United States Office of Air Quality EPA/451/K-98/002

Environmental Protection Planning and Standards February 1998

Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 http://www.epa.gov

Air Pollution Operating

Permit Program Update

Key Features and Benefits

2 Printed on paper that contains at least

20 percent postconsumer fiber.

1EPA

Title V

Operating Permit

United States Office of Air Quality EPA/451/K-98/002

Environmental Protection Planning and Standards February 1998

Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 http://www.epa.gov

Air Pollution Operating

Permit Program Update

Key Features and Benefits

2Printed on paper that contains at least

20 percent postconsumer fiber.

1EPA

Congress created the operating permit

program to ensure better compliance

and to allow for more thorough air

pollution control. Prior to 1990, the federal

Clean Air Act required permits only for new

construction. It required that states issue air

pollution permits to businesses that build new

pollution sources or modify existing pollution

sources. In creating these permit programs—

known as “preconstruction” or “new source

review” permit programs—some states also

chose to establish enhanced programs for regulating air pollution emissions from sources already

in operation. These “operating permit programs,”

though not uniform in requirements or other

characteristics, proved to be effective tools for air

pollution control. With Title V of the 1990 Clean

Air Act Amendments, Congress adopted measures

that require all states to develop and implement

What Is the Operating Permit Program? What Is the Operating Permit Program?

E

Why Is the Program Necessary? Why Is the Program Necessary?

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Each year in the United States, industrial

operations emit nearly 100 million tons

of pollutants into the air. These include

pollutants that make breathing difficult, form

urban smog, impair visibility, and attack ecosystems. Some of these pollutants also cause cancer

or other serious health effects. Among the many

pollutants emitted into the air each year are

sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, mercury, and dioxin. Many of the

sources of this air pollution are large facilities,

such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants,

that can have literally thousands of potential

emission points. Finding common-sense solutions

to reduce this air pollution is a constant challenge

to local communities and federal, state, and tribal

governments.

In 1990, Congress established one such innovative

program under Title V of the Clean Air Act

Amendments. The operating permit program

operating permit programs. In doing so,

Congress hoped to eliminate any potential

confusion associated with the various air pollution

emission reduction programs

required by the federal Clean

Air Act and different state

and local regulations.

Under Title V, EPA must

establish minimum elements

to be included in all state and

local operating permit programs, and then assist the state

and local governments in

developing their programs.

EPA modeled its air pollution

operating permit program

after pre-existing state and

local operating permit programs and after a

similar program which has proven successful

streamlines the way federal, state, tribal, and local

authorities regulate air pollution by consolidating

all air pollution control requirements into a single,

comprehensive “operating permit” that covers all

aspects of a source’s year-to-year air pollution

activities. The program is designed to make it

easier for sources to understand and comply with

control requirements, and results in improved air

quality. Over the past several years, EPA worked

with state and local governments to establish

operating permit programs in every state, including 60 local programs, as well as programs in the

District of Columbia and other territories. EPA,

working with industry, state and local governments, and others, also initiated efforts to

streamline and substantially simplify the permit

program requirements, which resulted in increased flexibility to industry and states. Through

these efforts, state and local agencies have

already issued thousands of permits nationwide.

The operating

permit program

is an innovative

national permitting

system that

streamlines the

regulation of

air emissions.
T

How Does the Program Work? How Does the Program Work?

2

The Clean Air Act requires all states to

develop and implement an operating

permit program that meets minimum

federal requirements. Most of the significant air

pollution sources throughout the country must

obtain a permit from their respective state, tribal,

or local permitting authority.

All “major” stationary sources (primarily industrial facilities and large commercial operations)

emitting certain air pollutants are required to

obtain operating permits. Whether a source

meets the definition of

“major” depends on the type

and amount of air pollutants it

emits and, to some degree,

on the overall air quality in

its vicinity. Generally, major

sources include those stationary facilities that emit

100 tons or more per year

of a regulated air pollutant.

Regulated pollutants include

compounds such as carbon

monoxide, particulates,

volatile organics, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen

oxides. Smaller sources are considered “major”

in areas that are not meeting the national air

quality standards for a particular pollutant. For

example, certain sources releasing 25 or even

10 tons of pollutant emissions per year are

considered “major” in areas with extreme

ozone (urban smog) problems.

