2269, 2270 and 2271: operating without a valid air quality operating permit, failing to report the throughput and operating hour exceedances, and exceeding throughput and daily operating hour limits set in the air quality operating permit (recommended penalty $11,550). 

Extension

Arsenic Rule Extention - Safe Drinking Water

Pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Nevada laws and regulations (i.e., NRS 445A.935, & NAC 445A.490.5), the State Environmental Commission (SEC) has the authority to grant “extensions” to exemptions previously issued by the SEC regarding the federally mandated standard for arsenic in drinking water (i.e., 10 parts per billion). In 2006 and 2007, the SEC granted sixty-four “exemptions” to water purveyors in Nevada to extend the timeline for compliance with the federal arsenic rule.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW) has established criteria, based on state regulations and U.S. EPA guidance, to screen exempted facilities for a possible two-year extension to the timeline for compliance with the arsenic rule.

Accordingly, at this meeting the SEC will act on staff recommendations for, or against, a two-year extension of the timeline for compliance with the federal arsenic rule for a selected list of water purveyors in Nevada. (see list below)

Documents in Adobe PDF File Format

NDEP Regulatory Petitions

R129-10 - Bureau of Water Quality Planning - Water Quality Standards for Class D Waters & Removal of Legal References for Certain Tribal Waters

This regulation proposes changes to Water Quality Standards for Class D waters and removal of Nevada Administrative Code references to Tribal waters on the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation. When the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) updated the Class Waters to the E. Coli bacteria standard in 2008, EPA required Nevada to perform an assessment of the Class D waters, which do not have contact recreation as a beneficial use, to determine if the waters would now meet the fishable/swimmable goal of the Clean Water Act. NDEP is proposing to add contact recreation and the associated bacterial water quality standard to four segments of the Class D waters.

The State of Nevada water quality regulations are not applicable to waterbodies on tribal lands. As a sovereign nation, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes are responsible for regulating the water quality of the river within the boundaries of their land. Changes are proposed to the NAC to remove the segments of these reaches that are on tribal lands.

This regulation will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic impact on the public or the business community. There will be no additional costs to the agency for enforcement of the proposed regulation and the regulation does not overlap, duplicate or conflict with any regulations of other government agencies. The regulation does not address fees. (SEC Reference P2010-08)

Documents in Adobe PDF File Format

R115-10 - Office of Financial Assistance - Financial Assistance for Construction of Wastewater Treatment & Pollution Control Projects

This regulation would amend NAC 445A. Proposed revisions to the regulation govern financial assistance for construction of wastewater treatment & pollution control projects. Revisons to the regulation are intended to make the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund more consistent with program elements such as the Division of Environmental Protection's Priority List and the Intended Use Plan.

The proposed revisions also remove the requirement that project design be completed prior to project funding. The removal of this requirement will allow communities, which can not afford up front engineering cost, to utilize state revolving funds for such activities. The proposed regulation also removes confusing language for calculating fixed amounts for planning and design costs.

This regulation will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic impact on the public or the business community. There will be no additional costs to the agency for enforcement of the proposed regulation and the regulation does not overlap, duplicate or conflict with any regulations of other government agencies. The regulation does not address fees. (SEC Reference P2010-05)

Documents in Adobe PDF File Format

T011-10 - Bureau of Air Pollution Control / Air Quality Planning - Air Pollution Control New Public Notice Provisions For Class II Air Permits

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) is proposing to amend one section in the air permitting provisions of NAC 445B, which deals with Class II permit applications. The proposed temporary regulation addresses public noticing requirements and the timeline for agency action on applications.

Specifically, the regulation would require the Director to act on all Class II permit applications within 60 days after the official date of submittal and would streamline the public notice timeline for Class II applications. It would require all new Class II air permit applications and all applications for a modification (to an existing Class II source) that exceeds a certain threshold be made available for public notice. These regulatory changes respond to U.S. EPA comments on the approvability of the NDEP's public notice provisions into Nevada's applicable State Implementation Plan. The proposed amendments are necessary to align state regulations with the federal Clean Air Act and U.S. EPA rule requirements.

This temporary regulation will not have an immediate or long-term adverse economic impact on the public or the business community. The regulation does not overlap, duplicate or conflict with any regulations of other government agencies. There will be additional costs to the NDEP to administer the new public notice provisions for all new permit applications and for all modifications that exceed specified thresholds. The agency will bear these costs, at this time; no new fees are being proposed. (SEC #P2010-11)

Documents in Adobe PDF File Format

Upcoming Hearings / Meetings

We currently don’t have any meetings scheduled.