Opinion ID: 77243
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Title V Permit

Text: 8 In 1990, Congress amended the Clean Air Act to add Title V, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 7661-7661f, to assist in compliance and enforcement of air pollution controls. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Pub.L. No. 101-549, §§ 501-507, 104 Stat. 2399, 2635-48 (1990). Under Title V, major stationary sources of air pollution are required to obtain an operating permit, which establishes the [Clean Air Act] requirements for, among other things, emission limitations relevant to the particular polluting source. Legal Envtl. Assistance Found., Inc. v. EPA, 400 F.3d 1278, 1279 (11th Cir.2005). 9 The intent of Title V is to consolidate into a single document (the operating permit) all of the clean air requirements applicable to a particular source of air pollution. The Title V permit program generally does not impose new substantive air quality control requirements. Rather, a Title V permit enable[s] the source, States, EPA, and the public to understand better the requirements to which the source is subject, and whether the source is meeting those requirements. Operating Permit Program, 57 Fed.Reg. 32,250, 32,251 (July 21, 1992) (codified at 40 C.F.R. § 70). 10 Title V authorizes each state to design its own stationary source permitting program and to submit that program to the EPA for approval. 42 U.S.C. § 7661a. Georgia's Title V permitting program began on an interim basis in 1995. In 2000, the EPA granted final approval of Georgia's Title V program effective August 7, 2000. See 40 C.F.R. § 70 app. A. 1 As with Georgia's other duties under the Clean Air Act, the Georgia Title V program is administered by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of Georgia's Department of Natural Resources. 11 When the state EPD issues a Title V permit, the terms of the permit must comply with Georgia's EPA-approved SIP. See 40 C.F.R. § 70 (setting minimum requirements for state operating permit programs and standards for state-issued permits). 2 While the state EPD is primarily responsible for issuing Title V permits in Georgia, each permit approved by the EPD also must be submitted to the federal EPA for review. See 42 U.S.C. § 7661d(b); see generally N.Y. Pub. Interest Research Group, Inc. v. Johnson, 427 F.3d 172, 176 (2d Cir.2005). The EPA may object to the permit and send it back to the state EPD to correct the problem perceived by the EPA. Id. at 176. If the EPA declines to object to the submitted permit within 45 days, any person may petition the EPA requesting that the agency object. Id. 3