Compliance Assistance for Biodiesel Production Plants
Department of Natural Resources fact sheet | 03/2014 |
Department of Natural Resources Director: Sara Parker Pauley | PUB02230 |
Disclaimer: The statements in this document are intended solely as guidance and as a service
to facilitate the permit application process, not as legal advice. This document is not a substitute
for obtaining proper legal or technical advice specific to any particular situation, nor can it be
relied upon to create any rights enforceable by any party in litigation. Rather, the applicant is
responsible for complying with all federal, state and local laws. It is recommended that you
consult a competent attorney who specializes in the field of environmental law on issues
concerning liability. This document may be revised without public notice to reflect changes in
law, regulation or policy.
Biodiesel production in Missouri is relatively new and interest in expanding the industry seems to
be high. This fact sheet is designed to help those considering and planning the construction of
new biodiesel production plants. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has several fact
sheets relevant to this subject available on the department’s website as well as listed at the end
of this publication. Facilities may also visit www.biodiesel.org for information on the production
processes for biodiesel fuel.
Planning Assistance
Biodiesel production facilities are often subject to a variety of environmental regulations and
permitting, even if your expected production levels are small. Arrange to meet with Department
of Natural Resources officials early in the planning process to be certain your business plans
include all air, water and land environmental permitting and siting issues. Call the department’s
Division of Environmental Quality at 573-751-6892 or 800-361-4827 to set up a no-cost multimedia
pre-application meeting.
A quick way to get an overview of the types of permits you may need is to visit the department’s
online Permit Assistant. The department designed this
tool to help users determine what type of environmental permits they need and provide the forms
necessary to apply for these permits. This easy-to-use tool will ask the user a few simple
questions to determine the users needs.
Water Pollution
Most biodiesel facilities in Missouri require operating permits issued by the department’s Water
Protection Program. These include land disturbance permits for land clearing and construction
efforts, as well as permits to control contaminants from operating biodiesel facilities, such as
stormwater and process wastewater. Exceptions include those facilities that do not have a
process wastewater discharge, and those that receive a No Exposure Certification (example:. no
contaminants exposed to precipitation. See EPA Conditional No Exposure Exclusion).
Stormwater operating permits are required for facilities with the potential to discharge
contaminated storm water. This includes facilities with raw or intermediate materials, finished
product or wastes stored outside exposed to precipitation. Potential contaminants include
spilled oils, glycerin, soap stock, etc. The department has developed a general stormwater
permit, MOR23A, that may be applicable as long as a biodiesel facility does not perform blending
with petroleum diesel and does not use glycerin disposal practices such as composting and land
application.
Site specific wastewater operating permits are required for most biodiesel facilities. Sources of contamination from biodiesel facilities include storm water and process wastewater.
Exceptions to the permit requirement would be facilities without a process wastewater discharge
and a No Exposure Certification (example: no contaminants exposed to precipitation).
Process wastewater sources include the separator, neutralization, wash water and methanol recovery steps. Water used in these steps pick up contaminants, such as salts, soap, biodiesel and methanol. These contaminants pose a threat to water quality, which requires the department to establish effluent limitations in a site-specific operating permit. Facilities that plan to discharge their process wastewater to another permitted facility, such as city sewer system, do not need a state operating permit for their process wastewater, but may need a pretreatment permit from the local wastewater utility. This wastewater has a very high oxygen demand and the ability of the local treatment plant to handle it will be a real concern to the utility in setting your effluent limits.
A site specific permit is required if the proposed facility discharges process wastewater, or if
it does not qualify for a general stormwater permit. A site specific permit is also available to
any facility that requests it, as general permits are required to be conservative and protective
of sensitive waterbodies. Therefore it is sometimes advantageous for a facility discharging to
a water body that is not highly sensitive to obtain a site specific permit, because it can result
in high effluent limits. However, the annual fees for a site specific permit are considerably
more expensive.
If you are planning to construct a new biodiesel facility and plan to discharge process
wastewater, please submit an application for Water Quality Review Assistance. The application
is available on the web at
Water Quality Review Assistance / Antidegradation Review Request, Form--MO 780-1893. This will provide you with
the effluent limits that will apply to your facility, allowing you to better plan for managing the
wastewater. In addition, any facility applying for a site specific permit after Aug. 29, 2008,
will have to undergo a level of Antidegredation Review. This will apply to new and expanded
facilities only. Contact the Water Protection Program for additional details and assistance.
Construction permits are not required unless a facility is constructing a wastewater treatment device. This will generally only apply to a facility with a process wastewater treatment system.
A land disturbance permit will be required for new facilities that disturb an acre or more of land. A general permit is available for land disturbance. Like all other discharge permits, a land disturbance permit is conditioned upon the location of the discharge relevant to protected waters such as losing streams, outstanding national or state resource waters, reservoirs or lakes used for public drinking water supplies or those listed as impaired waters. This permit does not apply for land disturbance storm water discharges where any of the disturbed area is defined as a wetland or the storm water discharges to a sinkhole or other direct conduit to groundwater.
