EPA Eyes Okay for Maryland's Trash Burner Emission Cuts
Published Date: 4/29/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The EPA wants to approve Maryland’s plan to cut air pollution from trash-burning plants by limiting harmful nitrogen emissions. This change affects municipal waste combustors across Maryland and helps keep the air cleaner without extra costs for businesses. People have until May 29, 2026, to share their thoughts before the plan moves forward.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
EPA Proposes Approval of Maryland NOx Rules
The EPA is proposing to approve Maryland's state implementation plan revisions that set statewide reasonably available control technology (RACT) limits for nitrogen oxides (NOX) from municipal waste combustors (MWCs) to meet the 2008 and 2015 ozone standards. This EPA proposal would add Maryland's NOX MWC rules into the federal SIP; the EPA is taking comments through May 29, 2026.
Numeric NOX Limits for Large MWCs
Maryland's SIP revisions set specific NOX limits for its two large municipal waste combustors (capacity >250 tons/day): the Montgomery County Resource Recovery facility must meet a NOX 30-day rolling average of 105 ppmv and Wheelabrator Baltimore must meet 145 ppmv. Maryland also adopted 24-hour block average limits (MCRR 140 ppmv; Wheelabrator 150 ppmv) and required the 30-day rolling averages to be met by May 1, 2020.
Startup/Shutdown Limits and Mass Emission Caps
For the two large MWCs Maryland set mass-based NOX limits during startup and shutdown and limited those periods to no more than three hours per occurrence. The Montgomery County facility has a 24-hour average mass limit of 202 lbs/hr during startup/shutdown and Wheelabrator has 252 lbs/hr; these limits and the three-hour duration constraint must be met and documented.
Small MWCs Must Meet Subpart JJJ Requirements
Maryland requires small municipal waste combustors (capacity at least 35 and ≤250 tons per day) constructed on or before August 30, 1999 to comply with 40 CFR part 62 subpart JJJ. This includes installing and operating continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) for NOX and meeting emissions limits according to combustion technology.
Continuous Monitoring and Quarterly Reporting
Large MWCs must continuously monitor NOX with a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) and submit quarterly reports to the Maryland Department of the Environment showing compliance, flagged startup/shutdown periods, exceedances, and signed contemporaneous operating logs. These reporting requirements are part of the RACT rules Maryland submitted for SIP approval.
EPA Finds No Significant Small-Entity Impact
The EPA certified that this proposed action is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The EPA also states the action does not impose requirements beyond those in Maryland state law.
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