United States Environmental Protection Agency

General Permit for New or Modified Minor Sources of Air Pollution in 

Indian Country

http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html

Questionnaire for Requesting Coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for 

New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants in Indian Country

Last Modified: July 2, 2014

Version 1.0

Does the General Permit apply to my facility?

The following questionnaire is intended to help you, the facility owner or operator, determine whether or not you are 

eligible for a General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants. You are not 

required to complete it and this questionnaire is not necessary to apply for a General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants. This questionnaire does not cover all of the General Air Quality 

Permit requirements and does not guarantee approval of a true minor source preconstruction permit under this 

program.

Description of Concrete Batch Plants

A Concrete Batch Plant is an operation that combines various ingredients to form concrete. These inputs may include 

sand, water, aggregate (rocks, gravel, etc.), fly ash, potash, cement, and cement additives. A concrete plant can utilize a 

variety of equipment, including but not limited to: mixers, cement batchers, aggregate batchers, conveyors, radial 

stackers, aggregate bins, cement bins, heaters, chillers, cement silos, batch plant controls, and dust collectors. This 

Concrete Batch Plants Questionnaire is for both stationary and portable concrete batch plants that are not major

sources of air pollution and that are located, or planning to locate, within Indian country. The General Air Quality Permit 

for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants covers both ready mix plants and central mix plants.

 

About this Questionnaire

The questions focus on general information pertaining to your existing or future concrete batch plant. The 

questionnaire is not meant to be exhaustive and only requires knowledge of basic facility information, including 

process rates, raw material throughput, and fuel usage. 

You should continue with this Questionnaire if you:

 Plan to construct a new, true minor source concrete batch plant within Indian country; 

 Plan to modify an existing, true minor source concrete batch plant located within Indian country; 

 Have a potential to emit (PTE) less than the New Source Review (NSR) major source thresholds and equal to or 

above the minor NSR applicability thresholds. See the “Does my Concrete Batch Plant Need or Qualify for a 

Minor Source Permit?” section below; 

 After the proposed construction or modification project, your concrete batch plant is projected to produce 

2,000,000 cubic yards or less of concrete per year based on a 12-month rolling total; 

 Are located in a serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment area and will not have a non-emergency 

engine at you concrete batch plant. 

 Do not know whether your facility needs a permit, or if you do not know the attainment status of your area; and 

you want to find out whether or not you should apply for a minor source general permit or a major source 

permit for a concrete batch plant; and 

 Intend to satisfy the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Historic Preservation Act 

(NHPA) according to the procedures attached to the Request for Coverage under the General Air Quality Permit

for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants.

 

More Information

The definition of a “modification” and “PTE” can be found at 40 CFR 49.152(d) and in the “Instructions” document. 

Additional information on the applicability of the Indian Country Minor NSR rule can be found at 40 CFR 49.153.
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Information on the air quality attainment status of the area where your facility is located can be found at: 

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/. You may also contact your reviewing authority for information on your 

attainment status. 

Information on any available voluntary consensus standards that can used as alternatives to the emissions measurement 

standards in the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants can be found 

in: “Voluntary Consensus Standard Results for General Permits and Permits by Rule for the Indian Country Minor New 

Source Review Program; 40 CFR Part 49, Subparts 156(c) and 162,” from Robin Segall, Acting Group Leader, 

Measurement Technology Group, to Laura McKelvey, Community and Tribal Programs Group, February 7, 2014, 

http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

Please contact your reviewing authority if you have questions or need assistance. A list of reviewing authorities, their 

area of coverage, and contact information can be found in Attachment E to the General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants or by visiting: http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html

Questionnaire for Concrete Batch Plants

Part 1: Does my Concrete Batch Plant Need a True Minor Source Permit?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your concrete batch plant needs a true minor source 

permit.

1. Is the PTE of your facility less than 250 tons per year (tpy) for particulate matter (PM, PM10, or PM2.5), volatile 

organic compounds (VOC), nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)? The emissions 

from your facility may be calculated using the PTE calculator provided at 

http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. Be sure to include all existing, new, and modified emission units.

Yes No

If you answered ‘No,’ yoursource does not qualify for the minor NSR program. Please contact your reviewing 

authority to apply for a site-specific permit. If you answered ‘Yes,’ continue on to the next question.

2. Is the PTE of your new facility or the emissions increase from your modified existing facility equal to or above the 

applicable minor NSR thresholds listed below for ANY of the seven pollutants listed in the table below? The 

emissions from your facility may be calculated using the PTE calculator provided at 

http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. Be sure to include all new, modified, and existing emission units 

when determining PTE.

