The EPA on July 2 issued a finalized interim rule, published six days later in the Federal Register, which delays implementation of certain National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) requirements for coke oven manufacturing facilities.
According to the EPA, hazardous air pollutants (HAP) emitted from these coke oven manufacturing facilities can include benzene, mercury, lead and arsenic. Coke at these facilities is produced using coal and coke-oven batteries (which is a group of connected coke ovens). From there, coke in blast furnaces then converts iron ore to iron, which in turn is used for steel production.
The interim finalized rule comes in response to petitions for reconsideration submitted on September 3, 2024 by various industry groups and coke oven facilities, “detailing alleged errors, requesting corrections, and expressing concerns regarding the technical feasibility of certain new requirements and the timing of compliance.”
The EPA responded to these petitions on March 20, granting discretionary reconsideration on the issues of Fenceline Monitoring, Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards, leak limits for doors, lids, and offtakes and regulations regarding leaks for oven doors. As a result, the EPA has now amended the compliance date to July 5, 2027, for the following requirements:
- Fenceline monitoring and leak limits: Fenceline monitoring determines the concentration ground level of pollutants at a facility’s fence line, which can occur due to leaks at doors, lids, and offtakes. Leak limits were revised previously with a former compliance date set for July 7. For facilities, compliance will require testing of current controls to determine if additional controls are needed, the installation of new controls, and other associated activities. As some of these measures can only be performed sequentially, the EPA determined facilities required additional time for compliance.
- Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards (MACT): MACT represents air pollution standards under the Clean Air Act to reduce HAP emissions. To comply with these standards, additional controls and operational changes at the facilities may be necessary, which can include lengthy permitting processes and extensive engineering, among other items, all of which were not previously evaluated for feasibility under the previous 18-month deadline set for January 6, 2026. As such, the EPA determined additional time for compliance was necessary amending the deadline to provide additional time to July 7, 2027.
- Requirements for Oven Doors at Heat and Non-Recovery (HNR) Facilities: Certain monitoring requirements for oven doors at HNR facilities needed clarification pursuant to the petitions for reconsideration, including who would generate the performance testing to calculate leak averages, the methodology and frequency of monitoring, and more specific information for certain plant components. After clarification, it was submitted that facilities could comply within one year. The EPA stated it will provide clarification on these issues by June 2026. Accordingly, the EPA revised the deadline from July 7, 2025 to July 5, 2027.
A copy of the fact sheet published by the EPA on this interim final rule can be found here. A full copy of the announced final interim rule can be found here. Although, the final interim rule was effective as of July 2, the EPA states that if it receives any “significant adverse comments within 30 days of publication related to the specific provisions that are amended in this interim rule then it will be addressed in another final rule.” Therefore, there could be additional nuances in the near future.