WHAT'S NEW:

No recent state activity has been identified.

AIR EMISSIONS REGULATIONS:

Air Quality Status	All areas are in attainment EPA's Nonattainment Areas
Major Source Threshold	PTE 250 tons (100 for listed sources) of any criteria pollutant
Minor Source Permitting Exemption	Size based. See below
Minor Source Treatment	Emission limits for opacity, SO2 and PM
Emergency Generating Limits	PTE based on 500 hours per year

 

DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS

Sources that have a potential to emit less than 10 tons per year of each criteria pollutant, 1 ton per year of an individual hazardous pollutant and 2.5 tons per year of any combination of hazardous pollutants are exempt from permitting. These sources are not required to notify the state. Exempt combustion devices are those fired with resid sized 2 MMBtu/hr or less, distillate sized 10 MMBtu/hr or less, natural gas or LPG sized 10 MMBtu/hr or less, with all such boilers collectively less than 25 MMBtu/hr.

MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING

Sources of a size or with a potential to emit greater than the exempted sizes above must obtain a minor source permit. The state does not require modeling, but does enforce a 40% opacity limit and a 4.8 lb/MMBtu SO2 limit. A PM limit will be based on the unit's size in BTUs, ranging between 0.19 and 0.6 lb/MMBtu, but the PM limit is rarely an issue for applicants. No other controls are likely.

There is a 30-day public comment period for sources with a potential to emit greater than 100 tons per year of a criteria pollutant. The entire permitting process takes 30 days if there is not a comment period, but up to 120 with a comment period.

MAJOR NSR/PSD PERMITTING

A potential to emit 250 tons (100 tons for listed sources) per year of a criteria pollutant triggers PSD.

TREATMENT OF EMERGENCY ENGINES

Emergency engines can have their potential to emit based on 500 hours per year if they agree to operate only for blackouts and maintenance. Based on this potential to emit calculation the unit may qualify for the de minimis exemption above. Otherwise the source is permitted normally.

SITING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-UTILITY GENERATORS:

Wholesale competition is supported in Mississippi. All electric power-generating facilities are required to acquire a Facility Certificate from the Mississippi Public Service Commission. In order to obtain this Certificate, the petitioner must establish that the proposed facility fills some demand for public convenience and necessity. However, the PSC will exempt on-site power producers from these requirements. Before the Certificate is granted the applicant must provide proof that the proposed facility is in compliance with all relevant state environmental regulations. The Mississippi Public Service Commission also conducts public hearings on the issue. The legislation can be found HERE.

BUILDING, ZONING AND FIRE CODES:

Building Codes: Mississippi has adopted the 2003 IBC as the state minimum building code, with amendments or potential upgrade to the 2006 IBC possible. [1] Local jurisdictions are not required to adopt a building code, but if they do adopt a code, it must be the statewide code.

Energy Codes: There are no commercial energy codes in force. After July, 2009, for new construction of state-owned buildings, builders are legally required to conform to the IECC (unspecified version) plus an additional 30% energy reduction. [2]

• Energy Programs

Fire Codes: Mississippi enforces the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code, which is loosely based on several versions of the IFC.

• State Fire Marshal

Zoning: Zoning and planning happens at the local level. Check with each jurisdiction regarding their zoning codes.

Resources (information may not be as current as provided above)

A general overview of each state’s enacted codes can be found HERE.

The International Code Council Adoption page gives state-by-state adoption status of specific ICC codes, as well as information about code adoption by some municipal governments within that state.

Information about energy codes can be found at the DOE’s Building Codes for Energy Efficiency page or at the Building Codes Assistance Project.

INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS:

Mississippi does not have statewide interconnection requirements. The main utility, Entergy Mississippi, has two levels of interconnection - one for systems less than 20 MW, and the other for systems larger than 20 MW. A number of studies must be conducted for systems over 20 MW - a feasibility study, a system impact study, and a facilities study. For systems under 20 MW, these facilities must follow FERC Order 2006 and its successors (SGIP and SGIA). All systems must comply with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards. Interconnection information can be accessed at: http://www.entergy.com/transmission/facility_requirements.aspx

EXIT FEES:

No state exit fee policy has been identified. Contact the Mississippi Public Service Commission and the local utility for more information.

UTILITY STANDBY RATES:

Mississippi does not have a statewide policy on standby rates. Relevant policies for Mississippi utilities are summarized below.

Entergy Mississippi Inc - Rider Schedule SS-9: Standby service is provided at an entirely demand based rate. The demand charge is assessed against 35% of the customer's entire load (regardless of source of generation) each month. Actual usage is charged under regular tariff, and billing demand is typically based on the higher of the maximum 15 minute demand of the month or 80% of the maximum established in the previous 11 months. Rate information is available at: http://www.entergy-mississippi.com/Your_Business/Business_Tariffs.aspx

Mississippi Power Co - Schedule SPSS-3B: Standby service is provided to customers that contract for a specified amount of demand capacity with the utility. A demand-based reservation charge is assessed each month. Actual usage is billed under the regular tariff. Regular tariff rates are heavy on demand charges with billing demand being based on the maximum demand of the month with no ratchet. Rate information is available at: http://www.mississippipower.com/pricing/ms_rates.asp