DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION 

DIVISION OF AIR POLLUTION CONTROL 

CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION 

By authority of Section 68-201-115 Tennessee Code Annotated 

The Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board Declares 

Chattanooga and Hamilton County Tennessee 

and all Included Municipalities 

is 

exempt from the provisions of the 

Tennessee Air Quality Act as found in 

Chapter 201 of Title 68, Tennessee Code Annotated 

subject to such limitations as established by the board pursuant 

to Board Order No. 14-007 passed 

by the Board on this the 141

b day of May 2014 

Air Pollution Co rol Board Members of the State of Tennessee 

Expiration Date: June 30, 2016 
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION 

BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENT 

DIVISION OF AIR POLLUTION CONTROL 

IN THE MATTER OF: 

Hamilton County, Tennessee 

City of Chattanooga, Tennessee 

City of Collegedale, Tennessee 

City of East Ridge, Tennessee 

City of Lakesite, Tennessee 

Town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee 

City of Red Bank, Tennessee 

City ofRidgeside, Tennessee 

Town of Signal Mountain, Tenness.ee 

City of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee 

Town ofWalden, Tennessee 

CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION 

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BOARD ORDER 

I. 

Board Order No. 14-007 

Under the authority of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-201-115(a), a petition to 

renew the Hamilton County Certificate of Exemption was filed on February 26, 2014, with the 

Tennessee Division of Air Pollution Control by the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution 

Control Bureau (CHCAPCB) for the City of Chattanooga, the County of Hamilton and all 

included municipalities. 

The terms in T.C.A. Section 68-201-115(b)(3) state that: 

"The certificate of exemption shall be granted if the Board determines that the 

municipality or county has enacted provisions for the control of air pollution not less 

stringent than the provisions of this part and that such enactments are being, or will be, 

adequately enforced." 
II. 

In accordance with Section 68-201-115(b)(3), the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air 

Pollution Control Bureau does enforce regulations and/or ordinances for the control of air 

pollution that are as stringent as the State's. Therefore, the Air Pollution Control Board of the 

State of Tennessee does hereby grant a Certificate of Exemption to Hamilton County and all 

included municipalities for a two (2) year period. The certificate goes into effect on July 1, 

2014, and expires on June 30, 2016 as authorized by T.C.A. Section 68-201-llS(c). During this 

period, Hamilton County and all included municipalities shall be exempt from the provisions of 

the Tennessee Air Quality Act with respect to the power and authority to enforce the following 

as set forth in t~e ordinances, regulations or other rules where indicated below: 

1. Ambient air quality standards; 

2. Open burning restrictions; 

3. Visible emissions limitations; 

4. Non-process emission limitations (fuel burning and incinerator); 

5. Process emission including process gaseous emissions limitations; 

6. Fugitive dust restrictions (Transportation and Material Handling in Open Air); 

7. Permitting requirements, including definitions; amendments to permits; 

applications; permitting fees; emissions fees; testing; practical enforceability; 

monitoring; record keeping and reporting; 

8. Construction permits: 

New Source Review - Growth Policy 

PSD Authority 

Installation Permits 

9. Certificates of Operation: 

Initial and Renewal 

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Federally Enforceable 

10. Part 70 Operating Permits 

11. Asbestos Demolition and Renovation Project Permits 

12. All National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, as set forth in 40 

CPR Parts 61 and 63 and other standards and regulations for hazardous air 

pollutants (including authority to determine Maximum Achievable Control 

Technology Standards) and authority to incorporate them into permits to comply 

with all provisions of Section 112 of the Federal Clean Air Act and enforcement 

of these standards and regulations; 

13. Methods of sampling; testing and analysis; 

14. Enforcement and Compliance provisions including: 

Instituting, or causing to be instituted in a court of competent jurisdiction, legal 

proceedings to compel compliance with any order, final order, determination, 

rule, regulation or ordinance of the local Board, the director of the local Bureau, 

or of any included governmental entity, including instituting legal proceedings on 

behalf of any included municipality or county; 

