SUBJECT: Proposed Amendments to Rule 414 – Water Heaters, Boilers And Process Heaters Rated Less Than 1,000,000 BTU Per Hour
| Date | New date: Thursday, March 25, 2010 (postponed from February 18) |
| Time | 9:30 a.m. |
| Location | Room 1450 (Board of Supervisors’ Chambers) County Administration Building 700 H Street Sacramento, California |
The District Board will consider the adoption of proposed amendments to Rule 414 – Natural Gas-Fired Water Heaters. Rule 414 contains requirements and emission standards for new natural gas-fired water heaters rated less than 75,000 Btu/hr that are distributed, offered for sale, sold, or installed within Sacramento County.
Staff is proposing amendments to expand the applicability of Rule 414 to include standards and requirements for water heaters, boilers and process heaters rated between 75,000 and 1,000,000 Btu/hr, which are currently unregulated. In addition, the amendments would expand the applicability to units fueled by gaseous and nongaseous fuels other than natural gas (excluding units fueled by liquid petroleum gas). Staff is proposing emission limits for new units that have already been adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and three other California districts for natural gas-fired units. The new limits are proposed to take effect on January 1, 2011. Units manufactured prior to the effective date will be allowed to be distributed, offered for sale, or sold for six months after the effective date of the new standards.
New units rated less than 75,000 Btu per hour (excluding those used for mobile homes) will have to meet a NOx limit of 10 ng/J (15 ppmv at 3% O2). New units rated greater than or equal to 75,000 Btu/hr and less than 400,000 Btu/hr will have to meet a NOx limit of 40 ng/J (55 ppmv at 3% O2) and a NOx standard of 14 ng/J (20 ppmv at 3% O2) by January 1, 2013 (excluding spa/pool heaters). Finally, new units rated greater than or equal to 400,000 Btu/hr and less than 1,000,000 Btu/hr will have to meet a NOx limit of 14 ng/J (20 ppmv at 3% O2) and a CO limit of 400 ppmv at 3% O2.
Staff finds that the proposed amendments are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as an action by a regulatory agency for protection of the environment (Class 8 Categorical Exemption, Section 15308 State CEQA Guidelines) and because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant adverse effect on the environment (Section 15061(b)(3), State CEQA Guidelines).
The proposed rule and the staff report may be downloaded:
- Proposed Rule 414 (PDF)
- Staff Report (PDF)
- Appendix F – SCAQMD Emission Testing Protocol (PDF)
Hard copies of the rule and the staff report will be provided upon request at (916) 874-4800.
By this notice, all interested parties are specifically requested to provide comments on the proposed amendments. Oral and written testimony may be directed to the Board of Directors at the public hearing on March 25, 2010, or to the Sacramento Metropolitan AQMD, 777 12th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814, Attention: Joe Carle (916) 874-4838. You can also submit your comments via e-mail to jcarle@airquality.org.
