EPA v. KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

Case summary

Kent State University (Kent State), Kent, Ohio, owned and operated a heating plant for the purpose of providing heat and cooling for the university. This heating plant consisted of two coal-fired boilers (B001 and B004) and one natural gas-fired boiler (B002). B001 and B004 had a rated heat capacity of 97 mmBtu/hr and 50 mmBtu/hr respectively. B002 had a rated heat capacity of 143 mmBtu/hr. B007 has a rated heat capacity of 121 mmBtu/hr. Each boiler had its own stack. On January 4, 1999, construction on another natural gas-fired boiler (B007) was completed and it began operation. Since that time another boiler, B006, has been constructed at another site on campus and B007 has been moved to that site. Coal-fired boilers B001 and B004 have been decommissioned and natural gas-fired boiler B002 has been placed on standby. According to the federally approved Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP) and the permits issued to Kent State by the State of Ohio, the heating plant was required to meet various emissions limitations and abide by various operational standards. Specifically, the facility was required to maintain visible emissions below 20% opacity and to limit particulate emissions (PM) to 0.18 pounds per million BTU. The facility was also required to maintain certain parameters on its baghouse. Additionally, the facility was required to record opacity readings, maintain certain baghouse parameters and perform emissions testing within a specified time period. The Ohio SIP and the permit issued by the State of Ohio also required the facility to obtain a permit for the operation of the new boiler (B007) prior to the operation of the boiler. There have not been any Federal enforcement actions involving Kent State within at least the past ten years. However the Akron Regional Air Quality Management District (ARAQMD), acting as an agent of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), notified Kent State on two occasions, June 8, 1995, and February 8, 1996, of violation of the applicable opacity standards. In response to the June 8, 1995 letter, Kent State stated that problems with the boiler were discovered and addressed beginning May 1, 1995. In response to the February 8, 1996 letter, Kent State stated that the university had developed a program to replace worn out equipment on the existing boilers and had planned the installation of two new boilers to address the opacity standard violations. After the issuance of the two letters, ARAQMD and Ohio EPA took no further enforcement action regarding the alleged violations at Kent State. From the period of 1996 to 2001, Kent State performed eight stack tests and all eight tests were performed under conditions that bias the results low. Six of the tests demonstrated non-compliance with the emissions limit for PM by an average of 100% over the limit. In addition, ARAQMD had documented opacity violations at Kent State for twelve years. U.S. EPA determined that enforcement action against Kent State was needed after becoming aware of the extent of the violations. U.S. EPA issued a Finding of Violation/Notice of Violation (FOV/NOV) to Kent State on August 10, 2001, alleging that Kent State failed to: 1. Keep all required records regarding its operating parameters on the baghouse and the opacity of its emission plume from the B001 boiler; 2. Keep all required records regarding its operating parameters on the baghouse and the opacity of its emission plume from the B004 boiler; 3. Perform stack testing for the B001 and B004 boilers within the required timeframe; 4. Conduct performance testing of its continuous emission monitoring system for measuring nitrogen oxides emissions; 5. Obtain a permit to operate its B007 boiler; and 6. Meet the emissions limitation for opacity and PM for the B001 and B004 boilers. U.S. EPA issued a second NOV to Kent State on March 6, 2002 alleging that Kent State did not submit an application to operate its new boiler

Defendants (1)

• KENT STATE UNIVERSITYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• KENT STATE UNIVERSITY HEATING PLANT

  1501 TED BOYD DR, KENT, OH, 44242

  Registry ID: 110006282021

Statutes cited

• CAA 111 — New Source Performance Standards

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• KENT STATE UNIVERSITYentered 2003-04-21

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $50,000 · SEP: $499,200

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2002-09-16Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2002-10-03Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2003-04-21Final Order Issued
• 2004-03-03Enforcement Action Closed