Where to find Information About

Facilities

Overview of Title V Permits

The Need for Title V

• Air quality goals were not met • Confusion as to what requirements applied to a facility• Existing rules often lacked monitoring• Limited public access and comment• Weak compliance oversight • Purpose of Title V permit: accountability, improved compliance and

enforcement

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Who Issues Title V Permits?

• State and local agencies• EPA in Indian Country• Tribes – if they develop a program and get it approved by EPA

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Who has to Get a Title V Permit?

• All major sources• Plus some non-majors• Around 20,000 major sources nation-wide• Call your permitting agency to see which sources are getting permits• See http://www.epa.gov/airquality/permits/obtain.html

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How do Permits Get Issued?

• Sources must apply• Permitting agency prepares draft permit• Draft permit is reviewed by public • Public hearing may be requested• EPA reviews some State permits and may veto the permit• Final permit is issued

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Permit Applications

• New sources:• Due within 12 months of starting to operate

• Sources that have title V permits:• Due at least 6 months before the 5-year renewal date

• Sources that need their permit updated (modified)

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What is Included in a Title V Permit

• All applicable requirements including• Requirements from federal standards, such as

• Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards• New Source Performance Standards

• Terms and conditions from new source review permits• Conditions from the State Implementation Plan

• Origin and authority for each permit term• Monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting

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What does a Title V Permit Look like?• Can be quite long (85-100 pages for a medium size permit)• Statement of basis • States choose the format• General conditions• Conditions for specific process line or emissions source

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What does a Title V Permit Look Like?• For each process line or emissions source, the permit generally has:• Description of process and its pollution control equipment• Emission limit or other type of limit • Monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting

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How do Title V Permits Promote Compliance?Title V Permits:• Roll all applicable requirements into one document • Add source-specific monitoring (sometimes)• Monitoring means collecting and using data on emissions or other

information about the operation of a process or pollution control device• Each permit limit or condition needs monitoring “sufficient to assure

compliance”

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How do Title V Permits Help Enforcement?• Reports and certifications alert permitting agency and public • Permit settles what requirements apply

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Public Availability of Records

• Permit application (except confidential business information)• All reports and certifications• Draft and final permit• Correspondence

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Minimum Requirements for Public Involvement • Minimum requirements for notice of draft permit: • Newspaper notice• Creation of mailing list to provide notice• Other means necessary to notify affected public

• 30 day public comment period• 30 days notice prior to public hearing (if one is held)• Record of commenters, issues raised, must be kept

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Opportunities for Involvement

• Obtain copy of application• Request informal meeting with permitting agency• Review file and draft permit; submit comments• Request and participate in public hearing• Petition EPA to object to the permit if your concerns have not been

met

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Petitions to EPA to Object to a Permit EPA must object to a permit if it is not in compliance with the requirements of

title V• E.g., does not include all applicable requirements or does not assure

compliance with applicable requirements

• Anyone who commented on the permit can petition EPA to object to a permit• If EPA objects to the permit, permit cannot be issued• If permitting authority fails to revise the permit, EPA will issue or deny a

permit

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Different Views on Title V

• Increases industry’s costs and risk of discovering (and having to report) violations• Some States• Welcome the extra monitoring and compliance • Think its just a bunch of paperwork

• Environmentalists love the accountability, extra monitoring, better access to information

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Unique Features of Title V Program

• Statement of Basis• Permit Shield• Periodic Monitoring• Petition to Object

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Websites that can be helpful

• Permits • Region 6 website on permits and their status• http://yosemite.epa.gov/r6/Apermit.nsf/AirLA?OpenView&Start=1&Count=4

000&Expand=1#1• Louisiana DEQ Public Notice site• http://www3.deq.louisiana.gov/news/pubnotice/default.asp• http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/ONLINESERVICES/CheckPermitStatus.as

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• Regulation• http://yosemite.epa.gov/opei/RuleGate.nsf