View all text of Subpart C [§ 98.30 - § 98.38]
§ 98.34 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.
The CO
(a) For the Tier 2 Calculation Methodology:
(1) All fuel samples shall be taken at a location in the fuel handling system that provides a sample representative of the fuel combusted. The fuel sampling and analysis may be performed by either the owner or operator or the supplier of the fuel.
(2) The minimum required frequency of the HHV sampling and analysis for each type of fuel or fuel mixture (blend) is specified in this paragraph. When the specified frequency for a particular fuel or blend is based on a specified time period (e.g., week, month, quarter, or half-year), fuel sampling and analysis is required only for those time periods in which the fuel or blend is combusted. The owner or operator may perform fuel sampling and analysis more often than the minimum required frequency, in order to obtain a more representative annual average HHV.
(i) For natural gas, semiannual sampling and analysis is required (i.e., twice in a calendar year, with consecutive samples taken at least four months apart).
(ii) For coal and fuel oil, and for any other solid or liquid fuel that is delivered in lots, analysis of at least one representative sample from each fuel lot is required. For fuel oil, as an alternative to sampling each fuel lot, a sample may be taken upon each addition of oil to the unit's storage tank. Flow proportional sampling, continuous drip sampling, or daily manual oil sampling may also be used, in lieu of sampling each fuel lot. If the daily manual oil sampling option is selected, sampling from a particular tank is required only on days when oil from the tank is combusted by the unit (or units) served by the tank. If you elect to sample from the storage tank upon each addition of oil to the tank, you must take at least one sample from each tank that is currently in service and whenever oil is added to the tank, for as long as the tank remains in service. You need not take any samples from a storage tank while it is out of service. Rather, take a sample when the tank is brought into service and whenever oil is added to the tank, for as long as the tank remains in service. If multiple additions of oil are made to a particular in-service tank on a given day (e.g., from multiple deliveries), one sample taken after the final addition of oil is sufficient. For the purposes of this section, a fuel lot is defined as a shipment or delivery of a single type of fuel (e.g., ship load, barge load, group of trucks, group of railroad cars, oil delivery via pipeline from a tank farm, etc.). However, if multiple deliveries of a particular type of fuel are received from the same supply source in a given calendar month, the deliveries for that month may be considered, collectively, to comprise a fuel lot, requiring only one representative sample, subject to the following conditions:
(A) For coal, the “type” of fuel means the rank of the coal (i.e., anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, or lignite). For fuel oil, the “type” of fuel means the grade number or classification of the oil (e.g., No. 1 oil, No. 2 oil, kerosene, Jet A fuel, etc.).
(B) The owner or operator shall document in the monitoring plan under § 98.3(g)(5) how the monthly sampling of each type of fuel is performed.
(iii) For liquid fuels other than fuel oil, and for gaseous fuels other than natural gas (including biogas), sampling and analysis is required at least once per calendar quarter. To the extent practicable, consecutive quarterly samples shall be taken at least 30 days apart.
(iv) For other solid fuels (except MSW), weekly sampling is required to obtain composite samples, which are then analyzed monthly.
(v) For fuel blends that are received already mixed, or that are mixed on-site without measuring the exact amount of each component, as described in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section, determine the HHV of the blend as follows. For blends of solid fuels (except MSW), weekly sampling is required to obtain composite samples, which are analyzed monthly. For blends of liquid or gaseous fuels, sampling and analysis is required at least once per calendar quarter. More frequent sampling is recommended if the composition of the blend varies significantly during the year.
(3) Special considerations for blending of fuels. In situations where different types of fuel listed in Table C-1 of this subpart (for example, different ranks of coal or different grades of fuel oil) are in the same state of matter (i.e., solid, liquid, or gas), and are blended prior to combustion, use the following procedures to determine the appropriate CO
(i) If the fuels to be blended are received separately, and if the quantity (mass or volume) of each fuel is measured before the fuels are mixed and combusted, then, for each component of the blend, calculate the CO
(ii) If the fuel is received as a blend (i.e., already mixed) or if the components are mixed on site without precisely measuring the mass or volume of each one individually, a reasonable estimate of the relative proportions of the components of the blend must be made, using the best available information (e.g., the approximate annual average mass or volume percentage of each fuel, based on the typical or expected range of values). Determine the appropriate CO
(A) Consider the blend to be the “fuel type,” measure its HHV at the frequency prescribed in paragraph (a)(2)(v) of this section, and determine the annual average HHV value for the blend according to § 98.33(a)(2)(ii).
