Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin website includes the following: Rulemakings by State agencies; Proposed Rulemakings by State agencies; State agency notices; the Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders; Actions by the General Assembly; and Statewide and local court rules.

PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 09-885

NOTICES

Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Credit Trading Program; Nutrient Trading Program Activities and NPDES Permits

[39 Pa.B. 2493]
[Saturday, May 16, 2009]

   The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) provides notice of the following actions regarding the Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Credit Trading Program (Trading Program). These actions were taken in relation to the Final Trading of Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Credits--Policy and Guidelines (Policy) (DEP ID No. 392-0900-001). See 36 Pa.B. 7999 (December 30, 2006). The Policy called for a transparent system of credit reviews and approvals.

   Trading is a market-based program that provides incentives for entities to create nutrient reduction credits by going beyond statutory, regulatory or voluntary obligations and goals by removing nutrients from a watershed. The credits can be traded to help others more cost-effectively meet their obligations or goals. The primary purpose of the Trading Program is to provide for more efficient ways for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permittees to meet their effluent limits for nutrients and sediment. Currently, the focus of the program is on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

   The actions described in this notice relate to: (1) submitted proposals; (2) approved proposals; and (3) registered credits, through May 4, 2009.

Background

   Before a credit can be used by an NPDES permittee, a three-step process is followed. First, the credit or offset proposal must be approved, second, it must be verified and third, it must be registered.

   Approval is also known as certification, which is a written approval by the Department for the use of proposed or implemented activities to generate credits (in some cases the person generating the credits is not permitted to transfer them to another person, in which case they are called ''offsets''). Certifications are based on at least: (1) a credit or offset proposal to be submitted describing the qualifying activities that will reduce the nutrient loadings delivered to the applicable watershed; (2) the calculation to quantify the pounds of reductions expected; and (3) a verification plan that, when implemented, ensures that the qualifying nutrient reduction activities have taken place. All of the proposals, certifications and registrations described in this notice apply to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

   Once the credits or offsets are certified, they must be verified. Verification means implementation of the verification plan contained in a certified credit or offset proposal as required by the Department. Verification plans require annual submittal of documentation to the Department that demonstrates that the qualifying nutrient reduction activities have taken place for the applicable compliance year.

   The credits or offsets also need to be registered by the Department before they can be used in an NPDES permit. Registration occurs only after credits or offsets have been certified and verified, and a trading contract for credits has been submitted to the Department. For the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the Department will register credits on an annual basis for use during the compliance year in which the qualifying nutrient reduction activities have taken place and will provide the credits with an annual registry number for reporting and tracking purposes.

   The Department has received 67 proposals that have been submitted for review to generate nutrient reduction credits in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Of those, 44 have been approved, three are in review, one has been withdrawn and the remaining need additional clarification prior to certification.

Proposals under Review

   The following proposal is being reviewed by the Department. Comments must be received on these projects by June 16, 2009.

Proposal Applicant Proposal Description
1.  Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. Nitrogen and Phosphorus credits to be generated by treating poultry manure at farms located in Lancaster. This treatment includes: Belt Dry Layer Housing to Combustion, High Rise Layer Housing to Combustion, Housing Switch from High Rise to Belt Dry, and Housing Switch from High Rise to Belt Dry, Followed by Combustion.

Certifications

   There are no certifications to notice at this time.

Verifications and Registrations

   To date, there are no verifications and registrations.

   For further information about the previous information or the Department's Nutrient Trading Program, contact Ann Smith, Water Planning Office, P. O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063, (717) 787-4726, annsmith@state.pa.us or visit the Department's web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us (DEP Keywords: ''Nutrient Trading'').

JOHN HANGER,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 09-885. Filed for public inspection May 15, 2009, 9:00 a.m.]



No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.

This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.