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Grays Harbor Energy Center Permits

Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permits

PSD Amendment 5

Document Title Document Date
Cover letter 01/28/2021
PSD Amendment 5 Fact Sheet 01/25/2021
PSD Amendment 5 Permit 01/25/2021

*Public comment period closed on January 19, 2021*

Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment

Amendment 5 to Air Emissions Permit for
Grays Harbor Energy, LLC Electrical Generating Facility
Elma, WA

What projects are proposed?

Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) Draft Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Notice of Construction (NOC)

EFSEC is proposing to issue a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Notice of Construction Permit No. EFSEC/2001-01, Amendment 5 to Grays Harbor Energy Center, LLC (GHEC), which is a minor modification of the current Permit. The GHEC is located at 401 Keys Rd, Elma, WA 98541.

GHEC is planning to install General Electric (GE) combustion turbine (CT) upgrades, which include the Advanced Gas Path (AGP) upgrade. This is an upgrade package for components of the CT that will allow for more efficient combustion of natural gas within the turbines and increased turbine capacity. The installation of the AGP upgrade, the nominal plant capacity will increase from 650 MW to 662.4 MW at 100% load and 59 degrees F.

GHEC is requesting the permit limits in amendment 4 are unchanged with the following:

  • No new impact analyst
  • No new Best Available Control Technology (BACT) determinations

The proposed revisions will revise the following existing permit requirements:

  • New formaldehyde emission limit and monitoring (air toxics regulations)
  • Add monitoring of inlet temperature for the carbon monoxide catalyst
  • Add emissions reporting for Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-400-720(4)(b)(iii)(D)(iii)
  • Clarify the amount of sample for the Particulate Matter (PM) testing
  • Clarify that emissions testing shall be performed in the winter months – highest expect emissions rate

The EFSEC preliminary determination finds that the project:

  • Satisfies the requirements for using BACT for regulated air pollutants (prior determinations).
  • Will not cause or contribute to a violation of any ambient air quality standard (prior determinations).
  • Will comply with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations established pursuant to Federal and Washington State Clean Air Acts.

WAC 173-400-740(3)(e) requires that this public notice list how much increment (or the amount of pollution an area is allowed to increase) will be consumed by the project. For this project, there is no increment consumed because criteria emissions are not increasing due to this amendment.

What is EFSEC is proposing to do?

EFSEC is proposing to amend No. EFSEC/2001-01, AMENDMENT 4.

How can you review the proposed permits?

Copies of the proposed No. EFSEC/2001-01, AMENDMENT 5, the Fact Sheet documents, and the project applications are available at:

EFSEC

621 Woodland Square Loop SE
PO Box 43172
Olympia, WA 98504-7250

The permit documents can be found here:

PSD Amendment 5 draft

The public may comment on the proposed permits from December 16 to midnight, January 19, 2021, at https://comments.efsec.wa.gov/ or in writing to the EFSEC office (see address above).

A public meeting will be held on January 19, 2021 at 5:00pm to 6:00pm or last speaker, whichever comes first. This meeting is being held remotely. You may attend the meeting via Skype online or via phone at:

  • 1 (360) 407-3810 ID: 214817#

To facilitate this remote meeting, EFSEC would like to invite speakers to sign up ahead of the meeting. Anyone wishing to speak during the public meeting should please notify EFSEC by phone at (360) 664-1345 or email at efsec@utc.wa.gov by 12:00pm on January 19, 2021.

Can a decision be appealed?

Yes. Pursuant to WAC 463-78-140 (1) a decision to issue this permit is subject to judicial review pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 34.05 RCW. The Administrative Procedure Act can be found on-line at: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=34.05

For more information about the draft PSD & NOC permit, contact Sonia Bumpus at 360-664-1363 or sonia.bumpus@utc.wa.gov.


Title V Air Operating Permit 

The comment period originally opened on Wednesday December 18, 2019 and closed on Friday January 17, 2019. The comment period has been extended and will re-open on February 10, 2020 and will close on March 11, 2020. Please submit your comments here: https://comments.efsec.wa.gov

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits

Grays Harbor Energy Center (GHEC) has submitted their materials for the renewal of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) Waste Discharge Permit (Permit). EFSEC staff worked in coordination with the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to prepare the renewed Permit. The Permit provides coverage for industrial operational activities discharged by GHEC. Also included in the tentative determination is a Fact Sheet, which summarizes the Permit conditions.

NPDES Permit Renewal 2019