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['Air Programs']
['Air Permitting', 'Stationary Emission Sources', 'Air Programs', 'Air Emissions']
10/30/2023
Copyright 2024 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.
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Does this rule apply to my construction project?
Does EPA’s New Source Review program apply to my construction project?
If your company is considering new construction or a major modification that will significantly increase air emissions, you may be required to obtain a permit before beginning construction.
When companies upgrade facilities, either by building a new plant or making major modifications to an existing plant, they are required to install the best available pollution control equipment. In areas with unhealthy air, EPA’s New Source Review (NSR) program assures that these sources do not impede progress toward cleaner air. In areas with clean air, especially pristine areas like national parks, the program assures that emissions from new and modified sources do not significantly degrade air quality.
Upgrading pollution controls and the industrial infrastructure simultaneously makes economic and environmental sense. In general, it is more cost-effective for sources to install pollution control equipment such as scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, or selective catalytic converters at the same time that they make major capital improvements. Because the NSR program relies on this principle, it minimizes emissions from new sources while maximizing opportunities for additional industrial and economic growth.
Background The New Source Review (NSR) program was enacted by Congress in 1977. It’s goal is to minimize air pollution from large new and modified stationary sources. Recent figures suggest that over the life of the program, NSR has prevented more than a hundred million tons of air pollution.
The NSR provisions of the Clean Air Act combine air quality planning, air pollution technology requirements, and stakeholder participation. NSR is a preconstruction permitting program. If new construction or making a major modification will increase emissions by an amount large enough to trigger NSR requirements, then the source must obtain a permit before it can begin construction.
States are key partners in the program. Under the Act, states have the primary responsibility for issuing permits, and they can customize their NSR programs within the limits of EPA regulations. EPA’s role is to approve state programs, to review, comment on, and take any other necessary actions on draft permits, and to assure consistency with EPA’s rules, the state’s implementation plan, and the Clean Air Act. EPA also issues permits where there is no approved NSR program, such as on some Tribal lands. Citizens also play a role in the permitting decision, and must be afforded an opportunity to comment on each construction permit before it is issued.
What’s the difference between a Title V operating permit and a New Source Review permit?
Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments requires all major sources and some minor sources of air pollution to obtain an operating permit. A Title V permit grants a source permission to operate. The permit includes all air pollution requirements that apply to the source, including emissions limits and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. It also requires that the source report its compliance status with respect to permit conditions to the permitting authority.
A New Source Review permit is a pre-construction permit. A NSR permit authorizes the construction of new major sources of air pollution or major modifications of existing sources. NSR permits require the installation and maintenance of pollution control devices. Large sources in polluted areas must reduce pollution or buy credits from another company that has reduced its emissions.
What is a major source? Major is a term used to determine the applicability of permitting regulations to specific sources. What constitutes a major source varies according to what type of permit is involved, the pollutant(s) being emitted, and the attainment designation of the area where the source is located. In general, a source is major if its emissions exceed certain thresholds that are defined in terms of tons per year. For example, under Title V of the Clean Air Act, any source that emits or has the potential to emit 100 tons per year or more of any criteria air pollutant is a major source and must obtain a Title V operating permit.
What are the NSR permit requirements? The NSR permit program for major sources has two different components: one for areas where the air is dirty or unhealthy, and the other for areas where the air is cleaner. Under the Clean Air Act, geographic areas (e.g., counties or metropolitan statistical areas) are designated as “attainment” or “nonattainment” with the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) the air quality standards which are set to protect human health.
Permits for sources located in attainment (or unclassifiable) areas are called Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits and those for sources located in nonattainment areas are called nonattainment NSR permits.
A major difference in the two programs is that the control technology requirement is more stringent in nonattainment areas and is called the Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER). On the other hand, in attainment areas, a source must apply Best Available Control Technology BACT) and the statute allows consideration of cost in weighing BACT options.
Also, in keeping with the goal of progress toward attaining the national air quality standards, sources in nonattainment areas must always provide or purchase “offsets” decreases in emissions which compensate for the increases from the new source or modification.
In attainment areas, PSD sources typically do not need to obtain offsets. However, PSD does require an air quality modeling analysis of the impact of the construction project, and if the analysis finds that the project contributes to ambient air pollution that exceeds allowable levels, this impact must be mitigated. Sometimes these mitigation measures can include offsets in PSD areas.
In addition to ensuring compliance with the NAAQS, states track and control emissions of air pollution by calculating the maximum increase in concentration allowed to occur above an established background level. That change in concentration is known as a PSD increment.
Another key requirement is the provision in the PSD program to protect pristine areas like national parks or wilderness areas (referred to as Class I areas). If a source constructs or modifies in a way that could affect a Class I area, the law affords a federal land manager (for example, a National Park Service superintendent) an opportunity to review the permit and the air quality analysis to assure that relevant factors associated with the protection of national parks and wilderness areas are taken into consideration, and, if necessary, that harmful effects are mitigated.
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['Air Programs']
['Air Permitting', 'Stationary Emission Sources', 'Air Programs', 'Air Emissions']
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