|
New air quality regulations for San Joaquin Valley dairies & farms CDQAP and its member organizations are cooperating with Agriculture Improving Resources (A.I.R.) on a series of workshops designed to inform dairy producers and other farmers about new San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District regulations for farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The air district recently changed its New Source Review Rule (Rule 2201) to lower the “major source” permitting threshold from 25 tons per year of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) or volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions to 10 tons/yr. Agriculture facilities are required to obtain air pollution permits if their emissions exceed half the major source threshold. This means smaller farms with more than five tons/yr emissions of NOx or VOC must now obtain air district permits if they do not currently have those permits. Equipment contributing toward the 5 tons/yr threshold includes stationary and portable irrigation pump engines, emergency engines, boilers, gasoline tanks, confined animals (cows, poultry, swine, etc), and other equipment emitting NOx or VOC. However, mobile source emissions, such as tractors, harvesters, trucks, etc., are not counted towards the 5 tons/yr threshold. The deadline to submit a permit application is December 10, 2010. Please see information below to held you decide if you should attend the workshops. Workshops are intended to assist you in determining your farm’s permit applicability, provide assistance in applying for permits and also to connect farmers with funding opportunities to assist in meeting these requirements. Help can also be found at the District’s Small Business Assistance line at (559) 230-5888. You should attend a workshop if you have: Irrigation or emergency generator engines larger than 50 horsepower that are currently not permitted or do not have a Permit Exempt Equipment Registration (PEER); Total combined horsepower rating of irrigation pump engines of greater than 250 hp; More than 175 milk cows on a dairy (and do not already have an air quality permit) Greater than 100 acres of contiguous cropland and have not applied for a Conservation Management Practice (CMP) Plan An interest in learning about grant funding to replace irrigation pump engines. (Or call the air district’s Emission Reduction Incentive Program (ERIP) hotline at (559) 230-5800. Internal combustion engines Rule 4702 required non-emergency noncertified (Tier 0) diesel-fired internal combustion (IC) engines greater than 50 hp to be replaced with Tier 3 engines or electric engines by January 1, 2010. The replacement requirement applies to non-emergency engines, such as those powering irrigation pumps, but does not apply to tractors. Also, as of January 1, 2009, Rule 4702 required reduced emissions for natural gas and propane IC engines. In addition, Tier I and Tier II diesel-fired engines must be replaced with latest Tier (Tier III or Tier IV) engines or electric engines as early as January 1, 2015. Grant funds are available to assist in replacing these engines. Applications for engine replacements should be filed with the air district ASAP. Call (559) 230- 5888 for help. Farms subject to permits must also file Authority to Construct (ATC) applications with the air district. Farms exempt from permits must file PEER (Permit Exempt Equipment Registration) applications with the air district. Both applications can be obtained at www.valleyair.org. A.I.R. Workshops San Joaquin County (3 workshops) Tuesday, October 5, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Tuesday, October 5, 1 pm-4pm Tuesday, November 4, 1 pm-4pm Robert J. Cabral Ag Center Conference Rm. 2101 E. Earhart Ave, Stockton Stanislaus County (3 workshops) Tuesday, September 21, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Friday, October 15, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Friday, October 15, 1 pm-4 pm Stanislaus County Ag Center Harvest Hall 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto Merced County (3 workshops) Wednesday, October 6, 9:30 am-12:30 pm Wednesday, October 6, 1 pm-4 pm Stevinson Pentecost Hall 2962 N. Lander Ave/Hwy 165, Stevinson Monday, November 1, 9:30 am-1 2:30 pm UC Cooperative Extension Classroom 2145 W. Wardrobe Ave, Merced Madera County (2 workshops) Tuesday, October 26, 9:30 am-1 2:30 pm Tuesday, October 26, 1 pm-4pm Madera County Fairgrounds, Little Theatre 1000 South 3rd Street, Chowchilla Fresno County (2 workshops) Wednesday, October 13, 9:30 am-1 2:30 pm Wednesday, October 13, 1 pm-4pm Riverdale Memorial Hall, 3085 W. Mount Whitney (across from high school), Riverdale Tulare County (3 workshops) Thursday, September 23, 1 pm-4pm Tuesday, October 12, 9:30 am-1 2:30pm Tuesday, November 9, 9:30 am-12:30pm Tulare County Ag Center Auditorium 4437 S. Laspina, Tulare Kings County (2 workshops) Wednesday, October 27, 9:30 am-1 2:30pm Wednesday, October 27, 1 pm-4pm Hanford Fraternal Hall 1015 North 10th Ave, Hanford Kern County (2 workshops) Thursday, October 28, 9:30 am-1 2:30pm Thursday, October 28, 1 pm-4pm Kern Agriculture Pavilion 3300 East Belle Terrace, Bakersfield
RSVP for agriculture AIR quality workshops
Please RSVP with the local County Farm Bureau for the time and location of the workshop you will be attending. Space may be limited in some locations so RSVP as soon as possible to one of the following:
Fresno Co. Farm Bureau: 559-237-0263 Kern Co. Farm Bureau: 661-397-9635 Kings Co. Farm Bureau: 559-584-3557 Madera Co. Farm Bureau: 559-674-8871 Merced Co. Farm Bureau: 209-723-3001 San Joaquin Co. Farm Bureau: 209-931-4931 Stanislaus Co. Farm Bureau: 209-522-7278 Tulare Co. Farm Bureau: 559-732-8301 Air District SBA Hotlines: Modesto: 209-557-6446 Fresno: 559-230-5888 Bakersfield: 661-392-5665 Air District Grant Program Hotline: 559-230-5800 COME PREPARED by bringing the following items to the workshops: Number of IC engines, the horsepower and year models of each engine and number of hours operated per year for each engine List of other stationary equipment that emits air pollution Number and type of cattle of different age groups Number, type, and size (height and width) of silage piles Number of miles of unpaved roads and the dust control treatments used on those unpaved roads and equipment yards Number of acres grown per crop
|