Permit Timing
A facility requiring a site specific operating permit is to submit the application at least 180 days
prior to beginning to discharge. A public notice with a 30-day comment period is included in that
time frame. A public hearing may also be held if one is requested. A facility eligible for a general
permit is to submit the application at least 60 days before construction begins. General permits
take about 30 days to review and require no site specific public notice.
Improper release of biodiesel production wastewater will have very serious affects on receiving
waters. A serious fish kill and a complete municipal wastewater treatment plant upset have
occurred in Missouri as a result of biodiesel production wastewater releases.
Air Pollution
The department requires a facility to submit a construction permit for the construction of new air
pollution sources or modification of existing sources. This permit is required prior to
commencing construction unless the installation applies for and receives a pre-construction
waiver. No construction permit is required if the potential emissions of an entire installation are
less than regulatory de minimis levels or if potential emissions of a proposed project are below
insignificant levels.
Emission Levels of Common Air Pollutants
Pollutant (Note 1) |
Insignificant Levels (lbs/hour) (Note 2) |
Regulatory De Minimis Levels/ Federal Significance Levels (tons per year) |
Major Source Thresholds - |
Major Source Thresholds - NSR Non-named sources (tons per year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
PM10 |
1.0 |
15 |
100 |
250 |
PM2.5 |
10 |
100 |
250 |
|
SOx |
2.75 |
40 |
100 |
250 |
NOx |
2.75 |
40 |
100 |
250 |
VOC |
2.75 |
40 |
100 |
250 |
CO |
6.88 |
100 |
100 |
250 |
HAPs |
0.5 (Note 3) |
10/25 |
10/25 |
10/25 |
Note1: PM10 = particulate matter with diameter less than 10 microns; SOx = Sulfur Oxides; NOx =
Nitrogen Oxides; VOC = Volatile Organic Compounds; CO= Carbon Monoxide; HAPs=
Hazardous Air Pollutants.
Note 2: Insigificance levels are defined in 10 CSR 10-6.061 Construction Permit Exemptions and are only applicable to previously permitted facilities.
Note 3:
The insignificance level indicated is a general value. This exemption may not apply to a HAP with
an annual emission rate that exceeds its screening model action level as established in
subsection
(12)(J) of 10 CSR 10-6.060.
Potential emissions of the proposed project determine the type of construction permit needed. Potential emissions are calculated based on maximum design capacity of the installation assuming continuous year-round operation. Emission factors used to calculate potential to emit could come from EPA sources, stack test or engineering data. Biodiesel emission sources include oil pretreatment, biodiesel process, boilers, leaks, loadout, haul roads, uncontrolled storage tanks and cooling towers.
There are three types of air construction permits:
• De Minimis Construction Permits (Section 5) - De minimis permits are issued for existing
facilities with a new project with potential emissions of less than or equal to state de minimis
levels. A new installation with project potential emissions greater than de minimis levels can
request a permit condition limiting its plant wide emissions to de minimis.
• Minor Construction Permits (Section 6) - Minor permits have project potential emissions
greater than de minimis, but less than major permitting levels. Installations obtaining minor
source permits require air modeling to demonstrate compliance with air increment and
National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Installations with potential emissions of sulfur oxides
or particulate matter greater than 50 tons per year are required to submit ambient air quality
modeling data.
• Major Review Permits (Sections 7, 8) – Major review permits follow federal emissions
thresholds and guidelines and therefore require additional technical review for control
technology planned, air dispersion modeling and public notice.
Permit Timing
For de minimis and minor permits, the department has a statutory requirement to complete the
projects within 90 days from receipt of a complete application. The department has a statutory
requirement to complete major reviews within 184 days. The department does stop the clock if
the department requests additional necessary information from the applicant.
Co-locating a new biodiesel plant with a new soybean oil extraction plant can significantly affect
the construction permit, as it might be necessary to consider them the same installation.
Air operating permits are issued to all installations with potential emissions greater than de
minimis levels or that have new source standards to meet. The air construction permit allows
the installation to construct and operate. In addition, the construction permit details the type of
operating permit required and the time frame allowed for the installation to submit the operating
permit application.
A number of federal performance standards and control technologies may apply to biodiesel
production facilities. These include the following standards:
40 CFR Part 60 - New Source Performance Standards:
- Subpart Kb, for Volatile Organic Liquid Storage Vessels
- Subpart Dc, for Small Industrial/Commercial/Institutions Steam Generating Units
- Subpart NNN, for Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Distillation Operations
- Subpart RRR, for Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry Reactor Processes
- Subpart VV, for Equipment Leaks of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions in the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry
40 CFR Part 63, Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards:
- Subpart FFFF, National Emission Standards for Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Production and Processes
- Subpart DDDDD, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters
If any of these standards apply, an air operating permit will be required even if emission levels do not trigger a construction permit.
