Informational Briefing
To facilitate the public’s understanding of the BCS draft permit, an informational briefing is being held at Peter Francisco Auditorium in the Buckingham County Administration Building at 13380 W. James Anderson Highway in Buckingham on August 16, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This briefing will provide information about DEQ’s review process and the resulting draft air permit. Oral and written comments will not be accepted as part of the formal record at this informational briefing. The public will have the opportunity to present comments for the record during the formal public comment period and at the public hearing.
Comment Period
The Buckingham Compressor Station (BCS) draft permit is the subject of a public comment period beginning August 8, 2018 and ending September 11, 2018. The comment period is specifically for the BCS draft air permit and does not pertain to issues outside the scope of the draft permit such as zoning, noise, traffic or safety. Please refer to the section of this page, Additional Information on Frequently Asked Questions Not Covered by the Air Permit for issues which people are often interested but are not part of the regulatory framework of an air permit.
NOTE: Comments will only be accepted during the formal comment period. Comments received either before or after the advertised start and end dates will not be part of the record and will not be considered. Receipt confirmation will not be provided for comments received during the comment period.
Public Hearing
On September 11, 2018, a public hearing will be held in the cafeteria of the Buckingham County Middle School located at 1184 High School Road, Buckingham, VA 23921 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. or until all comments are received, whichever is earlier. This is an opportunity for interested individuals to present their comments on the air permit to DEQ. It is a listening session and not a question and answer session. Members of the agency in attendance will not be responding to questions or comments at that time
No action on the draft permit will be taken at the public hearing. DEQ will analyze the comments and present a report to the State Air Pollution Control Board at a future meeting of the board. See Analysis of Comments and State Air Pollution Control Board Consideration of Permit information below.
Based on the strong public interest in this facility, it is anticipated attendance will be large. Those wishing to speak will be given a three-minute time restriction in order to allow as many people as possible that want to speak an opportunity to do so in the allotted time. Individuals that wish to make comments during the hearing should bring them in written form to provide to DEQ at the hearing.
Attendance at the public hearing is not required for DEQ to consider comments. DEQ suggests that interested persons submit comments in writing at any point during the comment period. Comments can be mailed to Piedmont Regional Office, RE: Buckingham Compressor Station, 4949-A Cox Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23060 or submitted electronically. All comments will be considered equally, whether submitted at the hearing or during the public comment period.
Analysis of Comments
At the end of the comment period, DEQ will compile, review and respond to comments. Comments similar in content may be aggregated for efficiency. DEQ will evaluate the comments and make changes to the draft permit as appropriate. DEQ responses and changes will be completed prior to finalizing any portion of the draft permit and a response to comments document will be prepared and made available to the public.
State Air Pollution Control Board Consideration of Permit
DEQ will present a report to the State Air Pollution Control Board (the board) on the permit. The board will take final action on the permit at a future meeting of the board. Consideration at that meeting is not a public hearing or new public comment opportunity on the draft permit. Only those persons who submitted official public comments on the draft permit between August 8 and September 11, 2018 may address the board. Furthermore, comments shall be limited to responding to the summary of the prior proceedings including DEQ’s summary of comments received during the public comment period provided to the board by DEQ. Additional information about the meeting, including the location and procedures for registering to speak, will be available prior to the meeting.
Background
In September 2015, ACP submitted an air permit application for proposed construction and operation of a natural gas-fired compressor station in Buckingham County, Virginia (Buckingham Compressor Station or BCS) 1.5 miles northwest of the intersection of Route 60 and Route 56. After submittal of the original application, ACP made significant design changes to the project. These changes, in addition to additional information requested by DEQ resulted in a revised application being submitted in May 2018. Following this submittal, DEQ requested further information and the application was finally deemed complete in July 2018. All the information received was used in the development of the draft permit which is subject to public comment.
BCS submitted applications on the following dates:
NOTE: These documents were not produced by DEQ. Some of the content may not be in an accessible format pursuant to Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794 (d)). Please call 800-592-5482 if you need assistance.
The draft permit is a minor new source review (NSR) permit. For a compressor station to be classified as a major source under NSR, it must have the potential to emit greater than 250 tons per year (tpy) of any regulated NSR pollutant. All the emissions at the BCS will be well below major NSR permit levels with the highest permitted emissions for any pollutant being 43 tpy for particulate matter. DEQ required a thorough Best Available Control Technology (BACT) analysis, air quality dispersion modeling and is holding a public comment period including a public hearing.
Review
Part of DEQ’s process in developing the permit for the BCS included a comprehensive review of permits for other compressor stations across the United States. Based on the information available at the time of this review, the requirements established in this draft permit make BCS the most stringently controlled compressor station in Virginia and in the United States. The pollutant limits and monitoring requirements in the BCS draft permit are more restrictive than the permits already issued by West Virginia and North Carolina for two similar stations to be located along the ACP.
DEQ required an air quality modeling analysis to demonstrate compliance with the health-based concentrations called National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). In addition, DEQ required the facility to conduct a modeling analysis for specific toxic air pollutants in order to ensure the concentrations would be below the Virginia Significant Ambient Air Concentrations (SAAC). The results of these analyses demonstrate that the facility will not cause any exceedances of regulatory health-based standards.
Additional Information on Frequently Asked Questions Not Covered by the Air Permit
DEQ has limited authority under its regulations and often receives questions which fall outside of the purview of the State Air Pollution Control Board Statute and Regulations. DEQ understands the importance of these issues to the citizens who live and work in the community surrounding the proposed facility. DEQ has identified some of the frequently asked questions and the following information should be helpful in answering some of those questions.
Site Zoning – The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors approved the Special Use Permit (SUP) for the siting of the facility on January 5, 2017. Buckingham County Board of Supervisors meeting minutes are available on the Buckingham County website.
Noise – The Buckingham County SUP limits noise at the property boundary both during construction and during operation of the facility. Noise is addressed in conditions 5, 6 and 18 of the SUP. Additional information regarding the BCS construction and noise control is available on the ACP website.
Light – The Buckingham County SUP limits light at the property boundary. The SUP lighting requirements can be found in conditions 8, 9, and 10.
Traffic – The Buckingham County SUP addresses the issue of traffic in condition 20.
Worker Safety – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates workplace safety. OSHA programs apply to employer and employee.
Community Safety – Emergency preparedness and response is covered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Additionally the Buckingham County SUP addresses emergency issues, including fire, in conditions 4, 35, 36 and 40.
Facility Need – The need for a utility line such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and therefore the BCS, is reviewed and approved by the federal government’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
DEQ Water Webpages – Atlantic Coast Pipeline Pipeline Updates
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