Air Quality Program - Air Operating Permit

Air Operating Permit Sources on campus Air Operating Permit online Compliance Program Other accomplishments

UW Air Operating Permit

The legal authorization for Air Operating Permits (AOP) is found in Title 5 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. An Air Operating Permit combines all operational and procedural requirements and emission standards for an emission source into one document.

The Washington Department of Ecology and local air authorities in Washington State (the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, in our case) have been authorized by the EPA to administer AOPs locally.

The University of Washington AOP was issued by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency in 2001.

Air pollution sources on campus

The Seattle campus has several air pollutant sources related to research and support of the general campus.

Our natural gas-powered power plant, which supplies steam, chilled water, compressed air, and on average about 10% of the electricity used on main campus, also produces nitrous oxides (nitrogen in the air is oxidized during combustion) and carbon monoxide (due to incomplete combustion of natural gas). It is a modern gas-fired power plant that uses the latest in pollution control technology, and plant engineers control combustion parameters to reduce both NOx and CO as much as possible. Particulate matter concentrations are very low.

We also have paint spray booths, a gas station, machine shop dust sources, and several emission sources related to the UW Medical Center and medical clinics and research. These have the potential to emit toxic air pollutants as well as some carbon monoxide, NOx and volatile organic carbon compounds (VOCs).

Air Pollution Compliance Oversight Program

To help assure that the University complies with all provisions in its AOP, the EH&S Environmental Programs Office has established an Air Pollution Compliance Oversight Program. This program is a proactive approach intended to avoid University regulatory compliance problems and reinforce the University's efforts to minimize impacts of its activities on the neighboring community and the environment. The program:

• Specifies an individual responsible for permit compliance at each source
• Clearly identifies all compliance requirements in the permit
• Provides compliance technical assistance
• Conducts biannual internal audits
• Proactively evaluates additional air pollution sources (including refrigeration units) at UW Bothell, UW Tacoma, Harborview Medical Center, and our research facilities at Friday Harbor
• Conducts an outreach program to provide air pollution information to UW staff

Accomplishments of the Compliance Oversight Program

To date, we have accomplished the following:

• Conducted over 33 internal inspections of sources listed in UW's Air Operating Permit, and provided written reports and recommendations for improvements to persons responsible for operating the sources.
• Evaluated activities at UW Bothell, UW Tacoma, Harborview Medical Center, and the research facilities at Friday Harbor, and provided written reports with recommendations for each location.
• Wrote a UW Compliance Oversight Plan.
• Made presentations about UW air compliance policies to:
  • Facilities Services M&A/CEO Shop Unit Supervisors' Meeting
  • UW refrigeration mechanics staff meeting
  • Capital Projects Office Training Session
  
  
• Presented University compliance issues to other audiences at:
  • Northwest Laboratory Hazardous Waste Association Spring Conference
  • Washington COP/ICBO EH&S Directors' Meeting
  • CSHEMA Conference
  • Air & Waste Management Association Annual Conference

UW Air Operating Permit online

The full UW Air Operating Permit may be found online at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/permits/issued/21320-faop.pdf.

Other clean air accomplishments

UW Campus Operations has switched to low sulfur oil for the backup boilers in the power plant, decreasing our emissions of SOx (a precursor of acid rain) to essentially zero.

UW Campus Operations, Facilities Services, and various other departments have coordinated a number of efforts to conserve energy. For more about these efforts, visit the Facilities Services Energy and Water Conservation webpage .