SAN DIEGO COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

REGULATION IV - PROHIBITIONS
(Effective 1/1/69: Rev. Adopted & Effective 8/13/97)

RULE 50 - VISIBLE EMISSIONS
(Rev. Effective 8/13/97)

(a) APPLICABILITY

Except as otherwise provided in Section (b), this rule applies to the discharge of any air contaminant other than uncombined water vapor.

(b) EXEMPTIONS (Rev. Effective 8/13/97)

The provisions of this rule shall not apply to:

  1. Smoke from the use of an orchard or citrus grove heater which does not produce unconsumed solid carbonaceous matter at a rate in excess of one gram per minute;
  2. Emissions from the use of equipment in agricultural operations;
  3. Smoke from open fires set pursuant to a permit and its conditions;
  4. Abrasive blasting operations subject to the provisions of Rule 71 of Regulation IV of these Rules and Regulations;
  5. The use of visible emissions generating equipment in training sessions conducted by governmental agencies for the purpose of certifying persons to evaluate visible emissions from compliance with applicable provisions of the State of California Health and Safety Code and District Rules and Regulations;
  6. The use of obscurants for the purpose of training military personnel and the testing of military equipment by the United States Department of Defense on any military reservation;
  7. Equipment used exclusively for the purpose of flash-over fire fighting training; and
  8. Emissions from vessels using steam boilers during emergency boiler shutdowns for safety reasons, safety and operational tests required by governmental agencies, and where maneuvering is required to avoid hazards. Emissions from vessels during a breakdown condition, as long as it is reported in accordance with District Rule 98.

(c) DEFINITIONS (Rev. Effective 8/13/97)

  1. "Asphalt Plant Drop Zone" means the area immediately below a device, in an asphalt manufacturing facility that loads or drops asphalt onto the cargo beds of trucks and trailers.
  2. "Asphalt Paving Equipment" means equipment handling asphalt cement or asphaltic concrete as part of a paving operation, including chip seal or sand seal.
  3. "Obscurants" means fog oil released into the atmosphere during military exercises which produces a smoke screen designed to eliminate the detection of persons or objects by visual or electronic means of observation within a localized area.
  4. "Observer" means a certified human observer or a certified, calibrated opacity monitoring system.
  5. "Pavement Rehabilitation Equipment" means equipment used to resurface or refinish an existing paved surface, such as asphalt pavement heaters, asphalt grinders, planers, profilers.
  6. "Single Source" means individual unit of equipment or operations at a given location, including any associated outlets to the atmosphere, which may be operated simultaneously.
  7. "Rubber Modified Spray Applied Asphalt" means rubber modified asphaltic cement, including, but not limited to rubber modified asphaltic cement containing polymers or asphalt rubber binders, applied with an application temperature specification of 320oF or higher, or encompassing a temperature range including 320oF or higher, in a thin layer to a road surface.

(d) STANDARDS (Rev. Effective 8/13/97)

  1. Except as otherwise provided in Section (b) above and subsections below, a person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from any single source of emissions whatsoever any air contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any period of 60 consecutive minutes which is darker in shade than that designated as Number 1 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observer's view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 1 on the Ringelmann Chart.
  2. A person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from any asphalt plant drop zone any contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more that three minutes in any period of 60 consecutive minutes which is as dark or darker in shade than that designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observer's view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart.
  3. A person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from any diesel pile driving hammer any contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more than four minutes during the driving of a single pile which is as dark or darker in shade than that designated as Number 1 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observerÕs view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 1 on the Ringelmann Chart.
  4. A person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from any diesel pile driving hammer which uses kerosene fuel, smoke suppressing fuel additives, and synthetic lubricating oil any contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more than four minutes during the driving of a single pile which is as dark or darker in shade than that designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observerÕs view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart.

  5. A person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from any asphalt paving equipment with an application temperature specification of 320¡F or higher, or encompassing a temperature range including 320¡F or higher, or pavement rehabilitation equipment, any emissions whatsoever of air contaminants for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any period of 60 consecutive minutes which is darker in shade than that designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observer's view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart. This provision does not apply to portable rubber modified spray applied asphalt cement equipment.
  6. A person shall not discharge into the atmosphere from the operation, maintenance or testing of fire fighting training units used exclusively for the purpose of shipboard fire fighting training, from any single source of emissions whatsoever any air contaminant for a period or periods aggregating more than three minutes in any period of 60 consecutive minutes which is darker in shade than that designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or of such opacity as to obscure an observerÕs view to a degree greater than does smoke of a shade designated as Number 2 on the Ringelmann Chart.