Performance Standards for the Continued Use of #4 Oil and #6 Oil in Heat and Hot Water Boilers.
15 RCNY § 2-15
in effect§ 2-15 Performance Standards for the Continued Use of #4 Oil and #6 Oil in Heat and Hot Water Boilers.
(a) General Provisions.
(1) The commissioner will not issue a work permit or a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #4 oil or #6 oil unless (i) the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the particulate matter and NOx emissions of the #4 oil and/or #6 oil meets the equivalency standards described in this section, or (ii) the applicant enters into a compliance agreement with the commissioner as provided in this section.
(2) An owner who holds a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #4 oil may file an amendment to convert the boiler and/or burner to use #2 oil and/or natural gas. An owner who holds a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #6 oil may file such an amendment to convert the boiler and/or burner to use #2 oil, #4 oil and/or natural gas. An amendment pursuant to this paragraph must not require the replacement of a boiler and/or burner.
(3) The commissioner will not approve any amendment for a previously issued work permit or certificate of operation or a registration to convert a boiler and/or burner from using #2 oil, #4 oil and/or natural gas to using #6 oil or from using #2 oil and/or natural gas to using #4 oil.
(4) The equivalency levels of particulate matter and NOx as set forth in this section must be demonstrated through (i) the submission by either a professional engineer or registered architect licensed under Education Law §§ 7202 or 7302 of detailed calculations and supporting documentation to verify the equivalency levels or (ii) the submission by the applicant of an equivalency form published by the department that provides for calculations based on fuel use, energy values and emission factors from AP-42.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, the commissioner will not issue a work permit or a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #2 oil, #4 oil, #6 oil and/or natural gas unless the particulate matter and NOx emissions of such boiler or burner meets any binding emissions standard established by either state or federal law or regulation.
(6) Nothing in this section may be interpreted as requiring the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, when conducting an emergency repair in accordance with §§ 27-2125 through 27-2129 of the New York City Administrative Code, to convert a boiler and/or burner to use different fuel or to replace a boiler and/or burner with a boiler and/or burner that uses a different fuel.
(b) Existing Boilers (Renewal).
(1) The commissioner may issue a renewal of a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #2 oil, #4 oil and/or natural gas in accordance with § 24-122(d) of the New York City Administrative Code.
(2) The commissioner will not issue a renewal of a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #6 oil, unless (i) the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the particulate matter and NOx emissions of the #6 oil to be used in such boiler and/or burner will be equivalent to or less than emissions from #4 oil as provided in paragraph 4 of subdivision (a) of this section, or (ii) the applicant enters into a compliance agreement with the commissioner in accordance with subdivision (e) of this section.
(3) An owner who holds a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner that uses #2 oil, #4 oil, #6 oil and/or natural gas, and who seeks to make an in-kind replacement for use with #2 oil, #4 oil and/or natural gas is not required to file a new application for a work permit and a subsequent certificate of operation or a registration. The owner must provide on a form to be designated by the commissioner the make, model and serial number of the replacement equipment. The previously issued certificate of operation or a registration may be renewed with the previously issued application number assigned by the department upon approval of the amendment by the department.
(4) An owner who holds a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner and who seeks to replace the boiler and/or burner with equipment that is not of the same make and model number must file a new application for a work permit and a subsequent certificate of operation or a registration as provided in 15 RCNY §§ 2-04 and 2-05. The previously issued certificate of operation or a registration for the previously installed equipment will be cancelled upon receiving the application. The department will not accept an amendment to the previously issued certificate of operation or a registration for such replacement of the equipment.
(c) New Installations (Replacement).
(1) All applications for a work permit or a registration for a boiler and/or burner must specify that the equipment uses #2 oil and/or natural gas, unless the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the particulate matter and NOx emissions of the #4 oil and/or #6 oil to be used in such boiler and/or burner will be equivalent to or less than the emissions from #2 oil as provided in paragraph 4 of subdivision (a) of this section.