The operating permit program also covers a

variety of other significant operations, including:

● Large coal-burning utility boilers and industrial boilers subject to control requirements

under the acid rain provisions of the Clean

Air Act.

● Sources that are subject to requirements

under New Source Performance Standards

and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

● Sources of toxic air pollutants (i.e., any

source that emits more than 10 tons per year

of an individual toxic air pollutant or more

than 25 tons per year of any combination of

toxic air pollutants).

● Sources required to have pre-construction

or new source permits (under New Source

Review or Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements).

Often these facilities can be very large with a

wide variety of process operations and hundreds

of emission sources. Examples include chemical

plants, petroleum refineries, and large manufacturing facilities.

Each state and

local government

can tailor its permit

program to its

individual needs,

while meeting

minimum federal

requirements.

under the Clean Water Act for permitting the

discharge of water pollutants. EPA officially

launched the operating permit effort in 1992

with regulations for implementing such programs.

The goals of the permit program include:

● Develop a comprehensive permit system that

identifies and implements the Clean Air Act

requirements for air pollution sources.

● Provide an opportunity for citizens to be

involved in the permit review process.

● Improve compliance with emissions control

requirements.

The operating permit program is meeting these

goals and is achieving enhanced compliance with

air pollution requirements for industrial and

commercial sources. Nationally, an estimated

22,000 sources of air pollution are required to

obtain permits under operating permit programs

administered by 113 state, territory, and local

permitting authorities.
3

Other key provisions of the operating permit

program are as follows:

● Sources are required to provide emissions

reports to their permitting authorities at least

semiannually and must certify their compliance status annually.

● Sources must periodically renew their

operating permit, generally every 5 years.

● To fund their programs, permitting authorities are required to collect permit fees from

sources subject to the operating permit

program. Fees are most frequently based

on the amount of air pollutants that a source

may emit.

● Public notification and opportunity for

comment must be provided during the

The operating permit program covers most significant sources of air pollution in the United States. The more complex sources,

such as large petroleum refineries and chemical production plants, can have hundreds or even thousands of emission points. Photo: S.C. Delaney/EPA

permit review process for every new permit and

when permits are renewed or significantly revised.

● EPA is responsible for overseeing the implementation of permit programs and may object to a permit

that fails to comply with program requirements.

● EPA is also required to establish a federal permit

program in any area where the permitting authority

fails to develop and maintain an adequate program

of its own.

It is also important to note that state and local governments can and do implement separate requirements

that are appropriate for their unique local conditions.
The operating permit program provides many opportunities for public

input during the permitting process.

4

T

Who Benefits From the Program? Who Benefits From the Program?

The operating permit program is a dynamic program that offers significant

benefits for the public, state and local

governments, and industry.

The Public

Members of the public benefit from improved

air quality, increased access to information about

pollution control equipment, and enhanced

opportunities for active participation in the

permitting process:

● While developing permit applications for the

operating permit program, a number of

companies discovered control requirements

of which they were unaware and subsequently

took steps to comply with these requirements.

● Improved air quality is expected to result

from improved compliance with emissions

requirements.

● Permits and compliance monitoring records

are available for public review.

● Before a permit is issued, renewed, or

significantly revised, the public is provided an

opportunity for review and input during a

notification and comment period, which may

include a public hearing.

State and Local Governments

State and local governments benefit from the

operating permit program in several ways:

● The operating permit program provides a

uniform and efficient mechanism that state

and local agencies can use to consolidate and

administer provisions of the Clean Air Act,

as well as their own laws.

● The program provides all state and local

permitting agencies with the authority to

sustain their operations using direct permit

fees, rather than general tax revenues.

● Improved industrial compliance with emission

standards is expected to help state and local

governments meet the national ambient

air quality standards and possibly even

avoid additional local emission controls.

Industry

Industrial facilities subject to the operating

permit program also enjoy a number of

important benefits:

● The permitting process resolves questions

about what state, local, or federal requirements apply at a given emission point,

enables industrial facilities to understand fully

their compliance obligations, and assures that

issued permits cover all applicable Clean Air

Act requirements.

● The program reduces the waste and confusion inherent in redundant and/or contradictory requirements issued by state, local, and

federal authorities. The operating permit

consolidates multiple permit requirements

into a single document to minimize duplicative requirements.

