Notice of Public Comment Period - Draft Air Quality Permit 7377 - The George Washington University

PUBLIC NOTICE

Draft Air Quality Permit 7377, The George Washington University, Operation of a dust collector for woodworking activities at the Corcoran School of Art, 500 17th Street NW, Washington DC

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 20 DCMR §210, the Air Quality Division (AQD) of the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), located at 1200 First Street NE, 5^th Floor, Washington, DC, proposes to issue an air quality permit (Permit No. 7377) to The George Washington University (GW) to operate a model GS16Sq, Camfil Air Pollution Control Farr Gold Series dust collector, designated DC-1, designed for wood dust application, located at the Corcoran School of Art, 500 17th Street NW, Washington DC. The contact person for the facility is Mansi Talwar, Executive Director of Utilities, Energy, and Engineering at (202) 934-5177 or [email protected]. 

Emissions:

The estimated maximum annual emissions from the dust collector are expected to be as follows:

The proposed dust collector emission limits are as follows:

a.   Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) emissions from the dust collector shall not exceed 0.03 grains per dry standard cubic foot of exhaust gas. [20 DCMR 603.1]

b.   Adding diluent air to the gas stream to comply with Condition II(a) is prohibited. [20 DCMR 603.3]

c.   An emission into the atmosphere of odorous or other air pollutants from any source in any quantity and of any characteristic, and duration which is, or is likely to be injurious to the public health or welfare, or which interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of life or property is prohibited. [20 DCMR 903.1]

Violation of standards set forth in this section that occur as a result of unavoidable malfunction, despite the conscientious employment of control practices, shall be an affirmative defense for which the owner or operator shall bear the burden of proof. A malfunction shall not be considered unavoidable if the owner or operator could have taken, but did not take, appropriate steps to eliminate the malfunction within a reasonable time, as determined by the Department. [20 DCMR 903.13(b)]

This condition is District enforceable only.

d.   No visible emissions shall be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere from this equipment; except that discharges shall be permitted for two (2) minutes during any startup, cleaning, adjustment of combustion or operational controls, or regeneration of emission control equipment; provided that such discharges shall not exceed twenty-seven percent (27%) opacity (unaveraged). This requirement shall not apply to visible emissions when the presence of uncombined water is the only reason for failure of a visible emissions to meet the visible emissions standards. [20 DCMR 606.1(a)(2), 20 DCMR 606.2(f) and 20 DCMR 606.6(a)]

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 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 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) 498-8143 or [email protected]. Copies of the draft permit and related technical support memorandum are also available in the attachments section below.

Interested persons may submit written comments or may request a hearing on this subject within 30 days of publication of this notice. The written comments must also 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 before taking final action on the permit application.

Comments on the proposed 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, 5th Floor
Washington DC 20002

[email protected]

No comments or hearing requests submitted after March 16, 2026 will be accepted.

For more information, please contact Stephen S. Ours at (202) 498-8143.