THIS CASE IS PART OF THE NATIONAL ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE INVOLVING ETHANOL PLANTS.
U.S. ENERGY, LOCATED IN RUSSELL, KANSAS, IS A SMALL DRY CORN MILL PLANT THAT PRODUCES ETHANOL. U.S. ENERGY RECEIVES WHOLE CORN WHICH IS THEN MILLED, COOKED, AND FERMENTED. AFTER FERMENTATION, THE RAW PRODUCT IS DISTILLED TO PRODUCE ETHANOL. IN THE COURSE OF THESE MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF PARTICULATE MATTER (PM), PARTICULATE MATTER AT OR BELOW 10 MICRONS (PM10), CARBON MONOXIDE (CO), VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS), NITROGEN OXIDES (NOX) AND OTHER POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS (HAPSS) ARE PRODUCED. THE PRIMARY SOURCES OF THESE EMISSIONS ARE FEED DRYERS, FERMENTATION UNITS, A COOLING CYCLONE, ETHANOL LOAD-OUT SYSTEMS, AND THE FUGITIVE EMISSIONS FROM FACILITY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING ROADS.
THE U.S. ENERGY FACILITY IS LOCATED IN A NATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NAAQS) ATTAINMENT AREA FOR ALL POLLUTANTS AND THE PSD RULES APPLY TO ALL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES WITHIN THAT AREA. UNDER THE PSD REGULATIONS, SOURCES MUST OBTAIN A PSD PERMIT PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION OF ANY MAJOR SOURCE OR ANY MAJOR MODIFICATION TO A MAJOR PSD SOURCE, AS DEFINED BY 40 C.F.R. ý 52.21. AMONG OTHER REQUIREMENTS, A SOURCE SUBJECT TO PSD MUST INSTALL POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT THAT CONSTITUTES THE BEST AVAILABLE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY OR BACT. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE U.S. ENERGY PLANT WAS A VIOLATION THE PSD REGULATIONS BECAUSE IT WAS A MAJOR