Pulp and Paper Production (MACT I & III): National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Source Categories
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Rule Summary
The pulp and paper industry consists of facilities engaged in the production of pulp and/or paper/paperboard. This category includes, but is not limited to:
- integrated mills (where pulp and paper or paperboard are manufactured on- site),
- non-integrated mills (where paper/paperboard or pulp are manufactured, but not both), and
- secondary fiber mills (where waste paper is used as the primary raw material).
This subpart regulates the emissions from the pulp production sources, which include pulping process vents, bleaching process vents, and condensate streams.
Mills that chemically pulp wood using kraft, semi-chemical, sulfite, or soda processes are referred to as MACT I mills. Mills that mechanically pulp wood, or that pulp secondary fiber or non-wood fibers, or that produce paper or paperboard from purchased pulp are referred to as MACT III mills. These standards do not address emissions from recovery area combustion sources (referred to in later sections as MACT II). These sources are being regulated under a separate rule.
The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the pulp and paper production sources was originally proposed in 1993 and promulgated in 1998. In these actions, the EPA identified methanol, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, and other hazardous air pollutants were emitted in large quantities from these sources. As a result, this subpart regulates “total HAP” emissions. In general, this regulation requires mills to do the following:
- Collect and incinerate pulping process vent emissions
- Collect and control bleaching process vent emissions with a caustic scrubber
- Eliminate the use of certain bleaching chemicals
- Collect and treat process condensate streams to remove HAPs through biological treatment or steam stripping (kraft mills only)
See the regulations in the section below for more details.
Rule History
09/11/2012 – Pulp and Paper Industry Final Rule (77 FR 55698)
12/27/2011 – Pulp and Paper Industry Proposed Rule (76 FR 81328)
06/27/2001 – Project XL Site-Specific Rulemaking for Weyerhaeuser Company Flint River Operations Final Rule (66 FR 34119)
05/14/2001 – Pulp and Paper Industry Final Rule; technical corrections (66 FR 24268)
01/22/2001 - Final Rule; amendments (66 FR 6922)
12/22/2000 – Pulp and Paper Industry Final Rule; amendments (65 FR 80755)
01/25/2000 – Proposed Rule Amendments (65 FR 3907)
04/12/1999 – Final Rule; interpretation and technical amendments (64 FR 17555)
12/28/1998 – Proposed Rule & Direct Final Rule (63 FR 71408)
09/16/1998 – Interpretive Amendments to Final Rule (63 FR 49455)
08/07/1998 – Correction to Final Rule (63 FR 42238)
04/15/1998 – Final Rules (63 FR 18504)
07/15/1996 – Notice of availability (61 FR 36835)
12/17/1993 – Proposed Rules: National Emission Standards for Pulp and Paper Production (58 FR 66078) (pdf)
Additional Resources
Inputs to the Pulp and Paper Industry October 2011 Residual Risk Assessment
Residual Risk Assessment for the Pulp & Paper Source Category
Clean Air Act Section 112(d)(6) Technology Review for Pulping and Papermaking Processes Memorandum
The following file Emissions Data Risk and Technology Review of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Pulp and Paper Industry (subpart S) (accdb) provides facility-wide emissions for major sources that submitted data in response to the 2011 data collection survey. This file includes updates provided to EPA during the Risk and Technology Review of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Pulp and Paper Industry (subpart S) comment period and other updates provided by facilities. If you have any questions, concerns, or updates regarding this data, please contact Kelley Spence at spence.kelley@epa.gov.
WATER9 is a Windows based computer program for estimating air emissions of individual waste constituents in wastewater/waste. Further information or a copy of the WATER 9 can be obtained from EPA. You can also contact the Air Emissions Model Hotline at (919) 541-5610 for support or more information about this model.
Pulp and paper manufacturing is subject to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Information regarding available and emerging technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from pulp and paper manufacturing can be found here.
Related Rules
MACT II Pulp and Paper Regulations
Kraft Pulp Mills: New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
Pulp, Paper, and Paper Board Point Source Category Effluent Guidelines and Standards
Compliance
Pulp and Paper Clean Air Act Section 114 Information Collection Request
Applicability Determination Index (ADI). The ADI is maintained by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and provides a data base of memoranda dealing with applicability issues. The database is searchable by Subpart.