(2) In cases where a work permit has been issued before the effective date of this rule for a boiler and/or burner that uses #4 oil or #6 oil, but where a certificate of operation or a registration has not yet been issued, the owner of the equipment must file an amendment specifying the use of #2 oil and/or natural gas, unless the owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the particulate matter and NOx emissions of the #4 oil and/or #6 oil to be used in such boiler or burner will be equivalent to or less than the emissions from #2 oil as provided in paragraph 4 of subdivision (a) of this section.
(d) Sunset Provision. Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, after January 1, 2030, all applications for a certificate of operation or a registration for a boiler and/or burner must specify that the equipment uses #2 oil and/or natural gas, unless (i) the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the particulate matter and NOx emissions of the #4 oil or #6 oil to be used in such boiler and/or burner will be equivalent to or less than emissions from #2 oil as provided in paragraph 4 of subdivision a of this section, or, (ii) the applicant is an owner of fifty or more buildings with boilers or burners that use #4 oil or #6 oil, and enters into a compliance agreement with the commissioner in accordance with subdivision (e) of this section.
(e) Compliance Agreements.
(1) A compliance agreement entered into under subdivisions b and d of this section must include a schedule agreed to by the commissioner for the conversion and/or replacement of boilers and/or burners, and/or demonstration of the required equivalency, until the owner is in full compliance with the provisions of this section.
(2) An owner who applies to enter into a compliance agreement must show that conversion and/or replacement of the boilers and/or burners, and/or demonstration of the required equivalency, within the time frames set forth in subdivisions b or d of this section for an owner of fifty or more buildings with boilers and/or burners that use #4 or #6 oil, or subdivision b of this section for an owner of fewer than fifty such buildings, would not be feasible or would constitute an undue hardship.
(3) For purposes of paragraph 2 of this subdivision, the commissioner will consider several factors in considering whether to enter into the compliance agreement. These factors include financial hardship, whether the owner is an equity owner of the buildings, the presence of underground tanks that must be remediated because of the conversion in subdivision (b) of this section, prior good faith efforts to comply, the scale and timing of commitments to convert to the cleanest fuels, the levels of particulate matter and NOx emitted by the boilers, whether the boilers are located in neighborhoods with high densities of boilers that use #4 oil or #6 oil, and the public health consequences of delayed compliance with this section.
(4) An application to enter into an agreement to comply with subdivision (d) of this section must be filed by January 1, 2020.
(5) An application filed according to this subdivision must be sent to:
Director of the Division of Air and Noise Programs, Enforcement and Policy Bureau of Environmental Compliance
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
59-17 Junction Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11373
(6) The commissioner will publish in the City Record a written opinion no later than seven days after entering into a compliance agreement, stating the facts and reasons leading to his or her decision, as well as a copy of the compliance agreement.
(7) By December 31, 2014, and every year thereafter, the commissioner will publish a report summarizing the number of compliance agreements applied for and granted. The report will also summarize the environmental impacts of such compliance agreements and the overall program on tons of particulate matter and NOx in the air.
(8) Notwithstanding this specific compliance provision, § 24-110 of the New York City Administrative Code may apply.