Pollutant Attainment Area Nonattainment Area

CO 10 tpy 5 tpy

PM 10 tpy 5 tpy

PM10 5 tpy 1 tpy

PM2.5 3 tpy 0.6 tpy

SO2 10 tpy 5 tpy

NOX 10 tpy 5 tpy
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Pollutant Attainment Area Nonattainment Area

VOC 5 tpy 2 tpy

Yes No

If you answered ‘No,’ your source is exempt from the minor NSR program. Please contact reviewing 

authority to confirm that your facility will not need a permit. If you answered ‘Yes,’ continue on to the next 

question. 

3. If located in an air quality nonattainment area for any pollutant, is the PTE of your facility for the particular 

nonattainment pollutant less than the NSR major source thresholds specified in the table below (based on 

nonattainment classification)? The emissions from your facility may be calculated using the PTE calculator 

provided at http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. Be sure to include all existing, new, and 

modified emission units.

Pollutant Nonattainment Classification NSR Major Source Threshold

Ozone Marginal 100 tpy of VOC or NOX

Moderate 100 tpy of VOC or NOX

Serious 50 tpy of VOC or NOX

Severe 25 tpy of VOC or NOX

Extreme 10 tpy of VOC or NOX

PM10 Moderate 100 tpy

Serious 70 tpy

CO Moderate 100 tpy

Serious 50 tpy

SO2, NO2, PM2.5 No nonattainment classification 100 tpy

Yes No Not Applicable

If you answered ‘No,’ your source does not qualify for the minor NSR program. Please contact your 

reviewing authority to apply for a site-specific permit. If you answered ‘Yes’ or ‘Not Applicable,’ continue 

on to Part 2 of the Questionnaire. 

Part 2: What Types of Facilities DO NOT Qualify for Coverage under the General Air Quality 

Permit for New or Modified True Minor Concrete Batch Plants?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your concrete batch plant would be disqualified 

from coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants. 

Please only answer the questions that are applicable to your particular concrete batch plant.

1. Does your facility process metallic materials, radioactive materials, or materials that contain asbestos?

Yes No
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2. Is your facility located in a serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment area and will employ a nonemergency engine?

Yes No

If you answered ‘No’ to all of these questions, your facility may qualify for coverage under the True Minor Source 

Concrete Batch Plant General Air Quality Permit, and should continue on to Part 3 of the Questionnaire. If you 

answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, your facility likely does not qualify for coverage under the True Minor 

Source Concrete Batch Plant General Air Quality Permit. Please contact your reviewing authority to confirm that your 

facility will not qualify for this permit.

Part 3: Does my Concrete Batch Plant Qualify for Coverage under the General Air Quality 

Permit for New or Modified True Minor Concrete Batch Plants?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your concrete batch plant would qualify for 

coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants.

1. After the proposed construction or modification project, will your concrete batch plant produce 2,000,000 cubic 

yards or less of concrete per year based on a 12-month rolling total?

Yes No 

2. Will each silo, hopper, mixer, drop point (using a suction shroud), and storage bin be controlled with a fabric 

filter or baghouse? 

Yes No 

3. Will the fugitive emissions from storage piles and roadways be controlled with wetting, dust suppressants, 

sweeping or other appropriate means? 

Yes No 

4. Will all non-emergency stationary engines use diesel or biodiesel and have a combined horsepower rating less 

than 750 horsepower? Do not include nonroad mobile engines.

Yes No N/A - Do not use non-emergency stationary engines

5. If using metal degreasers, does your facility use cold cleaning as your method of degreasing?

Yes No N/A - Do not use metal degreasers

6. Will the facility be located not less than 150 feet from the nearest property boundary and not less than 1,000 

feet from the nearest residence?

Yes No
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7. Do you intend to satisfy the ESA and NHPA requirements according to the procedures attached to the Request 

for Coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch 

Plants?

Yes No

Conclusion

If you answered ‘Yes’ or ‘Not Applicable’ to each of the questions in Part 3, you may qualify for coverage under the 

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants. If you believe based upon 

your answers in this questionnaire that your new or modified concrete batch plant qualifies for coverage under the 

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants, please contact your 

reviewing authority to obtain a permit application.

If you answered ‘No’ to any of these questions, your facility may not qualify for coverage under the General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Concrete Batch Plants. Please contact your reviewing 

authority to confirm that your facility will not qualify for a permit.