Section 123.2. Fugitive particulate matter

A person may not permit fugitive particulate matter to be emitted into the outdoor atmosphere from a source specified in § 123.1(a)(1)—(9) (relating to prohibition of certain fugitive emissions) if the emissions are visible at the point the emissions pass outside the person’s property.

The provisions of this § 123.2 adopted September 10, 1971, effective September 11, 1971, 1 Pa.B. 1804; amended March 3, 1972, effective March 20, 1972, 2 Pa.B. 383; amended August 12, 1983, effective August 13, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 2478. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (60646).

Notation

Notes of Decisions

Evidence

Visual evidence that dust emission left quarry property without witness as to the precise moment when fugitive dust escaped from the property was not proper grounds for dismissal of a violation as de minimis. Scurfield Coal, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 582 A.2d 694 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1990).

Facility Operations

This section which requires quarry owner to prevent emission into the atmosphere of particulate matter encompasses material stockpiled in both active and inactive operations, since the detriment to the public is the same. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 544 A.2d 1129 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).

Prevention

Quarry owner has an active duty to prevent particulate matter from visibly escaping into the atmosphere onto another’s property, which includes a responsibility to provide an adequate suppression system. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 544 A.2d 1129 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).

Testimony of an air quality specialist who visited the defendant’s quarry and viewed dust blowing into the air from actual stone crushing areas, conveying areas, stockpiles and haulage ways was sufficient to prove defendant caused the prohibited emissions to be emitted into the atmosphere outside of its own property. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 544 A.2d 1129 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).

This section which requires a quarry owner to prevent emission into the atmosphere of particulate matter encompasses material stockpiled in both active and inactive operations, since the detriment to the public is the same. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 544 A.2d 1129 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).

Quarry owner has an active duty to prevent particulate matter from visibly escaping into the atmosphere onto another’s property, which includes a responsibility to provide an adequate suppression system. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 544 A.2d 1129 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988).

Since this section applies only to the nine exemptions listed in § 123.1(a)(1)—(9) (relating to fugitive emissions), the two sections do not overlap and either one can stand alone as a basis for a violation. Medusa Corp. v. Department of Environmental Resources, 415 A.2d 105 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1980).

Cross References

This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 77.108 (relating to permit for small noncoal operations); 25 Pa. Code § 123.1 (relating to prohibition of certain fugitive emissions); and 25 Pa. Code § 264.521 (relating to design and operating standards).