Determining that any order, final order, determination, rule, regulation or 

ordinance of the local Board, the director of the local Bureau, or of any included 

governmental entity has been violated, that such violation constitutes a public 

nuisance, and abating such a public nuisance in the manner provided by the 

general law relating to the abatement of public nuisances, including instituting 

legal proceedings to abate a public nuisance on behalf of a municipality or a 

county; 

Obtaining compliance with air pollution control rules and regulations by 

conference, conciliation, persuasion, issuance of formal notices of violation and 

prosecution thereof; including, when appropriate, holding hearings and issuing 

orders to assess civil penalties for each violation where each day of violation is a 

separate offense, and including, when appropriate, judicial proceedings or referral 

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or district attorney general for 

prosecution; 

Pursuing enforcement of any ordinance or regulations, or orders made by the 

director or the Board pursuant to the ordinance or regulations, by injunction to 

enjoin any violation of any requirement of the ordinance or regulations, including 

conditions of a permit or certificate of operation, or other appropriate remedy, and 

the Board shall have power to institute and maintain in the name of the Board any 

and all enforcement proceedings. 

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15. Control of emissions of particulates including PM2.5 and PM10, carbon monoxide, 

sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, toxic air pollutants 

and gaseous emissions; 

16. Control of emissions of the precursors to ozone including volatile organic 

compounds and nitrogen oxides; 

17. Control of emissions of sulfur oxides, and emissions of sulfuric acid and sulfur 

trioxide (combined); 

18. Control of emissions of lead; 

19. Emergency episode regulations including emergency stop orders; 

20. New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) set forth in 40 CFR Part 60, after 

adoption as local laws, listed below: 

General Provisions; 

Fossil-fuel fired steam generating units; 

Incinerators; 

Municipal waste combustors; 

Portland cement plants; 

Sulfuric acid plants; 

Nitric acid plants; 

Asphalt concrete plants (hot mix asphalt facilities); 

Petroleum-refineries; 

Storage vessels for petroleum liquids for which construction, 

reconstruction, or modification commenced after June 11, 1973, and prior 

to May 19, 1978; 

Electric utility steam generating units for which construction commenced 

after September 18, 1978; 

Storage vessels for petroleum liquids construction after May 18, 1978 and 

prior to July 23, 1984; 

Volatile organic liquid storage vessels (including petroleum liquid storage 

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vessels) constructed on or after July 23, 1984; 

Secondary lead smelters; 

Basic Oxygen Process Furnaces constructed after June 11, 1973, primary 

emissions; 

Basic Oxygen Process Steelmaking Facilities constructed after January 20, 

1983, secondary emissions; 

Secondary brass and bronze ingot production plants; 

Iron and steel plants; 

Sewage treatment plants; 

Phosphate fertilizer industry: 

• Wet-process phosphoric acid plants, 

• Super phosphoric acid plants, 

• Diammonium phosphate plants, 

• Triple superphosphate plants, and 

• Triple superphosphate storage facilities; 

Primary aluminum reduction plants; 

Coal preparation plants; 

Primary copper smelters; 

Primary zinc smelters; 

Primary lead smelters; 

Steel plants: electric arc furnaces; 

Ferroalloy production; 

Lime manufacturing plants; 

Kraft pulp mills; 

Grain elevators; 

Stationary gas turbines; 

Ammonium sulfate manufacture; 

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Glass manufacturing plants; 

Automobile and light duty truck surface coating operations; 

Asphalt processing and asphalt roofing manufacture; 

Industrial surface coating: large appliances; 

Surface coating of metal furniture; 

Metal coil surface coating; 

Graphic arts industry: publication rotogravure printing; 

Beverage can surface coating industry; 

Metallic mineral processing plants; 

Pressure sensitive tape and label surface coating operations; 

Magnetic tape coating facilities; 

Equipment leaks ofVOC in the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing 

industry; 

Bulk gasoline terminals; 

Synthetic fiber production facilities; 

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from the polymer 

manufacturing industry; 

Lead acid battery manufacturing plants; 

Equipment leaks ofVOC in petroleum refineries; 

Flexible vinyl and urethane coating and printing; 

Petroleum dry cleaners; 

