Category : Financial and Statistics
Archive   : SBADV934.ZIP
Filename : F403.SBE

@065 CHAP 09

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³ AIR QUALITY OPERATING PERMITS: ³
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If your business emits significant amounts of any kind of
air pollutants, chances are you will soon be needing an
Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") air quality opera-
ting permit, to be obtained from your state in most cases,
under the 1991 Clean Air Act amendments and EPA regulations
that were issued on July 21, 1992. (40 C.F.R. Section 70,
et seq.).

Just WHO will need an air quality operating permit? And
WHEN will it be required?

There are no quick or easy answers to those questions, al-
though the following discussion will give you some broad
guidelines. In general, your business will have to obtain
an operating permit if your operations are either a "major
source" of air pollution or a "nonexempt minor source"
subject to specified types of air pollution controls.

REMEMBER that it is HIGHLY important for you to know if your
business is required to have such a permit, since there are
extremely severe civil and criminal penalties for violating
the permit rules, including $10,000-per-day fines, injunc-
tions that can force shutdown of your facilities, and other
civil and criminal sanctions.

MAJOR SOURCES. Businesses that would be considered "major
sources" of air pollution would include those who operate
stationary facilities emitting one or more of the following
types of pollutants:

. carbon monoxide;

. particulate matter (such as coal dust) no larger than
10 micrometers in diameter;

. ozone precursors, including volatile organic compounds
ore nitrogen oxides;

. nitrogen dioxide;

. sulfur dioxide;

. lead;

. or any of nearly 200 other specified "air toxics" regu-
lated under the Clean Air Act.

A number of tests must be applied together to determine if
you are a "major source." However, the basic test is whe-
ther your facility is a stationary source that either emits,
or has the potential to emit when operating at maximum capa-
city, 100 tons or more per year for any of the specified
air pollutants. Even tougher tests apply in areas that al-
ready are classified as "nonattainment areas" (which in-
cludes most urban areas), with the emission threshold being
lowered to 50, 25, or even as low as 10 tons a year for
ozone in "extreme" areas. Also, certain pollutants have
a lower threshold, such as carbon monoxide, for which you
must obtain an operating permit if you emit at least 50
tons per year. The more hazardous "air toxics" require a
permit if emitting 10 tons or more a year, or 25 tons of a
combination of such hazardous air pollutants (such as chlor-
ine, asbestos, etc.).

Pre-construction permits may be needed before construction
of new or expanded facilities that would be emissions
sources.


MINOR SOURCES. While your small business may not operate
on a large enough scale to require a permit as a "major
source" of air pollution, it may still require a permit as
a "nonexempt minor source." For example, an operating per-
mit may be required under the acid rain control provisions
of the Clean Air Act, or for solid waste incinerators that
are subject to national performance standards.

Or, you may need a permit as a minor source under the air
toxics control requirements, for facilities that are sub-
ject to national standards of performance for stationary
sources (other than solid waste incinerators), or you may
need construction permits for other small pollution
sources, unless a deferral or exemption is provided by
the EPA or your state air pollution control agency.

DEFERRAL OF SOME PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
The EPA, in 1992, allowed the states to grant five-year
exemptions (or "deferrals") of the permitting requirements
(until as late as 1997) for certain small businesses that
would otherwise be required to obtain an operating permit
now. However, such deferrals cannot be granted to:

. major sources of pollution (as described above);

. solid waste incineration units, generally; or to

. fossil-fired electric utility facilities that are
subject to acid rain controls.

(Note that a court challenge, in federal court, is currently
questioning the EPA's power to allow any such deferrals.)

At some time before mid-1997, the EPA has announced that it
will issue regulations that may grant further deferrals or
permanent exemptions for some small sources of pollutants.

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³BOTTOM LINE: Air quality permits may³
³soon be required for your business,³
³even if it is a small business, if it³
³operates stationary facilities that³
³emit air pollutants. Depending on³
³the state you are in, and the type³
³and quantity of emissions, these per-³
³mit requirements could be applicable³
³right now for you, or at some time in³
³the next five years (after 1992) ³
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