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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations 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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations. 

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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations. 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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations

A Graphic Arts and Printing Operation is any facility which uses offset lithographic, letterpress, rotogravure, and 

flexographic methods to apply ink and other coatings to paper, cardboard, metal, and other surfaces by means of a 

printing press. This Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Questionnaire is for graphic arts and printing operations that 

are not major sources of air pollution and that are located, or planning to locate, within Indian country.

 

About this Questionnaire

The questions focus on general information pertaining to your existing or future graphic arts and/or printing facility. 

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

process rates, raw material volatile organic compound (VOC) content, raw material throughput, and fuel usage. 

You should continue with this Questionnaire if you:

 Plan to construct a new, true minor source graphic arts and printing operation within Indian country; 

 Plan to modify an existing, true minor source graphic arts and printing operation 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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operation Need or 

Qualify for a Minor Source Permit?” section below; 

 Have a PTE less than the major source thresholds for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). See the “Does my Graphic 

Arts and Printing Operation Need or Qualify for a Minor Source Permit?” section below; 

 Are located in an attainment, unclassifiable, or attainment/unclassifiable area for ozone and, after the proposed 

construction or modification project, your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and 

printing operations is projected to be less than 75 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period; 

 Are located in a marginal or moderate nonattainment area for ozone and, after the proposed construction or 

modification project, your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing 

operations is projected to be less than 50 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period; 

 Are located in a serious ozone nonattainment area and, after the proposed construction or modification project,

your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations is projected to be 

less than 25 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period; 

 Are located in a severe ozone nonattainment area and, after the proposed construction or modification project,

your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations is projected to be 

less than 15 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period; 
Questionnaire: Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Page 2 of 6

Version 1.0

 Are located in an extreme ozone nonattainment area and, after the proposed construction or modification 

project, your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations is 

projected to be less than 7 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period; 

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

to find out whether or not you should apply for a general air quality permit or a major source permit for a 

graphic arts and printing operation; 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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations.

 

More Information

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

Printing Operations” document. Additional information on the applicability of the Indian Country Minor 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. 

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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations 

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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations or by visiting: 

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

Questionnaire for Graphic Arts and Printing Operations

Part 1: Does my Graphic Arts and Printing Operation Need a True Minor Source Permit?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your graphic arts and printing operation needs a true 

minor source permit.

1. Is your facility a minor source of HAP? If the PTE of your facility is less than 10 tons per year for a single HAP and 

less than 25 tons per year for any combination of HAPs, your source is a minor source of HAPs. 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.
Questionnaire: Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Page 3 of 6

Version 1.0

2. 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), 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.

3. 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

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. 

4. 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)? 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
Questionnaire: Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Page 4 of 6

Version 1.0

Pollutant Nonattainment Classification NSR Major Source Threshold

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,’ continue on to Part 2 of the 

Questionnaire. 

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

Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing Operations?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your graphic arts and printing operation would be 

disqualified from coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts 

and Printing Operations. Please only answer the questions that are applicable to your particular graphic arts and 

printing operation.

1. Is your facility a textile fabric printing operation?

Yes No

2. Will the VOC emissions from any individual printing press (printing line) at your facility exceed 25 tons per year?

Yes No

If you answered ‘No’ or ‘Not Applicable’ to all of these questions, your facility may qualify for coverage under the 

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing Operations, 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 General 

Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing Operations. Please contact your 

reviewing authority to confirm that your facility will not qualify for this permit.
Questionnaire: Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Page 5 of 6

Version 1.0

Part 3: Does my Graphic Arts and Printing Operation Qualify for a General Air Quality Permit 

for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing Operations?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your graphic arts and printing operation would 

qualify for coverage under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and 

Printing Operations.

1. If located in an attainment, unclassifiable, or attainment/unclassifiable area for ozone, after the proposed 

construction or modification project, will your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts 

and printing operations exceed 75 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

2. If located in a marginal or moderate nonattainment area for ozone, after the proposed construction or 

modification project, will your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing 

operations exceed 50 tons in any continuous rolling 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

3. If located in a serious nonattainment area for ozone, after the proposed construction or modification project, 

will your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations exceed 25 tons 

in any continuous rolling 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

4. If located in a severe ozone nonattainment area, after the proposed construction or modification project, will 

your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations exceed 15 tons in 

any continuous rolling 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

5. If located in an extreme ozone nonattainment area, after the proposed construction or modification project, will 

your facility’s VOC emissions from the combination of all graphic arts and printing operations exceed 7 tons in 

any continuous rolling 12-month period?

Yes No Not Applicable

6. 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 Graphic Arts and 

Printing Operations?

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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations. If you 

believe based upon your answers in this questionnaire that your new or modified graphic arts and printing operation 

qualifies for a General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing 

Operations, please contact your reviewing authority to obtain a permit application.
Questionnaire: Graphic Arts and Printing Operations Page 6 of 6

Version 1.0

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 Graphic Arts and Printing Operations. Please contact your 

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