Title 40

SECTION 63.176

63.176 Quality improvement program for pumps.

§ 63.176 Quality improvement program for pumps.

(a) In Phase III, if, on a 6-month rolling average, the greater of either 10 percent of the pumps in a process unit (or plant site) or three pumps in a process unit (or plant site) leak, the owner or operator shall comply with the requirements of this section as specified below:

(1) Pumps that are in food/medical service or in polymerizing monomer service shall comply with all requirements except for those specified in paragraph (d)(8) of this section.

(2) Pumps that are not in food/medical or polymerizing monomer service shall comply with all requirements of this section.

(b) The owner or operator shall comply with the requirements of this section until the number of leaking pumps is less than the greater of either 10 percent of the pumps or three pumps, calculated as a 6-month rolling average, in the process unit (or plant site). Once the performance level is achieved, the owner or operator shall comply with the requirements in § 63.163 of this subpart.

(c) If in a subsequent monitoring period, the process unit (or plant site) has greater than 10 percent of the pumps leaking or three pumps leaking (calculated as a 6-month rolling average), the owner or operator shall resume the quality improvement program starting at performance trials.

(d) The quality improvement program shall include the following:

(1) The owner or operator shall comply with the requirements in § 63.163 of this subpart.

(2) The owner or operator shall collect the following data, and maintain records as required in § 63.181(h)(3), for each pump in each process unit (or plant site) subject to the quality improvement program. The data may be collected and the records may be maintained on a process unit or plant site basis.

(i) Pump type (e.g., piston, horizontal or vertical centrifugal, gear, bellows); pump manufacturer; seal type and manufacturer; pump design (e.g., external shaft, flanged body); materials of construction; if applicable, barrier fluid or packing material; and year installed.

(ii) Service characteristics of the stream such as discharge pressure, temperature, flow rate, corrosivity, and annual operating hours.

(iii) The maximum instrument readings observed in each monitoring observation before repair, response factor for the stream if appropriate, instrument model number, and date of the observation.

(iv) If a leak is detected, the repair methods used and the instrument readings after repair.

(v) If the data will be analyzed as part of a larger analysis program involving data from other plants or other types of process units, a description of any maintenance or quality assurance programs used in the process unit that are intended to improve emission performance.

(3) The owner or operator shall continue to collect data on the pumps as long as the process unit (or plant site) remains in the quality improvement program.

(4) The owner or operator shall inspect all pumps or pump seals which exhibited frequent seal failures and were removed from the process unit due to leaks. The inspection shall determine the probable cause of the pump seal failure or of the pump leak and shall include recommendations, as appropriate, for design changes or changes in specifications to reduce leak potential.

(5)(i) The owner or operator shall analyze the data collected to comply with the requirements of paragraph (d)(2) of this section to determine the services, operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies that have poorer than average emission performance and those that have better than average emission performance. The analysis shall determine if specific trouble areas can be identified on the basis of service, operating conditions or maintenance practices, equipment design, or other process specific factors.

(ii) The analysis shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies that are applicable to the service(s), operating conditions, or pump or pump seal designs associated with poorer than average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is one with a leak frequency of less than 10 percent for specific applications in the process unit or plant site. A candidate superior performing pump or pump seal technology is one demonstrated or reported in the available literature or through a group study as having low emission performance and as being capable of achieving less than 10 percent leaking pumps in the process unit (or plant site).

(iii) The analysis shall include consideration of:

(A) The data obtained from the inspections of pumps and pump seals removed from the process unit due to leaks;

(B) Information from the available literature and from the experience of other plant sites that will identify pump designs or technologies and operating conditions associated with low emission performance for specific services; and

(C) Information on limitations on the service conditions for the pump seal technology operating conditions as well as information on maintenance procedures to ensure continued low emission performance.

(iv) The data analysis may be conducted through an inter- or intra-company program (or through some combination of the two approaches) and may be for a single process unit, a plant site, a company, or a group of process units.

(v) The first analysis of the data shall be completed no later than 18 months after the start of the quality improvement program. The first analysis shall be performed using a minimum of 6 months of data. An analysis of the data shall be done each year the process unit is in the quality improvement program.

(6) A trial evaluation program shall be conducted at each plant site for which the data analysis does not identify use of superior performing pump seal technology or pumps that can be applied to the areas identified as having poorer than average performance, except as provided in paragraph (d)(6)(v) of this section. The trial program shall be used to evaluate the feasibility of using in the process unit (or plant site) the pump designs or seal technologies, and operating and maintenance practices that have been identified by others as having low emission performance.

(i) The trial program shall include on-line trials of pump seal technologies or pump designs and operating and maintenance practices that have been identified in the available literature or in analysis by others as having the ability to perform with leak rates below 10 percent in similar services, as having low probability of failure, or as having no external actuating mechanism in contact with the process fluid. If any of the candidate superior performing pump seal technologies or pumps is not included in the performance trials, the reasons for rejecting specific technologies from consideration shall be documented as required in § 63.181(h)(5)(ii).