Solid Waste
Biodiesel production facilities, like most facilities, will generate solid waste. Common activities
that generate solid waste include:
- Office paper, cardboard, plastic, metal and glass food and beverage containers
- Food waste from cafeteria or break room operations
- Used engine oil, antifreeze, batteries and similar waste generated from fork lifts, cars and trucks
- Office equipment and appliances, such as computer monitors and hard drives, printers and copy machines, televisions and microwave ovens
- Packaging from materials received at a facility, such as foam, strapping and lumber
- Wastes associated with heating and air conditioning systems and building maintenance
- Used chemicals, sludge from process tank clean-outs and other wastes generated from production
It is important to reduce, reuse and recycle. All businesses must recycle computers and
florescent bulbs, unless they are managed as a hazardous waste. Used oil and lead-acid
batteries are banned from disposal in landfills in Missouri. All solid waste must be taken to
recyclers for recovery, reuse or to a permitted solid waste facility for proper disposal.
Note: Some landfills have experienced problems with fires of waste materials containing
diatomaceous earth, a substance used as a filter by some biodiesel plants for final filtration
and the soy refining process. Research is underway to determine the cause of this problem.
Hazardous Waste
Facilities that generate hazardous waste are required to meet design, construction and location
requirements of areas where the waste is stored. In addition, facilities are required to meet
construction requirements of tanks and containers that store waste, how tanks and containers
are marked, labeled, dated, etc., how records are kept, what reports are made and when, and
how waste is shipped and disposed. Along with the costs of these activities, there may be
significant hazardous waste generation fees as well.
The following waste streams may be regulated as hazardous:
- Strong acids or bases (unused excess, off-specification materials, spent materials)
- Wash water wastes not discharged to an approved wastewater treatment plant
- Methanol waste that is not reclaimed
- Materials from the transesterification process, such as sulfuric acid
- Paint waste
- Washer solvent
- Sludges from floor drains, sand pits
- Parts washer solvent, sludges or filters
- Aerosol cans
- Glycerin (that cannot be reclaimed for further use or is sent off-site)
In addition, the following waste streams may require special handling:
- Mercury containing lamps, such as fluorescent or high intensity discharge lamps
- Electronics
- Used oil
Glycerin as hazardous waste
During biodiesel production, a chemical process called transesterification creates glycerin
as a significant by-product, relative to the oil processed. The glycerin is contaminated with
methanol or ethanol depending on the production process used by the facility. If the
contaminated glycerin has a flashpoint below 60 C (140 F), it is an ignitable hazardous waste. If
the contaminated glycerin has a pH less than or equal to 2.0, or greater than or equal to 12.5,
it is a corrosive hazardous waste.
A way to avoid hazardous waste regulation of a facility’s glycerin is to show the glycerin
produced by a biodiesel plant is marketable. If business records show at least 75 percent, by
weight or volume, of the ignitable glycerin produced in one calendar year is used as a feedstock,
then a facility is not required to manage the material as a waste. Contracts, inventories, sales
records, invoices and other business records will help show that enough of the glycerin is being
marketed and is not being “accumulated speculatively” or being stored in lieu of disposal. If a
facility is unable to market sufficient glycerin to meet this standard, then the facility will have to
determine if the glycerin is hazardous waste.
Investing in the process to ensure the glycerin produced is either not hazardous waste, or that it
meets the necessary quality constraints in today’s markets to be readily marketable and is being
recycled in the required amounts, could be money well spent.
Underground Storage Tanks
An underground storage tank is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has
at least 10 percent of its combined volume underground. The underground storage tank
regulations apply only to the tanks and piping storing either petroleum or certain hazardous
substances. Straight unblended biodiesel fuel is not regulated under underground storage tank
rules. Regulated underground storage tanks are required to meet the following standards:
- Corrosion Protection - To assure steel underground storage tank systems do not rust over time
- Spill Protection - The installation of a spill bucket or catchment basin around the fill pipe
- Overfill Prevention - Overfill prevention equipment is designed to alert the delivery driver the tank is almost full
- Leak Detection - Underground storage tanks are required to have leak detection methods for its tanks and piping
Federal Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Requirements
Preparation and using a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure plan is the main
requirement for regulated facilities to prevent any discharge of oil into waters of the United States.
