Temporary emission of contaminants

(1) Subject to subregulation (2), emissions in excess of the prescribed limits which are temporary and due to unavoidable breakdown of equipment or disruption of operations shall not be considered a violation of these Regulations if– (a) the Department is immediately notified of any such occurrence and a time period for correction of the breakdown or disruption is proposed; (b) the Department considers the proposed time- period for repair reasonable; (c) the breakdown or disruption is considered by the Department to be unavoidable and not the result of negligence; and 100 Environmental Protection (d) the Department is provided with daily and weekly reports and is immediately notified when corrective measures have been accomplished; and (e) the is provided with an assessment of damages or potential risks to human health associated with the breakdown or disruption. (2) The person responsible for the emission of contaminants into the ambient air in the circumstances described in subregulation (1) shall submit a written report to the Department which shall include the cause and nature of the emission, the estimated quantity of contaminants emitted, the time of the emission and steps taken to control the emission and to prevent a recurrence. (3) The Department may, subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Department, grant an exemption to a person responsible for a source of contamination in the circumstances of start–up, shut–down or scheduled maintenance if the person responsible for the source of contamination notifies the Department, within twenty–one days prior to such occurrence, of the nature, duration and unavoidability of the emissions and such other information as may be requested by the Department. (4) Where start–up or shut–down of equipment is a normal operating condition, the Department may grant a continuing specified period of time within which there must be compliance with these Regulations.