AQ_F_1900009_20081203_ENF_Enf-FND

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NORTH CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF C14ATHAM FILE NO. DAQ 2008-256
IN THE MATTER OF: )
GENERAL SHALE BRICK, INC. )
FOR VIOLATION OF: )
CIVIL PENALTY ASSESSMENT
SECTION 3, GENERAL CONDITION F )
OF AIR PERMIT 04384T28 )
Acting pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes (G.S.) 143-215.114A, I, B. Keith Overcash, P.E., Director of
the Division of Air Quality (DAQ), make the following:
I. FINDINGS OF FACT:
A. General Shale Brick, Inc. operates a brick manufacturing facility located in Moncure, Chatham County,
North Carolina.
B. General Shale Brick, Inc. was issued Air Permit No. 04384T28 (PERMIT) on November 26, 2007,
with an expiration date of December 31, 2008, for construction and operation of air emission
sources and air cleaning devices. This was the effective permit for the violation covered in this
assessment.
C. The PERMIT contains the following pertinent sections.
The pennitted equipment table in Part I, Section 1 of the PERMIT describes Kiln 4 and its associated
control device as follows:
The followingtable contains a summary of all permitted emission sources and associated air pollution control devices:
Emission Emission Source Description Control Control Device
Source Device ID Description
ID No. No,
ES-K4K One coal/natural gas/propane-fired brick CD-K4DIFF dry lime injected fabric filter
tunnel kiln (25.9 million Btu per hour (16,228 square feet offilter
maximum heat input and 20.55 tons per area)
hour maximum fired brickproduction rate)
Section 2.I.A of the PERMIT specifies that Brick Kiln 4 and its associated dryers consist of the
following:
One coal/natural gas/propane-fired brick tunnel kiln (25.9 million Btu per hour maximum heat
input rate and 20.55 tons per hour maximum fired brick production rate, ID No. ES-K4K) and
associated dry lime injection fabric filter (ID No. CD-K4DIFF) and the three associated natural
gas/propane-fired brick dryers (ID Nos. ES-K4D1, ES-K4D2, and E4-K3D3).

General Shale Brick,Inc.
DAQ 2008-256
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D. Part I, Section 3, General Condition F of the PERMIT defines "circumvention" as follows:
Circumvention -STATE ENFORCEABLE ONLY
The facility shall be properly operated and maintained at all times in a manner that will effect an overall
reduction in air pollution. Unless otherwise specified by this permit, no emission source maybe operated
without the concurrent operation of its associated air pollution control device(s) and appurtenances.
E. On February 6, 2008, Steve Hall of DAQ's Raleigh Regional Office conducted a compliance inspection
of General Shale's Moncure facility. During this inspection, it was discovered that Kiln 4 had been
modified recently and was brought back online on January 29, 2008 with coal as the primary fuel for
the kiln. It was also discovered that the dry lime injected fabric filter(DIFF) defined in the PERMIT as
the required control device for Kiln 4 had not been installed at the facility. At the time of the
inspection, air emissions from Kiln 4 were being controlled by a dry limestone absorber (DLA), which
was the appropriate control device for the kiln prior to the conversion from natural gas to coal as the
primary fuel. Although General Shale Brick, Inc. had submitted a permit application on January 3,
2008 requesting that the facility operate Kiln 4 with the DLA under a schedule of compliance, the new
permit had not been issued when the facility was brought back online on January 29, 2008.
F. A Notice of Violation (NOV) dated March 7, 2008 was sent to General Shale Brick, Inc. for the
violation noted in Findings of Fact "E". A Notice of Recommendation for Enforcement (NRE) dated
July 25, 2008 was sent to the facility once all the facts of the case were determined.
G. General Shale Brick, Inc. submitted a response letter to the NOV on April 9, 2008. After several phone
conversations and meetings between representatives of the company and DAQ, General Shale
submitted additional information on July 15, 2008 and August 12, 2008 regarding the operation of Kiln
4 with a DLA as the primary control device instead of a DIFF. The August 12, 2008 submittal included
an application for permit modification that, if approved by DAQ, would allow the company to operate
Kiln 4 with a DLA as the primary control device with certain limitations added to the permit to ensure
compliance with all applicable regulations. Air Permit No. 04384T29 was subsequently issued on
November 12, 2008.
H. General Shale Brick, Inc. has the following five-year compliance history:
• On January 26, 2005, the company was issued an NOV for various violations of their Title V
monitoring and record keeping requirements.
• On July 26, 2006, the company was issued an NOV for various monitoring and record keeping
violations of the Brick MACT (40 CFR 63, Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT),
Subpart JJJJJ). The Brick MACT has since been vacated in the federal court.
• On December 21, 2006, the company was issued an NOV for various monitoring and record
keeping violations of the Brick MACT (40 CFR 63, Maximum Achievable Control Technology
(MACT), Subpart JJJJJ). The Brick MACT has since been vacated in the federal court.
1. The costs of investigation or inspection in this matter totaled $473.00.
Based upon the above Findings of Fact, I make the following:
II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW:
A. Air Permit No. 04384T28 is required by and issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.108.

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B. General Shale Brick, Inc. was in violation of Part I, Section 3, General Condition F of the PERMIT as
detailed in Findings of Fact above.
C. G.S. 143-215.114A provides that a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000.00) per violation may be assessed against a person who violates or fails to act in accordance
with the terms, conditions, or requirements of a permit required by G.S. 143-215.108 or who violates any
regulation adopted by the Environmental Management Commission.
D. G.S. 143-215.3(a)(9) provides that the costs of any investigation or inspection may be assessed against a
person who violates any term or condition of any permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.108 or who
violates any regulation adopted by the Environmental Management Commission.
Based upon the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, I make the following:
III. DECISION:
General Shale Brick, Inc. is hereby assessed a civil penalty of:
$ n for one (1) violation of Part I, Section 3, General Condition F for operating Kiln 4
on coal without the permit-required control device(CD-K4DIFF)in operation.
$ TOTAL CIVIL PENALTY, which is percent of the maximum penalty
authorized by G.S. 143-215.114A.
$ 473.00 Investigation costs
$
TOTAL AMOUNT DUE
Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.114A in determining the amount of the penalty, I considered the factors listed in G.S.
14313-282.1(b) and 15A NCAC 2J .0106, which are the following:
1) The degree and extent of harm to the natural resources of the State, to the public health, or to private
property resulting from the violation(s);
2) The duration and gravity of the violation;
3) The effect on ground or surface water quantity or quality or on air quality;
4) The cost of rectifying the damage;
5) The amount of money saved by noncompliance;
6) Whether the violation was committed willfully or intentionally;
7) The prior record of the violator in complying or failing to comply with programs over which the
Environmental Management Commission has regulatory authority; and
8) The cost to the State of the enforcement procedures.
e2 �
Date B. reitlVOvercash, P.E.,Director
Division of Air Quality