(A) Air permits shall not be required for air curtain burners located at temporary land clearing or right-of-way maintenance sites for less than nine months. However, air permits shall be required for air curtain burners located at permanent sites or where materials are transported in from another site.
(B) Air curtain burners described in division (A) above and shall comply with the following conditions and stipulations.
(1) Prevailing winds at the time of burning shall be away from any area, including public road within 250 feet of the burning as measured from the edge of the pavement or other roadway surface, which may be significantly affected by smoke, ash or other air pollutants from the burning.
(2) Only collected land clearing and yard waste materials may be burned. Heavy oils, asphaltic materials, items containing natural or synthetic rubber, tires, grass clippings, collected leaves, paper products, plastics, general trash, garbage or any materials containing painted or treated wood materials shall not be burned. Leaves still on trees or brush may be burned.
(3) No fires shall be started or material added to existing fires when the Division of Forest Resources has banned burning for that area.
(4) Burning shall be conducted only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
(5) The air curtain burner shall not be operated more than the maximum source operating hours-per-day and days-per-week. The maximum source operating hours-per-day and days-per-week shall be set to protect the ambient air quality standard and prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) increment for particulate. If the air curtain burner will:
(a) Burn 35 tons of material per day or more in an area were the particulate baseline date for the PSD has been triggered; or
(b) Burn 210 tons of material per day or more in an area where the particulate baseline date for PSD has not been triggered, the maximum source operating hours-per-day and days-per-week shall be determined using the modeling procedures in 15A NCAC 2D .1106(b), (c) and (f). This division (B)(5) shall not apply to temporary air curtain burners.
(6) Operators of the air curtain burner shall be certified to read visible emissions and the facility shall be tested for visible emissions within 90 days after initial operation and within 90 days before permit expiration.
(7) Air curtain burners shall meet manufacturers specifications for operation and upkeep to ensure complete burning of material charged into the pit. Manufacturers specifications shall be kept on site and be available for inspection by Division staff.
(8) Except during start-up, visible emissions shall not exceed 5% opacity when averaged over a six-minute period except that one six-minute period with an average opacity of more than 5% but no more than 35 % shall be allowed for any one-hour period. During start-up, the visible emissions shall not exceed 35% opacity when averaged over a six-minute period. Start-up shall not last for more than 30 minutes and there shall be no more than one start-up per day.
(9) The owner or operator of an air curtain burner shall not allow ash to build up in the pit to a depth higher than one-third of the depth of the pit or to the point where the ash begins to impede combustion, whichever occurs first. The owner or operator of an air curtain burner shall water the ash prior to its removal to prevent the ash from becoming airborne.
(10) The owner or operator of an air curtain burner shall not load material into the air curtain burner such that it will protrude above the air curtain.
(11) Only distillate oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas may be used to start the fire.
(12) The location of the burning at temporary sites shall be at least 500 feet from any dwelling, group of dwellings or commercial or institutional establishment or other occupied structure not located on the property on which the burning is conducted.
(C) Compliance with this section does not relieve any owner or operator of an air curtain burner from the necessity of complying with other rules in this chapter or any other air quality rules.
(D) The owner or operator of an air curtain burner at a permanent site shall keep a daily log of specific materials burned and amounts of material burned in pounds per hour and tons per year. The owner or operator of an air curtain burner at a temporary site shall keep a log of total number of tons burned per temporary site.
(E) Burners that have the potential to burn 15,000 tons of material or more per year may be subject to 15A NCAC 2Q .0500, Title V Procedures.
(F) Burners that burn 38,000 tons per year or more may be subject to 15A NCAC 2D .0530, Prevention of Significant Deterioration.
(Ord. passed - -)