March 2001

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is the air pollution control agency with the jurisdiction over Orange County and portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Anyone wishing to install or modify equipment that could control or be a source of air pollution within this region must first file an application to obtain permit from the AQMD. For projects that are subject to AQMD Regulation XVII - Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD), the public may request to be put on the mailing list for additional notices on permitting activities.

The AQMD is currently in the process of reviewing permit applications for several projects that are subject to the PSD regulation. Following are the project names and locations:

• Mountainview Power Plant Expansion
  Mountainview Power, LLC is installing four new gas-fired turbines at their facility in Redlands with the capacity to generate 1,056 Megawatts of electrical power. The turbines will be equipped with emission controls in the form of Selective Catalytic Reduction systems and CO catalysts. The turbines will use natural gas exclusively as their fuel. There will be a diesel-fired emergency generator, a diesel-fired emergency fire water pump, two 22,500-gallon aqueous ammonia storage tanks, and one cooling tower.
  
• AES Huntington Beach Power Plant Modernization
  AES has proposed to retool and operate two 225-megawatt natural gas-fired boilers at their Huntington Beach power plant, for a total of 450 Megawatts of electrical power. The utility boiler/steam generators (Units 3 and 4), which currently exist but are out of service, will be rebuilt with new low-NOx natural gas burners, a burner management system, and new draft fans to improve their operating efficiency. In addition to refurbishing the boilers, AES will be adding Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and CO oxidation catalyst equipment for emissions controls.
  
• Nueva Azalea Power Plant Project
  Nueva Azalea Power plant is a brand new 550-megawatt; natural gas-fueled electricity-generating plant. The facility is proposed to be built in the City of South Gate and will have two cogeneration turbines, each rated at 275 Megawatts. The turbines exhaust stack will be connected to state of the art air pollution control devices, called SCONOx ^TM. It is expected that NOx, CO and VOC emissions will be reduced to 1 PPM, 0.5 PPM and 0.2 PPM respectively. This facility will also have an emergency natural gas fired internal combustion engine and a cooling tower.
  
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Harbor Station Expansion
  LADWP is installing five new gas-fired turbines at their facility in Wilmington with the capacity to generate 235 Megawatts of electrical power. The turbines will be equipped with emission controls in the form of SCR and CO catalysts. The turbines will use natural gas as their fuel primary fuel, with diesel as a back up. There will be a diesel-fired emergency generator, and 5 new cooling towers.
  
• Arco Berth 121 Shoreside Pump Project
  The ARCO Berth 121 Shoreside Pump Project is a proposed modification to ARCO’s crude oil offloading terminal, known as Berth 121 at the Port of Long Beach, by the installation and operation of electric shoreside pumps. These pumps would allow new fleet of vessels to offload faster and with less combustion emissions at this facility. Due to expected changes in the source of crude oil and the types and number of vessels utilizing the berth, the current facility emission cap would not be sufficient in the near future. Hence, a higher emission cap, specifically for ROG and CO, is proposed. It is expected, however, that the emission cap for NOx and SOx would remain the same but their estimated emission increase under PSD , which is determined by comparing past two years calculated emissions to potential emissions, would exceed the 40-ton per year trigger. The Port of Long Beach has certified a CEQA document for the project.

  Anyone interested in any of these projects, who would like to be placed on a mailing list to receive further information on permitting activities, should call Marline Valadez at (909) 396 2873, or send an e-mail to mvaladez@aqmd.gov or a written request to SCAQMD, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA 91765, Attn: Marline Valadez. Please include your name and mailing address, and indicate the project(s) of interest.

   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  AQMD Home Page
  This page updated: April 20, 2004
  URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/PSD_notice.htm