NYCDEP Deadlines on Fuel Conversion for Boilers

by | Jun 11, 2019 | Read the latest Environmental Services Articles & News, Tanks and Fuel Management

NYCDEP DEADLINES ON FUEL CONVERSION FOR BOILERS

 The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), specifically in Title 24 Chapter 1, Subchapter 8 Section 24-168 of the NYC Administrative Code, has set the following deadlines for fuel conversion on boilers.

Deadlines:

  1. For residual oil (#6 oil). Any boiler in NYC must stop burning residual fuel oil on or before 01/01/2020.
  2. For fuel oil grade #4. Any boiler in NYC must stop burning fuel oil #4 by 01/01/2030, except boilers used to generate electricity and/or steam in an electric, steam or combined electric/steam generating facility, which must stop using fuel oil #4 on or before 01/01/2025.

However the NYCDEP gives the owner/operator of a boiler used to generate electricity and/or steam in an electric, steam or combined electric/steam generating facility, options to continue burning residual fuel oil #6 until 12/31/2021 if the following two conditions are met.

Conditions:

  1. The owner/operator of such boiler shall notify the NYCDEP on or before 06/30/2019 of the intention to burn residual fuel oil until 12/31/2021, and
  2. Such boiler must not use residual fuel oil or fuel oil grade #4, on and after 01/01/2022 (i.e. boiler must be converted from residual oil to fuel oil grade #2).

The NYCDEP also sets the following requirement for fuel in terms of sulfur content and biodiesel percentage:

Sulfur content limit by weight (Section 24-169):

  • fuel grade #2 must contain less than 0.0015% of sulfur (15 ppm).
  • fuel grade #4 must contain less than 0.15% of sulfur, or 0.30% if the NYCDEP commissioner issues a waiver (valid for 3 months unless renewed) based on the finding that there is an insufficient quantity of fuel grade #2 containing less than 0.0015% of sulfur by weight.
  • fuel grade #6 must contain less than 0.30% of sulfur.

Biodiesel Percentage (Section 24-168.1):

  • Heating oil fuel grade #2 must have a biodiesel content (by volume) more than (or equal to):
  1. 5% on or after 10/1/2017;
  2. 10% on or after 10/1/2025;
  3. 15% on or after 10/1/2030;
  4. 20% on or after 10/1/2034;
  • Heating oil fuel grade #4 and residual oil (#6 fuel oil) must have a biodiesel content (by volume) more than (or equal to):
  1. 5% on or after 10/1/2017;

This requirement on minimal biodiesel content shall not apply to heating oil used in:

  • An emergency generator,
  • A boiler with heating oil duel-base tank that also supplies an emergency generator.
  • A backup heating oil tank for a building that uses natural gas as the primary fuel where such heating oil contains greater than 5% biodiesel by volume

The fuel conversion of your boiler(s) might require the submission of applications to multiple NYC (and NY State) regulatory agencies to obtain permits (or modifying existing ones) to construct and operate your boiler, including:

  • NYC Department of Building (NYCDOB)
  • NYC Fire Department (FDNY)
  • NYCDEP Air Permit (or Registration based on boiler heat input)
  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Air Facility Permit (or Registration based potential and actual emission from the facility)

To know more about all these regulatory requirements or if you need help in obtaining permits to operate a complaint boiler at your facility please contact Walden Environmental Engineering at 516-624-7200 for a free consultation to discuss any issue about your boiler(s) or about any other equipment requiring NYCDOB, FDNY, NYCDEP or NYSDEC permits.