(Amended City Record 5/13/2016, eff. 6/12/2016)
APPENDIX A
Table I. ΔDr/H Values for Temperature Range of 1°F to 94°F
TEMP (°F) Dr/H TEMP (°F) Dr/H TEMP (°F) Dr/H TEMP (°F) Dr/H
1 0.00284 26 0.00192 51 0.00114 76 0.00044
2 0.0028 27 0.0019 52 0.00112 77 0.000423
3 0.0027 28 0.00184 53 0.00108 78 0.0004
4 0.00266 29 0.00182 54 0.00105 79 0.00036
5 0.00263 30 0.00178 55 0.00102 80 0.00034
6 0.0026 31 0.00176 56 0.001 81 0.00032
7 0.00256 32 0.00172 57 0.00096 82 0.0003
8 0.0025 33 0.0017 58 0.00094 83 0.00026
9 0.00248 34 0.00166 59 0.00091 84 0.00024
10 0.00244 35 0.00162 60 0.0009 85 0.00021
11 0.00242 36 0.0016 61 0.00086 86 0.0002
12 0.0024 37 0.00156 62 0.000882 87 0.00018
13 0.00234 38 0.00154 63 0.0008 88 0.00012
14 0.0023 39 0.0015 64 0.00076 89 0.0001
15 0.00226 40 0.00148 65 0.00075 90 0.00009
16 0.00222 41 0.00146 66 0.0007 91 0.00006
17 0.0022 42 0.00142 67 0.00068 92 0.00004
18 0.00216 43 0.00138 68 0.00066 93 0.00002
19 0.00214 44 0.00136 69 0.00062 94 0
20 0.00212 45 0.00132 70 0.0006
21 0.00208 46 0.0013 71 0.00058
22 0.00204 47 0.00126 72 0.00054
23 0.002 48 0.00122 73 0.00052
24 0.00196 49 0.0012 74 0.0005
25 0.00194 50 0.00118 75 0.00046
Table II. Minimum Radial Distance Based Upon Chimney Diameter
Chimney Diameter1 (in) Existing #2 Oil and Natural Gas Chimney New Chimney3 Chimney Diameter Existing #2 Oil and Natural Gas Chimney New Chimney
Existing Above (ft) Existing Below (ft) #2 Oil (ft) Natural Gas (ft) (in) Existing Above (ft) Existing Below (ft) #2 Oil (ft) Natural Gas (ft)
6 7.9 5.8 13.3 10.6 29 44.4 32.8 64.3 51.4
7 9.4 6.9 15.5 12.4 30 46.1 34.0 66.5 53.2
8 10.8 8.0 17.7 14.2 31 47.8 35.3 68.7 55.0
9 12.3 9.1 19.9 16.0 32 49.4 36.5 70.9 56.7
10 13.8 10.2 22.2 17.8 33 51.1 37.8 73.1 58.5
11 15.3 11.3 24.4 19.5 34 52.9 39.1 75.3 60.3
12 16.8 12.4 26.6 21.3 35 54.5 40.3 77.5 62.1
13 18.4 13.6 28.8 23.0 36 56.2 41.6 79.8 63.8
14 20.0 14.8 31.0 24.8 37 57.9 42.8 82.0 65.6
15 21.6 15.9 33.2 26.6 38 59.7 44.1 84.2 67.4
16 23.2 17.1 35.4 28.3 39 61.4 45.4 86.4 69.1
17 24.7 18.3 37.7 30.1 40 63.1 46.7 88.6 70.9
18 26.3 19.5 39.9 31.9 41 64.7 47.8 90.8 72.7
19 27.9 20.6 42.1 33.6 42 66.6 49.2 93.1 74.5
20 29.5 21.8 44.3 35.4 43 68.4 50.5 95.3 76.2
21 31.2 23.0 46.5 37.2 44 70.1 51.8 97.5 78.0
22 32.8 24.2 48.7 38.9 45 71.8 53.1 99.7 79.8
23 34.4 25.4 51.0 40.7 46 73.6 54.4 101.9 81.6
24 36.1 26.7 53.2 42.5 47 75.3 55.7 104.1 83.3
25 37.7 27.9 55.4 44.3 48 77.1 57.0 106.3 85.1
26 39.4 29.1 57.6 46.1 49 78.9 58.3 108.6 86.9
27 41.0 30.3 59.8 47.9 502 80.6 59.6 110.8 88.7
28 42.7 31.5 62.0 49.6
1The diameter must be taken as the diameter or equivalent diameter at the outlet of the chimney. The term "equivalent diameter" means the equivalent diameter of a square or rectangular section based on equal area.
2For diameters larger than 50 inches, the minimum radial distance will be provided by the department upon request.
3The minimum radial distance in feet for new #2 oil chimneys and natural gas chimneys was determined using the formula d = F × √A, where F is 2.5 for #2 oil and 2 for natural gas and A is the cross sectional area of the chimney outlet in square inches.
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-24441Fetched: 10/24/2026