Broadly Applicable Alternative Test Methods/Clean Air Act: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Identifies Recent Postings
June 05, 2025
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the May 28th Federal Register a Notice of Availability (“Notice”) guarding Broadly Applicable Alternative Test Methods Approval Decisions made under and in support of Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards (“NSPS”) and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (“NESHAP”) between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. See 90 Fed. Reg. 22476.
Source owners and operators are allowed to use what are typically described as “broadly applicable alternative test methods” instead of test methods or related testing procedures required by applicable NSPS or NESHAP.
EPA is provided the regulatory authority to approve alternative test methods if they meet certain criteria. The agency will typically announce approval of an alternative test method at some point after it is used.
Note that utilization of an alternative test method is not mandatory (i.e., it is permissive).
The approved alternative test methods and modification to test methods are found in Table 1in the Preamble to the Federal Register Notice.
A copy of the Federal Register Notice can be downloaded here.
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