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The commissioner may make or cause to be made any investigation or study that in his or her opinion is desirable for the purpose of enforcing this code or controlling or reducing the amount or kind of air contaminants. For such purposes, the commissioner may make tests, conduct hearings, compel the attendance of witnesses, and take their testimony under oath and may compel the production of books, papers and other things reasonably necessary to the matter under consideration.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016)
(a) If the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that any equipment or fuel is in violation of this code, the commissioner may order the owner of the equipment or fuel to conduct such tests as are necessary in the opinion of the commissioner to determine whether the equipment, its operation, or the fuel is in violation of this code, or whether material used in any manufacturing process is contributing to any violation of this code and to submit the test results to the commissioner within ten days after the tests are completed.
(b) Such tests shall be conducted in a manner approved by the commissioner. The test shall be certified by a laboratory acceptable to the commissioner. The entire test results shall be reviewed and certified by a professional engineer.
(c) The owner shall notify the commissioner of the time and place of a test at least seven days before the commencement of such test. Reasonable facilities shall be made available for the commissioner to witness the test.
(d) If in the opinion of the commissioner tests by the department are necessary, the commissioner may order the owner to provide (1) sampling holes at such points in the stack, conduit, flue, duct or vent, as the commissioner may reasonably request, to provide a power source suitable to the points of testing, and to provide allied facilities, exclusive of sampling and sensory devices, or (2) test ports for gas burning equipment. These provisions shall be made at the expense of the owner of the equipment. The owner shall be furnished with copies of the analytical results of the samples collected.
(e) If the results of tests conducted pursuant to this section show that the equipment or fuel is in violation of this code, the commissioner shall order the owner to cure the defect within thirty days.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016)
(a) The department may inspect at any reasonable time and in a reasonable manner any equipment, apparatus, or fuel that affects or may affect the emission of an air contaminant including but not limited to the premises where the equipment, apparatus, or fuel is used, or where the fuel is stored, purchased, sold, or offered for sale for use in the city of New York.
(b) The department may inspect at any reasonable time and in a reasonable manner any record relating to a use of equipment or apparatus that affects or may affect the emission of an air contaminant, or relating to the use of fuel, or the distribution, storage or transportation of fuel for use in the city of New York.
(c) The department may, at any reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, obtain a sample of an air contaminant or any other substance used in a process that affects or may affect the emission of an air contaminant.
(d) If an authorized employee of the department obtains a sample of an air contaminant or any other substance used in a process that affects or may affect the emission of an air contaminant during the course of an inspection, he or she shall give to the owner of the equipment or fuel, prior to leaving the premises, a receipt for the sample obtained.
(e) No person shall refuse entry or access into a place of business or into the public areas of a multiple dwelling to an authorized employee of the department who presents appropriate credentials nor shall any person refuse entry or access into any other portion of a premises to an authorized employee of the department who presents appropriate credentials and a search warrant.
(f) The owner of every building, other than a one- or two-family dwelling, shall make the area where the heating system is located readily accessible to members of the department pursuant to the requirements of section 27-2033 of the code.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016)
(a) No person shall cause or permit the following unless he or she has first registered with the department:
(1) The spraying of any insulating material in or upon any building or other structure during its construction, alteration or repair.
(2) The demolition of any building or other structure, or part thereof, unless the demolition of the building or structure is being conducted by or on behalf of a city agency pursuant to chapter one of title seventeen of the code or pursuant to an order issued by the department of buildings under article two hundred fifteen of chapter two of title twenty-eight of the code.
(3) The installation, alteration, use or operation of an individual boiler or water heater that has a heat input equal to or greater than three hundred fifty thousand Btu per hour but less than four million two hundred thousand Btu per hour.
(4) The installation, alteration, use or operation of any boilers, including water heaters, that are owned by the same person in a single building and would not individually require a registration or certificate of operation, if in the aggregate such boilers have a heat input equal to or greater than three hundred fifty thousand Btu per hour. Such boilers shall be registered together in a single registration.
(5) The use or operation of fuel burning equipment or portable equipment with a heat input equal to or greater than three hundred fifty thousand Btu per hour but less than four million two hundred thousand Btu per hour, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(6) The use or operation of any emergency generator that has an output equal to or greater than forty kilowatts.
(7) The use or operation of any portable generator with an output equal to or greater than forty kilowatts.
(8) The use or operation of a portable engine with an input equal to or greater than fifty horsepower but less than six hundred horse power, unless such engine is used to power self-propelled construction or landscaping equipment.
(9) The use or operation of a stationary generator, other than an emergency generator, with an output equal to or greater than forty kilowatts but less than four hundred fifty kilowatts.
(10) The use or operation of a stationary engine with an input of equal to or greater than fifty horsepower but less than six hundred horsepower.
(11) The use or operation of an engine with an input equal to or greater than fifty horsepower that is used exclusively at a construction site, unless such engine is used to power self-propelled construction or landscaping equipment.
(12) The use or operation of equipment with an environmental rating of C that produces a flow rate equal to or greater than one hundred standard cubic feet per minute but less than two thousand standard cubic feet per minute.
(13) The use or operation of a cogeneration system that has a total input equal to or greater than three hundred fifty thousand Btu per hour but less than four million two hundred thousand Btu per hour.
(14) The installation, use or operation of any flare.
(15) The installation, use or operation of any gasoline dispensing station.
(16) The installation, alteration, use or operation of any commercial char broiler.