(B) Calculate a heat-weighted CO
(C) Substitute into Equation C-2a of this subpart, the annual average HHV for the blend (from paragraph (a)(3)(ii)(A) of this section) and the calculated value of (EF)

(iii) Note that for the case described in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section, if measured HHV values for the individual fuels in the blend or for the blend itself are not routinely received at the minimum frequency prescribed in paragraph (a)(2) of this section (or at a greater frequency), and if the unit qualifies to use Tier 1, calculate (HHV)

(iv) If the fuel blend described in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section consists of a mixture of fuel(s) listed in Table C-1 of this subpart and one or more fuels not listed in Table C-1, calculate CO
(A) In Equation C-17, apply the term (Fuel)
(B) In Equation C-1, the term “Fuel” will be equal to the total mass or volume of the blended fuel combusted during the year multiplied by the sum of the mass or volume percentages of the Table C-1 fuels in the blend. For the example in paragraph (a)(3)(iv)(A) of this section, “Fuel” = (Annual volume of the blend combusted)(0.80).
(4) If, for a particular type of fuel, HHV sampling and analysis is performed more often than the minimum frequency specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the results of all valid fuel analyses shall be used in the GHG emission calculations.
(5) If, for a particular type of fuel, valid HHV values are obtained at less than the minimum frequency specifed in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, appropriate substitute data values shall be used in the emissions calculations, in accordance with missing data procedures of § 98.35.
(6) You must use one of the following appropriate fuel sampling and analysis methods. The HHV may be calculated using chromatographic analysis together with standard heating values of the fuel constituents, provided that the gas chromatograph is operated, maintained, and calibrated according to the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively, you may use a method published by a consensus-based standards organization if such a method exists, or you may use industry standard practice to determine the high heat values. Consensus-based standards organizations include, but are not limited to, the following: ASTM International (100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box CB700, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428-B2959, (800) 262-1373, http://www.astm.org), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, 1819 L Street, NW., 6th floor, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8020, http://www.ansi.org), the American Gas Association (AGA, 400 North Capitol Street, NW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 824-7000, http://www.aga.org), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990, (800) 843-2763, http://www.asme.org), the American Petroleum Institute (API, 1220 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4070, (202) 682-8000, http://www.api.org), and the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002, (713) 356-0060, http://www.api.org). The method(s) used shall be documented in the Monitoring Plan required under § 98.3(g)(5).
(b) For the Tier 3 Calculation Methodology:
(1) You must calibrate each oil and gas flow meter according to § 98.3(i) and the provisions of this paragraph (b)(1).
(i) Perform calibrations using any of the test methods and procedures in this paragraph (b)(1)(i). The method(s) used shall be documented in the Monitoring Plan required under § 98.3(g)(5).
(A) You may use the calibration procedures specified by the flow meter manufacturer.
(B) You may use an appropriate flow meter calibration method published by a consensus-based standards organization, if such a method exists. Consensus-based standards organizations include, but are not limited to, the following: ASTM International (100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box CB700, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428-B2959, (800) 262-1373, http://www.astm.org), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, 1819 L Street, NW., 6th floor, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8020, http://www.ansi.org), the American Gas Association (AGA, 400 North Capitol Street, NW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 824-7000, http://www.aga.org), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990, (800) 843-2763, http://www.asme.org), the American Petroleum Institute (API, 1220 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4070, (202) 682-8000, http://www.api.org), and the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002, (713) 356-0060, http://www.api.org).
(C) You may use an industry-accepted practice.
(ii) In addition to the initial calibration required by § 98.3(i), recalibrate each fuel flow meter (except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section) according to one of the following. You may recalibrate annually, at the minimum frequency specified by the manufacturer, or at the interval specified by industry standard practice.
(iii) Fuel billing meters are exempted from the initial and ongoing calibration requirements of this paragraph and from the Monitoring Plan and recordkeeping requirements of §§ 98.3(g)(5)(i)(C), (g)(6), and (g)(7), provided that the fuel supplier and the unit combusting the fuel do not have any common owners and are not owned by subsidiaries or affiliates of the same company. Meters used exclusively to measure the flow rates of fuels that are only used for unit startup are also exempted from the initial and ongoing calibration requirements of this paragraph.
(iv) For the initial calibration of an orifice, nozzle, or venturi meter; in-situ calibration of the transmitters is sufficient. A primary element inspection (PEI) shall be performed at least once every three years.
(v) For the continuously-operating units and processes described in § 98.3(i)(6), the required flow meter recalibrations and, if necessary, the PEIs may be postponed until the next scheduled maintenance outage.
