## 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 Sawmill Facilities in Indian Country

Last Modified: July 2 , 2014

Version 1. 0



### Does the General Permit apply to my facility?

This questionnaire is intended to help you, the facility owner or ope rator, determine whether you are eligible for a

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Sawmill Facilities. ( You are not required to complete

it and th is questionnaire is not necessary to apply for a General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor

Source Sawmill Facilities . This questionnaire does not cover all of the General Air Quality P ermit requirements and does

not guarantee approval of a true minor source preconstruction permit under this program

. )



### Description of Sawmill Facilities

A sawmill f acility is a n operation that processes raw timber into dimensional lumber for shipping and eventual sale. A

sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber

exits on the other end. Sawmill activities i nclude sawing , planing , sanding, chipping and drying wood

. Sawmill operations

can include the drying of wood in kilns.



### About this Questionnaire

The questions focus on general information pertaining to your existing or future sawmill facility. 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 t o construct a new, true minor source sawmill facility within Indian c ountry ;

 Plan t o modify an existing, true minor source sawmill facility located within Indian c ountry ;

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

above the minor NSR applicability thresholds. See the “Does my Sawmill Facility Need or Qualify for a Minor

Source Permit?” section below ;

 Have a total boiler maximum heat input capacity of less than 30 million British thermal units ( MMbtu ) /hour (hr)

for all boilers

, if located in an ozone attainment, unclassifiable, attainment /unclassifiable area or marginal,

moderate, or serious ozone nonattainment area ;

 Have a total boiler maximum heat input capacity of less than 10 MMbtu/hr for all boilers

, if located in a severe

or extreme ozone nonattainment area ;

 Have only natural gas

- fired boilers

, if located in a severe or extreme ozone nonattainment area ;

 Are located in a marginal/moderate/ serious/severe/extreme ozone nonattainment ar ea and, after the proposed

construction or modification project, your facility’s volatile organic compound ( VOC ) emissions from kiln drying

and surface coating operations are projected to be less than 80 / 40/20/8 tons over a consecutive 12 month

period, res pectively ;

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

construction or modification project, your facility’s VOC emissions from kiln drying and surface coating

operations are projected to be less than 80 tons over a consecutive 12 month period ;

 Have a facility in which t he combined maximum engine power of all emergency engines is less than 600

horsepower ( hp ) ;

 Have a new or modified true minor source sawmill facility that will not be a major source of hazardous air

pollutants (HAP) ;Questionnaire: Sawmill Facilities Page 2 of 6

Version 1.0  Have a new or modified true minor source sawmill facility that does not chemically treat or process wood (other

than the removal of water from the wood in kilns and minor surface coating operations);

 Do not know wh ether 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 minor source g eneral air quality permit or a major source

permit for a sawmill facility ; 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 Sawmill Facilities

.



### 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

.

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 S awmill Facilities 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,

Measu rement 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 Sawmill Facilities or by visit ing : http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html



## Questionnaire for Sawmill Facilities

Part 1: Does my Sawmill Facility Need a True Minor Source Permit?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your sawmill facility 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 (tpy) for a single HAP

and less than 25 tpy 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,’ 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.Questionnaire: Sawmill Facilities Page 3 of 6

Version 1.0 2. Is the PTE of your facility less than 250 tpy for particulate matter (PM, PM 10 , or PM 2.5 ), VOC, nitrogen oxides

(NO X ), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 )? 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

.

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 li sted below for ANY of the seven pollutant s 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/tribaln sr.html . 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

PM 10 5 tpy 1 tpy

PM 2.5 3 tpy 0.6 tpy

SO 2 10 tpy 5 tpy

NO X 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 your reviewing

authority to confirm that your facility will not need a permit. If you answered ‘Yes

, ’ co ntinue 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)? 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 NO X

Moderate 100 tpy of VOC or NO X

Serious 50 tpy of VOC or NO X

Severe 25 tpy of VOC or NO X

Extreme 10 tpy of VOC or NO X

PM 10 Moderate 100 tpyQuestionnaire: Sawmill Facilities Page 4 of 6

Version 1.0 Pollutant Nonattainment Classification NSR Major Source Threshold

Serious 70 tpy

CO Moderate 100 tpy

Serious 50 tpy

SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 2.5 No nonattainment classification 100 tpy

Yes No No t Applicable

If y ou 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: Does m y Facility Q ualify for Coverage under the G eneral Air Q uality P ermit for New or

Modified True Minor Source Sawmill Facilities ?

The following questions are meant to determine whether or not your sawmill facility would qualify for coverage

under the General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source S awmill F acilities

.

1. Is your facility located in a marginal/moderate/ serious/severe/extreme ozone nonattainment area and, after the

proposed construction or modification project, are your fac ility’s annual VOC emissions from kiln drying and surface

coating operations (as calculated) projected to be less than 80/ 80 / 40 /2 0 / 8 tons over a consecutive 12 month period,

respectively ?

Yes No No t Applicable

2. Is yo ur facility located in an ozone attainment, unclassifiable, or attainment/unclassifiable area and, after the

proposed construction or modification project, your facility’s annual VOC emissions from kiln drying and surface

coating operations (as calculated) projected to be less than 80 tons over a consecutive 12 month period ?

Yes No No t Applicable

3. A fter the proposed construction or modification project , will your facility process less than 25,000,000 board

feet of lumber per year?

Yes No

4. A fter the proposed construction or modification project will emissions of HAPs be below the major source

thresholds for HAPs (25 tpy for combined HAPs and 10 tpy for a single HAP)?

Yes No

5. Will your facility only treat or process wood through drying wood in a kiln? (That is, your f acility does not

chemically treat or process wood for wood preservation or the production of composite wood products.)

Yes NoQuestionnaire: Sawmill Facilities Page 5 of 6

Version 1.0 6. If located in an ozone attainment, unclassifiable, attainment/unclassifiable area or marginal, moderate, or

serious ozone nonattainment area , is the total maximum heat input capacity of all the combustion units less

than 30 MMBtu/h ou r ?

Yes No No t Applicable

7. If located in a severe or extreme ozone nonattainment area , is the total maximum heat input capacity of all the

combustion units less than 10 MMBtu/hr ?

Yes No No t Applicable

8. If located in a severe or extreme ozone nonattainment area are all boilers natural gas

- fired boilers ?

Yes No No t Applicable

9. Is the combined maximum engine power of all emergency engines at your facility less than 600 hp?

Yes No No t Applicable

10. Will your planar mill operation be conducted within an enclosed structure?

Yes No No t Applicable

11. Will a ll planar mill operations venting to the atmosphere be controlled by a baghouse (fabric filters) ?

Yes No No t Applicable

12. Will a ll outdoor sawmill operations be covered and all drop points controlled by a cyclone or baghouse?

Yes No No t Applicable

13. Will a ll indoor sawmill operations venting to the atmosphere be controlled by a baghouse (fabric filters) ?

Yes No No t Applicable

14. 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

15. 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 Sawmill Facilities ?

Yes NoQuestionnaire: Sawmill Facilities Page 6 of 6

Version 1.0 

### 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 Sou rce Sawmill Facilit ies

. If you believe

, based upon your

answers in this questionnaire

, that your new or modified rock crushing and screening facility qualifies for a General

Air Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor Source Sawmill Facilities, 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 Sa wmill Facilit ies . Please contact your reviewing authority to

confirm that your facility will not qualify for a permit

.