The New Source Performance Standards apply to all plants with what minimum capacity?

The New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) establish regulations that are designed to control emissions from new or modified stationary sources of pollution. These standards are particularly relevant for certain industries, such as power generation, manufacturing, and others that have significant potential to emit pollutants.

The minimum capacity specified for plants to be subject to these standards is pivotal because it ensures that the regulations target facilities that have a substantial impact on air quality. A threshold of 250 tons per day (TPD) is set to differentiate between smaller operations that typically have a lesser impact on pollution and larger operations that are likely to generate significant emissions.

By establishing the minimum capacity at 250 TPD, the NSPS aims to regulate only those plants that can produce considerable amounts of pollutants and therefore contribute more significantly to air quality degradation. This approach helps focus regulatory efforts on the sources that matter most in terms of environmental impact while ensuring manageable compliance for smaller operations that may not have as significant an effect on overall emissions.