● The operating permit program can make it

easier to incorporate flexible approaches to

operations and to foster use of market-based

emissions trading programs as a compliance

tool. This reduces the burden of timeconsuming permit amendments for facilities

needing to make changes quickly or wishing

to make emissions allowance trades.
E

How Is EPA Improving the Program? How Is EPA Improving the Program?

5

E

PA, state, and local authorities continue to

work closely with industry to improve the

operating permit program. EPA is committed to achieving the following:

● Simplify the permit application process and

permit content requirements.

● Streamline permit revision requirements.

● Increase the operational flexibility available to

regulated businesses via flexible, facility-wide

permitting.

Simplify Permit Applications

and Content

Soon after the state and local permitting authorities began to implement their operating permit

programs, EPA found that many of the first

permit applications filed by industry were far

more complex than intended. To address this

problem, EPA worked with industry and state and

local officials to develop two guidance documents

that clarify the scope and intent of the operating

permit program:

● The first document outlined minimum federal

requirements governing the permitting

process. It streamlined the permitting process

and enabled permitting authorities to quickly

implement adjustments that reduced the

complexity and cost of permit applications.

● A second document provided guidance

on ways to reconcile and eliminate redundant and conflicting permit

requirements. This helped

clarify which permit

requirements applied to

a given facility. It also

reduced industry’s burden

of documentation and

reporting without reducing

the level of environmental

protection attained.

Both guidance documents

are available on the World

Wide Web at the address provided on page 6.

S

How Is the Program Doing? How Is the Program Doing?

S

ince the official launch of the operating

permit program in 1992, substantial

progress exists on many fronts:

● EPA has approved permit programs for all

113 state, territorial, and local permitting

authorities in the nation. EPA is also working

with tribal governments to develop tribal

permit programs. In the next few years, EPA

expects several tribes to submit program

plans for approval.

● As of January 1998, state and local

permitting authorities received nearly

14,000 applications for operating permits—

representing more than 60 percent of the

estimated 22,000 sources subject to the

program nationwide.

● State and local permitting authorities have

issued nearly 3,000 Title V operating permits

and hundreds of draft permits.

● Several thousand companies that would

otherwise qualify as “major” sources have

agreed to comply with air pollution emissions

limits to maintain operations below levels that

would trigger the operating permit program

requirements. Some of these companies

downsized and re-engineered their operations to reduce their emissions levels.

The permit

program reduces

industry’s reporting

burden without

reducing

environmental

protection.
6

Streamline Permit Revisions

No matter how well designed a permit might

be, the potential always remains for unexpected

operational changes within the permitted facility

that might, for example, increase the facility’s

regulated emissions beyond its permitted allowances, or add new units that are not covered in

the permit. In streamlining the permit revisions

process, EPA’s goals are to minimize the costs

and administrative delays associated with permit

revisions and to create incentives favoring pollution prevention techniques over source control.

EPA expects to issue final procedures for permit

revisions in 1998. These procedures will continue

to provide for appropriate public review of

permit changes without placing an unnecessary

burden on a permittee.

Flexible, Facility-Wide Permitting

Flexible, facility-wide

permitting represents the

frontline of innovation in

the operating permit

program. The concept

involves developing

permits that allow

certain classes of preapproved operational

changes to occur without

further regulatory review,

provided that:

● Emissions from the facility do not exceed those

allowed by a total emissions cap.

● The facility uses pre-approved pollution

prevention technologies to reduce emissions

when possible.

Under flexible, facility-wide permitting, companies benefit from enhanced operational autonomy and competitiveness; state and local

permitting authorities benefit from reduced

auditing and paperwork requirements; and the

public benefits from cleaner air.

To develop the flexible, facility-wide permitting

concept, EPA initiated the pollution prevention

permitting pilot (P4) program. Based on the

success of the first pilot permit issued to a computer chip manufacturing facility, other companies

are participating in the pilot program. It promises

to significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the operating permit program.

A Commitment to Continuous

Improvement

The success of the operating permit program must

finally be measured in terms of improved compliance with air pollution regulations and, ultimately,

improved air quality. EPA is committed to continue

working with state, tribal, and local governments

and with industries to implement innovative

advancements that will help industries meet their

requirements as efficiently and flexibly as possible.

One company

estimates that the

added operational

flexibility of its

pilot permit can

help save up to

$1 million a day.

For More Information

For more information about the operating permit program, visit the EPA Web site at

http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/permits or contact your state or local air pollution control agency.