Long-Awaited Air Quality Permit for Tenaska Generating Station Now Available for Public Comment
- Group Against Smog & Pollution
- Oct 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 17
Calling all Westmoreland County residents: The time to weigh in on the long-awaited Title V operating permit for the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station is NOW.
But how we got here and what’s in that permit will take a little bit of explaining…
How We Got Here
A couple of years ago, we blogged about testing issues at the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County. For the uninitiated: Tenaska is a 940-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant with two large turbines.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Plan Approval to authorize the plant’s construction in April 2015, and the plant began operating under the terms of that Plan Approval in December 2018.
In the regular course, once a major source of air pollution like Tenaska begins normal operations, it conducts a round of performance tests to establish proper operating limits and then must apply to DEP for a Title V Operating Permit that will incorporate those limits.
However, in January 2019, during one of the final performance tests at Tenaska, a malfunction with the testing equipment caused an invalid reading that prevented the plant’s operator from applying for a Title V Operating Permit.
Investigating the cause of the malfunction took some time (months) and then the plant’s operator and DEP could not agree on a new testing protocol. In the meantime, Tenaska continued to operate under its Plan Approval.
About Tenaska’s Title V Operating Permit
We’re pleased to report that Tenaska and DEP seem to have resolved those issues: This past July, Tenaska submitted its application for a Title V Operating Permit, and in the Oct. 5 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, DEP announced that it has prepared a draft Title V Operating Permit for the plant.
That draft Title V Operating Permit, DEP’s Review Memo, and Tenaska’s Permit Application are available here, here, and here.
What Pollution Tenaska Will Be Permitted to Emit
Here’s the interesting part: In the years Tenaska has operated the facility under its Plan Approval, the regulations governing natural gas-fired power plants’ emissions have become more stringent.
Consequently, the limitations on some pollutants - including ozone-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - in the proposed Title V Operating Permit are significantly less than they were under the Plan Approval:
The reductions in NOX, CO, and VOC emission limits are due to Best Available Control Technology, Reasonably Available Control Technology, and Lowest Available Emission Rate requirements imposed by the Clean Air Act becoming stricter since the Plan Approval was issued in 2015.
To satisfy those requirements today, the plant must meet lower emission limits for NOX (that were imposed by regulation) and run an oxidation catalyst for CO and VOCs, whereas in 2015 (at least arguably) it did not need to.
What It Means & How to Submit a Public Comment
“This shows how the Clean Air Act works in the background to drive improvements in air quality,” GASP Senior Attorney John Baillie explained. “When there is a lag like this between an initial Plan Approval and an initial operating permit, the improvements can seem sudden and significant.”
That draft is available for public comment through Nov. 3. You can submit written comments to:
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office
400 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Attn: Nick Waryanka, P.E., Air Quality Engineer
If you submit comments, they should reference permit number TV-65-00990.
Comments