(17) Any other emission source or activity not listed in paragraphs one through sixteen of this subdivision that the commissioner requires by rule to be registered with the department, provided that the commissioner shall not require by rule the registration of an engine used to propel a motor vehicle or any emission source or activity located in a one- or two-family dwelling.
(b) Registration shall not be required for any fuel burning equipment for which a certificate of operation is required pursuant to subchapter four of this code.
(c) Registration shall be filed on forms prescribed by the department.
(1) An application for the registration of any boiler shall include documentation that the boiler has passed a combustion efficiency test. The commissioner shall specify by rule the requirements for such test.
(2) (i) An application for the registration of any generator shall include documentation that the generator has passed a smoke test performed in accordance with the procedures set forth in "Method 9 - Visual determination of the opacity of emissions from stationary sources," Appendix A-4 to 40 CFR part 60, or documentation in the form of certification by a professional engineer or registered architect that a stack test has been performed in accordance with the rules of the department.
(ii) The department may require that any portable generator being registered for the first time be made available for a smoke test to be conducted by the department before the application for registration will be processed. If the department conducts such smoke test, the documentation required in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not be required.
(iii) The requirements of this paragraph shall not apply to any newly installed generator that is being registered for the first time and that is equipped with an engine certified to the tier four emissions standards established by the United States environmental protection agency as set forth in table one of 40 CFR § 1039.101 or to any subsequent United States environmental protection agency emissions standard for such engine that is at least as stringent, provided that the requirements of this paragraph shall apply to such generator upon renewal of such registration.
(d) Registration shall be filed by the following persons:
(1) In the case of registration pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision (a) of this section, by the contractor responsible for the spraying of the insulating material.
(2) In the case of registration pursuant to paragraph two of subdivision (a) of this section, by the contractor responsible for the demolition activity.
(3) In the case of registration pursuant to any other paragraph of subdivision (a) of this section, by the owner of the equipment or his or her authorized agent.
(e) After a registration has been approved, the department shall return an approved copy to the registrant. The approved copy shall be displayed in accordance with section 24-113 of this subchapter.
(f) Any registrant, except a registrant of equipment described in paragraphs seven or eight of subdivision (a) of this section, shall notify the department within fifteen days of any change in the information submitted in the registration. If the change in information relates to a change in ownership of the equipment then the new owner shall notify the department of the change.
(g) Registrations shall be valid for up to three years from the date of approval, unless cancelled by the department. Registrations shall be renewed in a timely manner prior to expiration. A registration that has been expired for a period of one year or more shall be considered cancelled by the department. Applications for registration renewals shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the department.
(h) The application for a registration of new equipment shall indicate whether the new equipment is replacing existing registered equipment. The existing registration shall be cancelled upon registration of the new equipment.
(i) The registrant shall notify the department when removing registered equipment, and the registration shall be cancelled upon such notification.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016)
(a) The commissioner may grant individual variances whenever it is found, upon presentation of adequate proof, that compliance with any provision of this code, or with any regulation or order of the commissioner in respect to this code, would impose unreasonable hardship. In granting a variance the commissioner may impose such conditions as the policies of this code may require and shall post on the Internet, through a web portal that is linked to nyc.gov or any successor website maintained by or on behalf of the city of New York, no later than seven days after the granting of such variance, the variance and a written opinion, stating the facts and reasons leading to his or her decision.
(b) Any variance granted pursuant to this section shall be granted for such period of time as shall be specified by the commissioner at the time of the grant of such variance and upon the condition that the person who receives such variance shall provide such documentation as the commissioner shall specify, provided that such period of time shall extend to a date no later than January 1, 2030 for compliance with subdivision (d) of section 24-168 of this code. Such variance may be extended by affirmative action of the commissioner, but only if satisfactory progress has been shown.
(c) Any person seeking a variance shall do so by filing a petition for variance in a form acceptable to the commissioner. The commissioner shall promptly give written notice of such petition to any person in the city who has in writing requested notice of variance petitions, and shall publish notice of such petition for a variance on the Internet, through a web portal that is linked to nyc.gov or any successor website maintained by or on behalf of the city of New York. If the commissioner, in his or her discretion, concludes that a hearing would be advisable, or if any person files a written objection to the grant of such variance within twenty-one days from the publication of notice as described in this subdivision, then a public hearing shall be held.
(d) The commissioner may grant individual or group variances beyond the sulfur content restriction prescribed by section 24-169 of this code, whenever it is found, upon presentation of adequate proof, that the supply of fuel oil is insufficient to meet the demands of residents of the city of New York for heat, hot water, and electrical power. Where an applicant can show that it has an insufficient reserve of fuel oil meeting the sulfur content requirements of this code and that it is unable to buy a sufficient amount of such fuel oil to meet its fuel oil demands during the pendency of its variance application, the commissioner may grant a variance for up to forty-five days without complying with the procedural requirements of this section, except for the requirement of subdivision (a) to post a written opinion. During the time in which a temporary variance is running, the commissioner shall review, as soon as practicable, the application for a variance treating it as any other variance application.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016; Am. L.L. 2023/032, 3/6/2023, eff. 3/6/2023)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2023/032.
(a) No person shall knowingly make a false or misleading statement or submit a false or misleading document to the department as to any matter within the jurisdiction of the department.
(b) No person shall make, reproduce or alter or cause to be made, reproduced or altered a work permit, certificate of operation or other document issued by the commissioner or required by this code if the purpose of such reproduction or alteration is to evade or violate any provision of this code or any other law.
(Am. L.L. 2015/038, 5/6/2015, eff. 5/6/2016)
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