(vi) If a mixture of liquid or gaseous fuels is transported by a common pipe, you may either separately meter each of the fuels prior to mixing, using flow meters calibrated according to § 98.3(i), or consider the fuel mixture to be the “fuel type” and meter the mixed fuel, using a flow meter calibrated according to § 98.3(i).
(2) Oil tank drop measurements (if used to determine liquid fuel use volume) shall be performed according to any an appropriate method published by a consensus-based standards organization (e.g., the American Petroleum Institute).
(3) The carbon content and, if applicable, molecular weight of the fuels shall be determined according to the procedures in this paragraph (b)(3).
(i) All fuel samples shall be taken at a location in the fuel handling system that provides a sample representative of the fuel combusted. The fuel sampling and analysis may be performed by either the owner or operator or by the supplier of the fuel.
(ii) For each type of fuel, the minimum required frequency for collecting and analyzing samples for carbon content and (if applicable) molecular weight is specified in this paragraph. When the sampling frequency is based on a specified time period (e.g., week, month, quarter, or half-year), fuel sampling and analysis is required for only those time periods in which the fuel is combusted.
(A) For natural gas, semiannual sampling and analysis is required (i.e., twice in a calendar year, with consecutive samples taken at least four months apart).
(B) For coal and fuel oil and for any other solid or liquid fuel that is delivered in lots, analysis of at least one representative sample from each fuel lot is required. For fuel oil, as an alternative to sampling each fuel lot, a sample may be taken upon each addition of oil to the storage tank. Flow proportional sampling, continuous drip sampling, or daily manual oil sampling may also be used, in lieu of sampling each fuel lot. If the daily manual oil sampling option is selected, sampling from a particular tank is required only on days when oil from the tank is combusted by the unit (or units) served by the tank. If you elect to sample from the storage tank upon each addition of oil to the tank, you must take at least one sample from each tank that is currently in service and whenever oil is added to the tank, for as long as the tank remains in service. You need not take any samples from a storage tank while it is out of service. Rather, take a sample when the tank is brought into service and whenever oil is added to the tank, for as long as the tank remains in service. If multiple additions of oil are made to a particular in service tank on a given day (e.g., from multiple deliveries), one sample taken after the final addition of oil is sufficient. For the purposes of this section, a fuel lot is defined as a shipment or delivery of a single type of fuel (e.g., ship load, barge load, group of trucks, group of railroad cars, oil delivery via pipeline from a tank farm, etc.). However, if multiple deliveries of a particular type of fuel are received from the same supply source in a given calendar month, the deliveries for that month may be considered, collectively, to comprise a fuel lot, requiring only one representative sample, subject to the following conditions:
(1) For coal, the “type” of fuel means the rank of the coal (i.e., anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, or lignite). For fuel oil, the “type” of fuel means the grade number or classification of the oil (e.g., No. 1 oil, No. 2 oil, kerosene, Jet A fuel, etc.).
(2) The owner or operator shall document in the monitoring plan under § 98.3(g)(5) how the monthly sampling of each type of fuel is performed.
(C) For liquid fuels other than fuel oil and for biogas, sampling and analysis is required at least once per calendar quarter. To the extent practicable, consecutive quarterly samples shall be taken at least 30 days apart.
(D) For other solid fuels (except MSW), weekly sampling is required to obtain composite samples, which are then analyzed monthly.
(E) For gaseous fuels other than natural gas and biogas (e.g., process gas), daily sampling and analysis to determine the carbon content and molecular weight of the fuel is required if continuous, on-line equipment, such as a gas chromatograph, is in place to make these measurements. Otherwise, weekly sampling and analysis shall be performed.
(F) For mixtures (blends) of solid fuels, weekly sampling is required to obtain composite samples, which are analyzed monthly. For blends of liquid fuels, and for gas mixtures consisting only of natural gas and biogas, sampling and analysis is required at least once per calendar quarter. For gas mixtures that contain gases other than natural gas (including biogas), daily sampling and analysis to determine the carbon content and molecular weight of the fuel is required if continuous, on-line equipment is in place to make these measurements. Otherwise, weekly sampling and analysis shall be performed.
(iii) If, for a particular type of fuel, sampling and analysis for carbon content and molecular weight is performed more often than the minimum frequency specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, the results of all valid fuel analyses shall be used in the GHG emission calculations.
(iv) If, for a particular type of fuel, sampling and analysis for carbon content and molecular weight is performed at less than the minimum frequency specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, appropriate substitute data values shall be used in the emissions calculations, in accordance with the missing data procedures of § 98.35.
