PUBLIC NOTICE

Air Quality Synthetic Minor Operating Permit for Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian

Notice is hereby given that Smithsonian Institution has applied for an air quality permit pursuant to the requirements of Title 20 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, Chapter 2 (20 DCMR Chapter 2) to continue operation of the following emission units at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) facility located at 4^th Street & Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20560:

Additionally, the facility includes the following miscellaneous activities that have the potential to emit oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and are therefore addressed by this application:

The contact person for the facility is Mr. John Perry, NMAI Facility Manager, at (202) 633-1501 or [email protected].

The applicant has requested that limitations on the operations of boilers B-1, B-2, and B-3 be established in the permit pursuant to 20 DCMR § 200.6 to avoid the applicability of 20 DCMR § 300.1 and pursuant to 20 DCMR § 200.7 to continue to avoid the applicability of 20 DCMR § 204. Specifically, the applicant has requested limitations on the use of No. 2 fuel oil or ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) in these boilers of 144 hours and 8,398 gallons, per boiler, per 12-consecutive-month period. Operation of the units would be unrestricted burning natural gas, their primary fuel.

Factoring in these operational limits, the following is an estimate of the overall potential emissions from the facility:

With the operational limitations included in the draft permit, the National Museum of the American Indian facility has the potential to emit approximately 22.30 tons per year of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which is below the District’s major source threshold of 25 tons per year of NOx. Similarly, all other pollutants’ potential emissions are below their respective major source thresholds. As such, the facility is properly classified as a synthetic minor source pursuant to 20 DCMR § 300.3(c) and can avoid the applicability of a permit pursuant to 20 DCMR § 300.1 and the applicability of 20 DCMR § 204.

The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) has reviewed the permit application and related documents and has made a preliminary determination that the applicant meets all applicable air quality requirements promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the District. Therefore, draft permit No. 7289-SM has been prepared.

The permit application and supporting documentation, along with the draft permit are available for public inspection at AQD and copies may be made available between the hours of 8:15 A.M. and 4:45 P.M. Monday through Friday. Interested parties wishing to view these documents should provide their names, addresses, telephone numbers and affiliation, if any, to Stephen S. Ours at (202) 535-1747. Copies of the draft permit and related technical support memorandum are available in the attachments section below.

A public hearing on this permitting action will not be held unless DOEE has received a request for such a hearing within 30 days of the publication of this notice. Interested parties may also submit written comments on the permitting action. The written comments must include the person’s name, telephone number, affiliation, if any, mailing address and a statement outlining the air quality issues in dispute and any facts underscoring those air quality issues. All relevant comments will be considered in issuing the final permit.

Comments on the draft permit and any request for a public hearing should be addressed to:

Stephen S. Ours    
Chief, Permitting Branch - Air Quality Division

Department of Energy and Environment
1200 First Street NE, 5^th Floor
Washington, DC 20002

[email protected]
 

No comments or hearing requests submitted after October 17, 2022 will be accepted.

For more information, please contact Stephen S. Ours at (202) 535-1747 or [email protected].