(ii) The number of pump seal technologies or pumps in the trial evaluation program shall be the lesser of 1 percent or two pumps for programs involving single process units and the lesser of 1 percent or five pumps for programs involving a plant site or groups of process units. The minimum number of pumps or pump seal technologies in a trial program shall be one.

(iii) The trial evaluation program shall specify and include documentation of:

(A) The candidate superior performing pump seal designs or technologies to be evaluated, the stages for evaluating the identified candidate pump designs or pump seal technologies, including the time period necessary to test the applicability;

(B) The frequency of monitoring or inspection of the equipment;

(D) Conclusions regarding the emission performance and the appropriate operating conditions and services for the trial pump seal technologies or pumps.

(iv) The performance trials shall initially be conducted, at least, for a 6-month period beginning not later than 18 months after the start of the quality improvement program. No later than 24 months after the start of the quality improvement program, the owner or operator shall have identified pump seal technologies or pump designs that, combined with appropriate process, operating, and maintenance practices, operate with low emission performance for specific applications in the process unit. The owner or operator shall continue to conduct performance trials as long as no superior performing design or technology has been identified, except as provided in paragraph (d)(6)(vi) of this section. The initial list of superior emission performance pump designs or pump seal technologies shall be amended in the future, as appropriate, as additional information and experience is obtained.

(v) Any plant site with fewer than 400 valves and owned by a corporation with fewer than 100 employees shall be exempt from trial evaluations of pump seals or pump designs. Plant sites exempt from the trial evaluations of pumps shall begin the pump seal or pump replacement program at the start of the fourth year of the quality improvement program.

(vi) An owner or operator who has conducted performance trials on all alternative superior emission performance technologies suitable for the required applications in the process unit may stop conducting performance trials provided that a superior performing design or technology has been demonstrated or there are no technically feasible alternative superior technologies remaining. The owner or operator shall prepare an engineering evaluation documenting the physical, chemical, or engineering basis for the judgment that the superior emission performance technology is technically infeasible or demonstrating that it would not reduce emissions.

(7) Each owner or operator shall prepare and implement a pump quality assurance program that details purchasing specifications and maintenance procedures for all pumps and pump seals in the process unit. The quality assurance program may establish any number of categories, or classes, of pumps as needed to distinguish among operating conditions and services associated with poorer than average emission performance as well as those associated with better than average emission performance. The quality assurance program shall be developed considering the findings of the data analysis required under paragraph (d)(5) of this section, if applicable, the findings of the trial evaluation required in paragraph (d)(6) of this section, and the operating conditions in the process unit. The quality assurance program shall be updated each year as long as the process unit has the greater of either 10 percent or more leaking pumps or has three leaking pumps.

(i) The quality assurance program shall:

(A) Establish minimum design standards for each category of pumps or pump seal technology. The design standards shall specify known critical parameters such as tolerance, manufacturer, materials of construction, previous usage, or other applicable identified critical parameters;

(B) Require that all equipment orders specify the design standard (or minimum tolerances) for the pump or the pump seal;

(C) Provide for an audit procedure for quality control of purchased equipment to ensure conformance with purchase specifications. The audit program may be conducted by the owner or operator of the plant site or process unit or by a designated representative; and

(D) Detail off-line pump maintenance and repair procedures. These procedures shall include provisions to ensure that rebuilt or refurbished pumps and pump seals will meet the design specifications for the pump category and will operate such that emissions are minimized.

(ii) The quality assurance program shall be established no later than the start of the third year of the quality improvement program for plant sites with 400 or more valves or 100 or more employees; and no later than the start of the fourth year of the quality improvement program for plant sites with less than 400 valves and less than 100 employees.

(8) Beginning at the start of the third year of the quality improvement program for plant sites with 400 or more valves or 100 or more employees and at the start of the fourth year of the quality improvement program for plant sites with less than 400 valves and less than 100 employees, the owner or operator shall replace, as described in paragraphs (d)(8)(i) and (d)(8)(ii) of this section, the pumps or pump seals that are not superior emission performance technology with pumps or pump seals that have been identified as superior emission performance technology and that comply with the quality assurance standards for the pump category. Superior emission performance technology is that category or design of pumps or pump seals with emission performance which, when combined with appropriate process, operating, and maintenance practices, will result in less than 10 percent leaking pumps for specific applications in the process unit or plant site. Superior emission performance technology includes material or design changes to the existing pump, pump seal, seal support system, installation of multiple mechanical seals or equivalent, or pump replacement.

(i) Pumps or pump seals shall be replaced at the rate of 20 percent per year based on the total number of pumps in light liquid service. The calculated value shall be rounded to the nearest nonzero integer value. The minimum number of pumps or pump seals shall be one. Pump replacement shall continue until all pumps subject to the requirements of § 63.163 of this subpart are pumps determined to be superior performance technology.

(ii) The owner or operator may delay replacement of pump seals or pumps with superior technology until the next planned process unit shutdown, provided the number of pump seals and pumps replaced is equivalent to the 20 percent or greater annual replacement rate.

(iii) The pumps shall be maintained as specified in the quality assurance program.