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: Hot Mix Asphalt Plants

Last Modified: November 14, 2013

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 True Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt Plants. You are not required to complete 

it and this questionnaire is not necessary to apply for a General Air Quality Permit for Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt 

Plants. This questionnaire does not cover all of the General Air Quality Permit requirements and does not guarantee 

approval of a minor source preconstruction permit under this program.

Description of Hot Mix Asphalt Plants

A hot mix asphalt plant is a facility that manufactures hot mix asphalt by heating and drying aggregate and mixing with 

asphalt cements, and is comprised only of any combination of the following activities: dryers, liquid asphalt storage 

tanks, fuel oil storage tanks, auxiliary heaters (including hot oil heaters), material storage handling and transfer systems, 

generators, storage bins/silos, storage piles, and haul roads. This Hot Mix Asphalt Plants Questionnaire is for hot mix 

asphalt facilities that are not major sources of criteria air pollutants and are located, or planning to locate, within Indian 

country.

 

About this Questionnaire

The questions focus on general information pertaining to your existing or future hot mix asphalt plant. The 

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

maximum capacity of the units, production rate, and fuel usage.

You should continue with this Questionnaire if you:

Plan to construct, relocate or modify a minor source batch or drum hot mix asphalt plant within Indian country; 

Are not located in a severe or extreme ozone nonattainment area; 

Are not located in a serious carbon monoxide (CO) nonattainment area; 

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 hot mix asphalt plant need or qualify for a 

minor source permit?” section below; 

The asphalt production rate at your new or modified facility is equal to or less than 100,000 tons per month for a 

drum mix plant, or 33,000 tons per month for a batch mix plant; 

Are located in an area other than a serious ozone nonattainment area, and, the total liquid fuel usage for the 

generators at your new or modified facility is equal to or less than 12,500 gallons per month; 

Are located in a serious ozone nonattainment area, and, the total liquid fuel usage for the generators at your 

new or modified facility is equal to or less than 2,500 gallons per month; 

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 general air quality permit for a hot mix 

asphalt plant; and

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

Act (NHPA) according to the method provided in the application documents for the General Air Quality 

Permit for True Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt Plants.
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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 NSR rule can be found at 40 CFR 49.153.

Information on the ozone 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. 

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 D to the General Air Quality Permit for True 

Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt Plants or visit: http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html.

Questionnaire for Hot Mix Asphalt Plants

Part 1: Does my Hot Mix Asphalt Plant Need or Qualify for a True Minor Source Permit?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your asphalt plant is a minor source. 

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

nitrogen oxides (NOX), CO, and sulfur dioxide (SO2)? Be sure to include all existing, new, and modified emission 

units.

Yes No 

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,’ 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 pollutant? The emissions from your facility may be 

calculated using the PTE calculator provided. Be sure to include all new, modified, or 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

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. 
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3. Is your facility located in a severe or extreme ozone nonattainment area?

Yes No 

If you answered ‘Yes,’ your source does not qualify for this general permit. Please contact reviewing 

authority to apply for a site-specific permit. If you answered ‘No,’ continue on to the next question.

4. Is your facility located in a serious carbon monoxide nonattainment area?

Yes No 

If you answered ‘Yes,’ your source does not qualify for this general permit. Please contact reviewing 

authority to apply for a site-specific permit. If you answered ‘No,’ continue on to the next question.

5. If located in a 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)? 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 coverage under the general permit for hot mix asphalt. 

Please contact your reviewing authority to apply for a site-specific permit. If you answered ‘Yes,’ continue on to 

Part 2 of the Questionnaire. 

Information on the ozone attainment status of the area where your facility is located can be found at: 

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/.
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Part 2: What types of facilities DO NOT Qualify for this General Air Quality Permit for Hot Mix 

Asphalt Plants?

The following question is meant to determine whether or not your asphalt plant would disqualify it for operating 

under the General Air Quality Permit for Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt Plants. Please only answer the questions that 

are applicable to your particular hot mix asphalt plant.

1. Does your facility perform contaminated soil remediation?

Yes No Not Applicable

If you answered ‘No’ to this question, your facility may qualify for coverage under the Hot Mix Asphalt Plants

General Air Quality Permit, and should continue on to Part 3 of the Questionnaire.

If you answered ‘Yes’ to this question, your facility likely does not qualify for coverage under the Hot Mix Asphalt 

Plants General Air Quality Permit.

Part 3: Does My Hot Mix Asphalt Plant Qualify for a General Air Quality Permit?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your asphalt plant would qualify for the general 

permit for hot mix asphalt plants. 

After the proposed construction/modification project:

1. Will the asphalt dryer be controlled by a baghouse (fabric filters)?

Yes No 

2. Will this facility use only natural gas, propane, distillate fuel or biodiesel in the dryer/mixer?

Yes No 

3. After completion, will your new or modified drum mix asphalt plant produce 1,220,000 tons or less of hot mix 

asphalt over a consecutive 12 month period?

Yes No Not Applicable - not a drum mix asphalt plant

4. If located in an attainment area and a batch mix asphalt plant, will the new or modified asphalt plant produce 

400,000 tons or less of hot mix asphalt over a consecutive 12 month period?

Yes No Not Applicable (i.e., the source is not a batch mix plant or not located in an 

attainment area)

5. Will this facility use only diesel or biodiesel in the engines/generators?

Yes No Not Applicable – no engines/generators at the source
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6. If located in an attainment area, will the total liquid fuel usage for the engines/generators at your facility be 

150,000 gallons or less per consecutive 12 month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

7. If located in a nonattainment area, will the total liquid fuel usage for the engines/generators at your facility 

be 50,000 gallons or less per consecutive 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

8. Will this facility use only the following fuel(s) in the auxiliary heaters: natural gas, propane, distillate fuel or 

biodiesel? 

 Yes No Not Applicable – no auxiliary heaters at the source

9. Is the total maximum heat input capacity of the auxiliary heaters (including hot oil heaters) equal to or less than 

10 MMBtu/hr?

Yes No Not Applicable – no auxiliary heaters at the source

10. Will each of the asphalt storage tank(s) and fuel storage tank(s) at this facility have a maximum capacity less than 

39,890 gallons and a true maximum vapor pressure less than 4 psi?

 Yes No Not Applicable – no storage tanks at the source

11. 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

12. Do you intend to satisfy the ESA and NHPA requirements according to the method provided in the 

application documents for the General Air Quality Permit for True Minor Source Hot Mix Asphalt Facilities?

Yes No

Conclusion

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

Hot Mix Asphalt Plants General Air Quality Permit. If you believe based upon your answers in this questionnaire that 

your new or modified hot mix asphalt plant qualifies for a General Air Quality Permit for Minor Source Hot Mix 

Asphalt 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 Hot Mix Asphalt 

Plants Air Quality Permit. Please contact your reviewing authority to confirm that your facility will not qualify for this 

general permit.