The plan requirements (40 CFR 112) apply if the aggregate above ground storage capacity is
1,320 gallons or greater and the oil can reach navigable waters if a release occurs. The term oil
means oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to:
- Petroleum
- Fuel oil
- Sludge
- Oil refuse
- Oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil
- Fats, oils or greases of animal, fish or marine mammal origin
- Vegetable oils, including oil from seeds, nuts, fruits or kernels
- Other oils and greases, including synthetic oils and mineral oils
The aggregate above ground storage capacity of the facility is determined by adding the total volumetric capacity of all the containers storing oil, including vegetable oils, that are 55 gallons and greater. If the above ground aggregate capacity reaches 1,320 gallons or more then the facility must have a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan approved by a professional engineer. For underground storage, a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan would be required only if the storage capacity is greater than 42,000 gallons of petroleum, not including any capacity stored in underground storage tanks regulated under 40 CFR 280 at the facility. The plan outlines the measures a facility will take to control and respond to an oil release at the site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administers the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure program under federal regulations. More information about the EPA program is available on the web at http://www.epa.gov/Region5/superfund/oil/spcc.html.
Spill Reporting and Notification
If a spill occurs, it is the responsibility of the person who possesses or controls the hazardous
substance or who causes the spill to notify the Missouri Department of Natural Resources by
calling the 24-hour Environmental Emergency Response Hotline at 573-634-2436. The
responsible party must determine whether a released substance is hazardous based on quantity,
physical and chemical characteristics of the substance.
Chapter 260.500 - 260.550 RSMo, referred to as the Missouri Spill Bill, provides the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources’ legal authority to ensure that releases of hazardous
substances are reported to the State of Missouri and adequately cleaned up. The law further
specifies that the department “may require the person having control (responsible party) over a
hazardous substance in the hazardous substance emergency to clean up the hazardous
substance and take any reasonable actions necessary to end a hazardous substance
emergency.” The law allows for the department to conduct the cleanup if certain actions are not
met in a timely manner. In addition, the law allows the department to recover costs incurred by
the State of Missouri for cleanup oversight. For more information about state reporting and
cleanup requirements, see Missouri Spill Bill, chapters 260-500 through 260-550.
There are federal reporting requirements for any discharged material considered an oil or
contains an oil material which includes non-petroleum oils such as vegetable oils. See
www.uscg.mil/vrp/faq/planreq.shtml#pr2 for a definition of oil and a list of materials considered an
oil. If an oil discharge threatens or impacts (visible sheen) a navigable waterway, the responsible
party is required to report the discharge to the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.
It is recommended that the responsible party also contact the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources 24-hour Environmental Emergency Response hotline at 573-634-2436.
Community Right To Know
The production of biodiesel involves various chemicals such as methanol, sodium hydroxide,
potassium hydroxide, ethyl acetate, sodium methylate, sulfuric acid and glycerin. Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-know Act and Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
Sections 311 and 312 require facilities storing hazardous chemicals on-site to report this
to local emergency authorities. The Missouri Emergency Response Commission handles
emergency planning and administration of the Community Right-to-Know Act. This act
requires chemical inventory reporting to county and local emergency response organizations.
A facility must submit a report when all of the following conditions are met:
- The facility is subject to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.
- The facility uses, produces or stores a hazardous chemical or an extremely hazardous
substance. - The quantity of hazardous chemicals or extremely hazardous substances is in excess of the
threshold quantity.
The definition for hazardous chemicals and the list of extremely hazardous substances,
along with the reporting thresholds for each are in the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know guidance available on the web at http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/lcra.html.
For more information, contact your county government emergency management coordinator and
local fire department about reporting chemical usage at your facility. For information on
community right-to-know and registration of hazards go to http://sema.dps.mo.gov/about/merc.asp.
References
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has several fact sheets facilities may find useful
available on the department’s webpage at www.dnr.mo.gov/pubs/index.html. These documents
can assist in understanding how the laws and regulations may apply and provide helpful
information on technical issues. Most permit forms are also located on the department’s website and are available to be downloaded at www.dnr.mo.gov/forms/index.html.
Additional publications developed specifically for the biofuels industry include:
Developing Biofuel Production in Missouri.
Documents describing all of Department of Natural Resources’ environmental permits and regulations include:
Environmental Permits and How to Obtain Them
Understanding Environmental Regulations and Permits
Facilities may also call a regional office or program listed below to ask additional questions.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources 24-hour Environmental Emergency Response hotline at 573-634-2436
Division of Environmental Quality
Air Pollution Control Program 573-751-4817
Environmental Services Program
Environmental Emergency Response 573-634-2436
Hazardous Waste Program 573-751-3176
Land Reclamation Program 573-751-4041
Solid Waste Management Program 573-751-5401
Water Protection Program
Public Drinking Water Branch 573-751-5331
Water Pollution Control Branch 573-751-1300
Regional Offices:
Kansas City Regional Office 816-251-0700
Northeast Regional Office 660-385-8000
St. Louis Regional Office 314-416-2960
Southeast Regional Office 573-840-9750
Southwest Regional Office 417-891-4300