Alabama Administrative Code › Title 335 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT › AIR DIVISION - AIR POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAM › Chapter 335-3-14 - AIR PERMITS › Section 335-3-14-.03 - Standards For Granting Permits

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1)
General Standards
.
(a) The Director shall deny a permit if the
				applicant does not show that every article, machine, equipment, or other
				contrivance, the use of which may cause the issuance of air contaminants, is so
				designed, controlled, or equipped with such air pollution control equipment,
				that it may be expected to operate without emitting or without causing to be
				emitted air contaminants in violation of these rules and regulations.
(b) The Director shall deny a permit if the
				applicant does not present, in writing, a plan whereby the emission of air
				contaminants by every article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance
				described in the permit application, will be reduced during periods of an Air
				Pollution Alert, Air Pollution Warning, and Air Pollution Emergency in
				accordance with the provisions of Chapter 335-3-2, where such a plan is
				required.
(c) Before an Air Permit
				is granted, the Director may require the applicant to provide and maintain such
				facilities as are necessary for sampling and testing purposes in order to
				secure information that will disclose the nature, extent, quantity or degree of
				air contaminants discharged into the atmosphere from the article, machine,
				equipment, or other contrivance described in the Air Permit. In the event of
				such a requirement, the Director shall notify the applicant in writing of the
				required size, number, and location of the sampling platform; the access to the
				sampling platform; and the utilities for operating and sampling and testing
				equipment.
(d) The Director may
				also require the applicant to install, use, and maintain such monitoring
				equipment or methods; sample such emissions in accordance with such methods, at
				such locations, intervals, and procedures as may be specified; and provide such
				information as the Director may require.
(e) Before acting on an application for an
				Air Permit, the Director may require the applicant to furnish further
				information or further plans or specifications.
(f) If the Director finds that the article,
				machine, or other contrivance has been constructed not in accordance with the
				Air Permit, and if the changes noted are of a substantial nature in that the
				amount of air contaminants emitted by the article, machine, equipment, or other
				contrivance may be increased, or in that the effect is unknown, then he shall
				revoke the Air Permit. The Director shall not accept any further application
				for an Air Permit until the article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance
				has been reconstructed in accordance with said Air Permit or until the
				applicant has proven to the satisfaction of the Director that the change will
				not cause an increase in the emission of air contaminants.
(g) The Director shall deny an Air Permit
				where he determines that the construction and operation of such source will
				interfere with attaining or maintaining any primary or secondary standard
				established by Rule
				335-3-1-.03(1).
				A new source or modification will be considered to interfere with attaining or
				maintaining a standard when such source or modification would, at a minimum,
				exceed the following significance levels at any locality that does not or would
				not meet the NAAQS:
Pollutant
Annual
24 hours
8 hours
3 hours
1 hour
SO2
1.0
								µg/m3
5
								µg/m3
25
								µg/m3
PM10
1.0
								µg/m3
5
								µg/m3
PM2.5
0.3
								µg/m3
1.2
								µg/m3
NO2
1.0
								µg/m3
CO
0.5 mg/m3
2 mg/m3
1. A proposed
				major source or major modification subject to this Paragraph may reduce the
				impact of its emissions upon air quality by obtaining sufficient emissions
				reductions to, at a minimum, compensate for its adverse ambient impact where
				this impact would otherwise cause or contribute to a violation of any national
				ambient air quality standard or exceed the significance levels of subparagraph
				(g). of this paragraph above. In the absence of such emission reductions, the
				Director shall deny the proposed construction.
2. The requirements of subparagraph (g) of
				this paragraph shall not apply to a major stationary source or major
				modification with respect to a particular pollutant if the owner or operator
				demonstrates that, as to that pollutant, the source or modification is located
				in an area designated as nonattainment pursuant to Section 107 of the federal
				Clean Air Act.
(h)
Exceptions to violations of emissions limits.
1. The Director may, in the Air Permit,
				exempt on a case by case basis any exceedances of emission limits which cannot
				reasonably be avoided, such as during periods of start-up, shut-down or load
				change.
2.
Emergency
				provision.
(i) An
				"
emergency"
means any situation arising from sudden
				and reasonably unforeseeable events beyond the control of the facility,
				including acts of God, which situation require immediate corrective action to
				restore normal operation, and that causes the facility to exceed a technology
				based emission limitation under the permit, due to unavoidable increases in
				emissions attributable to the emergency. An emergency shall not include
				noncompliance to the extent caused by improperly designed equipment, lack of
				preventative maintenance, careless or improper operation, or operator
				error.
(ii) Exceedances of emission
				limitations during emergencies (as defined above) at a facility may be exempted
				as being violations provided that:
(I) the
				permittee can identify the cause(s) of the emergency;
(II) the permitted facility was at the time
				being properly operated;
(III)
				during the period of the emergency, the permittee took all reasonable steps to
				minimize levels of emissions that exceeded the emission standards, or other
				requirements of the permit;
(IV)
				the permittee submitted notice of the emergency to the Department within 2
				working days of the time when the emissions limitations were exceeded due to
				the emergency; and
(V) the
				permittee immediately documented the emergency exceedance in an "Emergency
				Log", which shall be maintained for 5 years in a form suitable for inspection
				upon request by a representative of the Department.
(iii) The Director shall be the sole
				determiner of whether an emergency has occurred.
(iv) This provision is in addition to any
				emergency or upset provision contained in any applicable requirement.
3. ADEM Admin. Code r.
				335-3-14-.03(1)(h)1.
				and 2. are repealed effective upon the EPA's final approval of this provision.
(i) A determination may be made by the
				Director to deny a permit application if the applicant operates other permitted
				facilities or sources within the state which are in substantial noncompliance
				as determined by the Director, until such noncompliance is corrected or if the
				Director determines that a permit that results in compliance with applicable
				air pollution control standards could not be issued, or if issued, could not be
				complied with.