Boilers

On March 21, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers Area Source Rule - Subpart JJJJJJ. The rule provides for the use of generally available control technologies (GACT) or management practices by area sources (small facilities) to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). It covers boilers burning oil, coal, biomass (wood) and other solid or liquid fuels to produce steam or hot water for energy or heat. It is commonly referred to as the Boiler GACT or simply 6J.

If your "existing" boiler normally fires gas but has the capability to fire another fuel (usually oil), then you are eligible to opt-in to this rule in order to secure future flexibility. This option basically allows dual-fuel capable boilers to be “grandfathered in” to this rule as an existing source and avoid any additional requirements, e.g., – stack testing. While this option does require that you comply with the rules for existing sources, these requirements (tune-ups for most and energy assessments for some) should acutally save you money on fuel and therefore aren't really much of a burden. To be grandfathered in, simply fill out the initial notification and comply as if you were an oil burner and not an exempt gas burner.

Most boilers covered by this rule are non-residential, oil or biomass (wood)-fired boilers that existed prior to June 4, 2010. If your boiler falls outside these parameters, then additional requirements may apply. Otherwise, you need to:

Videos

Area Source Boiler Rule Videos on YouTube

Tools

Regulation Navigation Tool

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