(v) To calculate the CO
(A) Apply Equation C-3, C-4 or C-5 of this subpart (as applicable) to each component of the blend, if the mass or volume, the carbon content, and (if applicable), the molecular weight of each component are accurately measured prior to blending; or
(B) Consider the blend to be the “fuel type.” Then, at the frequency specified in paragraph (b)(3)(ii)(F) of this section, measure the carbon content and, if applicable, the molecular weight of the blend and calculate the annual average value of each parameter in the manner described in § 98.33(a)(2)(ii). Also measure the mass or volume of the blended fuel combusted during the reporting year. Substitute these measured values into Equation C-3, C-4, or C-5 of this subpart (as applicable).
(4) You must use one of the following appropriate fuel sampling and analysis methods. The results of chromatographic analysis of the fuel may be used, provided that the gas chromatograph is operated, maintained, and calibrated according to the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively, you may use a method published by a consensus-based standards organization if such a method exists, or you may use industry standard practice to determine the carbon content and molecular weight (for gaseous fuel) of the fuel. Consensus-based standards organizations include, but are not limited to, the following: ASTM International (100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box CB700, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428-B2959, (800) 262-1373, http://www.astm.org), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, 1819 L Street, NW., 6th floor, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8020, http://www.ansi.org), the American Gas Association (AGA, 400 North Capitol Street, NW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 824-7000, http://www.aga.org), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990, (800) 843-2763, http://www.asme.org), the American Petroleum Institute (API, 1220 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4070, (202) 682-8000, http://www.api.org), and the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB, 801 Travis Street, Suite 1675, Houston, TX 77002, (713) 356-0060, http://www.api.org). The method(s) used shall be documented in the Monitoring Plan required under § 98.3(g)(5).
(c) For the Tier 4 Calculation Methodology, the CO
(1) For initial certification, you may use any one of the following three procedures in this paragraph.
(i) §§ 75.20(c)(2), (c)(4), and (c)(5) through (c)(7) of this chapter and appendix A to part 75 of this chapter.
(ii) The calibration drift test and relative accuracy test audit (RATA) procedures of Performance Specification 3 in appendix B to part 60 of this chapter (for the CO
(iii) The provisions of an applicable State continuous monitoring program.
(2) If an O
(3) For ongoing quality assurance, follow the applicable procedures in either appendix B to part 75 of this chapter, appendix F to part 60 of this chapter, or an applicable State continuous monitoring program. If appendix F to part 60 of this chapter is selected for on-going quality assurance, perform daily calibration drift assessments for both the CO
(4) For the purposes of this part, the stack gas volumetric flow rate monitor RATAs required by appendix B to part 75 of this chapter and the annual RATAs of the CERMS required by appendix F to part 60 of this chapter need only be done at one operating level, representing normal load or normal process operating conditions, both for initial certification and for ongoing quality assurance.
(5) If, for any source operating hour, quality assured data are not obtained with a CO
(6) For applications where CO
(7) Hourly average data from the CEMS shall be validated in a manner consistent with one of the following: §§ 60.13(h)(2)(i) through (h)(2)(vi) of this chapter; § 75.10(d)(1) of this chapter; or the hourly data validation requirements of an applicable State CEM regulation.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in § 98.33(e)(3)(iv), when municipal solid waste (MSW) is either the primary fuel combusted in a unit or the only fuel with a biogenic component combusted in the unit, determine the biogenic portion of the CO
(e) For other units that combust combinations of biomass fuel(s) (or heterogeneous fuels that have a biomass component, e.g., tires) and fossil (or other non-biogenic) fuel(s), in any proportions, ASTM D6866-16 and ASTM D7459-08 (both incorporated by reference, see § 98.7) may be used to determine the biogenic portion of the CO
(f) The records required under § 98.3(g)(2)(i) shall include an explanation of how the following parameters are determined from company records (or, if applicable, from the best available information):
(1) Fuel consumption, when the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Calculation Methodologies are used, including cases where § 98.36(c)(4) applies.
(2) Fuel consumption, when solid fuel is combusted and the Tier 3 Calculation Methodology is used.
(3) Fossil fuel consumption when § 98.33(e)(2) applies to a unit that uses CEMS to quantify CO
(4) Sorbent usage, when § 98.33(d) applies.
(5) Quantity of steam generated by a unit when § 98.33(a)(2)(iii) applies.
(6) Biogenic fuel consumption and high heating value, as applicable, under §§ 98.33(e)(5) and (e)(6).
(7) Fuel usage for CH
(8) Mass of biomass combusted, for premixed fuels that contain biomass and fossil fuels under § 98.33(e)(1)(iii).