Phosphate rock plants; 

Equipment leaks ofVOC from onshore natural gas processing plants; 

Electric arc furnaces constructed after October 21, 1974, and on or before 

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August 17, 1983; 

Electric arc furnaces and argon-oxygen decarburization vessels 

constructed after August 17, 1983; 

Industrial surface coating: Plastic parts for business machines; 

Industrial-Commercial-Institutional steam generating units; 

Non-metallic mineral processing plants; 

Onshore natural gas processing: S02 emissions; 

Wool fiberglass insulation manufacturing plants; 

Polymeric coating of supporting substrates facilities; 

Rubber tire manufacturing industry; 

Calciners and Dryers in mineral industries; 

New Residential Wood Heaters; 

Municipal Solid Waste Landfills; and 

Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators. 

21. Administrative procedures including emissions credit banking and emissions 

trading policy statements; 

22. Emissions limitations and monitoring requirements; 

23. Regulation of malfunctions, start-ups, and shutdowns; 

24. Alternate emissions limitations; 

25. General policies or plans; 

26. System of permits and/or certificates to include the Title V (Part 70) permit 

program; 

27. Scheduling and collecting fees for review of plans and specifications, issuance or 

renewal of permits or certificates (including Part 70 emission fees), inspection of 

air pollutant sources, building demolition and renovation, and computer and 

research time; 

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28. Developing and recommending a comprehensive air pollution control program, 

reviewing such program, and recommending such changes as may be deemed 

appropriate; 

29. Requiring the furnishing of information from persons causing, or who may be 

about to cause, air pollution; 

30. Entering in or upon private or public property for the purpose of inspecting and 

investigating any air contaminant source; 

31. Providing such technical, scientific and other services as may be necessary and 

charging fees for preparation, research, computer time and distribution; 

32. Receiving, budgeting, receipting for and administering such moneys as are 

appropriated or granted for carrying out the program of the local Board; 

33. Collecting and disseminating information relative to air pollution; encouraging 

voluntary cooperation in preserving and restoring a reasonable degree of air 

purity; and advising, consulting and cooperating with other agencies, persons or 

groups in matters pertaining to air pollution; 

34. Handling correspondence, keeping records, preparing reports and performing such 

duties as are necessary or authorized; 

35. Granting or denying petitions for variances after first submitting variances to be 

issued to the Tennessee Division of Air Pollution Control for review; 

36. Regulation of infectious and medical waste incinerators; 

37. Regulation of general engineering practice stack height requirements; 

3 8. Abatement of air contaminants, water, steam, or a combination which reduce 

visibility across any road to cause a hazard; 

39. Transportation conformity requirements; 

40. Confidentiality determinations; 

41. Regulation of odors related to emissions of air contaminants and regulation of 

nuisances related to emissions of air contaminants. 

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III. 

It has been determined that the regulations of the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air 

Pollution Control Bureau do not contain the equivalent provisions to the following found in the 

Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulations: 1200-03-09-.01(1)(h): 

"The Department shall on a monthly basis notify the public, by advertisement in a 

newspaper of general circulation in each air quality control region in which the proposed 

source or modification would be constructed, of the applicants seeking to obtain a permit 

to construct or modify an air contaminant source. This notice shall specify the general 

vicinity or location of the proposed source or modification, the type of source or 

modification, and opportunity for public comment. Comments shall be in writing and 

delivered to the Technical Secretary within thirty (30) days after the publication of the 

public notice." 

The Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau must, therefore, immediately 

begin rulemak:ing to correct this deficiency by including equivalent provisions in the 

Chattanooga/Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau's Regulations. This rulemaking 

shall be completed no later than July 1, 2015. The Bureau must also comply with equivalent 

provisions to the above requirement to provide public notification of receipt of all construction 

and modification permit applications as specified above, and commencing thus no later than 30 

days from the effective date ofthis Certificate of Exemption. 

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IV. 

Approved by the following members of the Air Pollution Control Board of the State of 

Tennessee and entered on this 14th day of May, 2014. 

Board Order 14 007 Hamilton COE 2014 b.docx 

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