Title V permit revisions: do you need to apply?

Is there something in your facility’s Title V air permit that needs to be revised? Before you go ahead and implement the change, you’ll need to determine whether the proposed change requires you to apply and receive approval from your permitting authority before doing so. Permit revisions may be regulated as administrative amendments, minor modifications, or significant modifications. Other permit changes may be made without submitting an official request to the permitting authority. While specific requirements vary from state to state, most states generally follow the federal requirements for Title V permit revisions, which can be found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 70.7.

Administrative permit amendments

• Under federal Title V regulations, certain minor administrative changes at a source qualify as administrative permit amendments. An administrative permit amendment is a permit revision that:
• Corrects typographical errors;
• Identifies a change in the name, address, or phone number of any person identified in the permit or provides a similar minor administrative change at the source;
• Requires more frequent monitoring or reporting by the permittee;
• Allows for a change in ownership or operational control of a source if the permitting authority determines no other change needs to be made to the permit and provided that a written agreement for transfer of permit responsibility has been submitted to the permitting authority;
• Incorporates the requirements from preconstruction review permits authorized under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved program; or
• Incorporates any other type of change the EPA has approved.

A facility making an administrative permit amendment to its Title V permit must submit a request to the applicable permitting authority. However, the facility may implement the proposed change(s) immediately after submitting the request to the permitting authority and before the revised permit is issued.

Minor permit modifications

There are some permit revisions that don’t qualify as administrative amendments but are still considered minor revisions. These permit revisions are referred to as minor permit modifications and are changes that:

• Don’t violate any applicable requirement.
• Don’t involve significant changes to existing monitoring, reporting, or recordkeeping requirements in the current permit.
• Don’t require or change a case-by-case determination of an emissions limitation or another standard, a source-specific determination for temporary sources of ambient impacts, or a visibility or increment analysis.
• Don’t seek to establish or change a permit term or condition for which there’s no corresponding underlying applicable requirement and that the facility has used to avoid a requirement that would otherwise apply (such as a federally enforceable emissions cap or an alternative emissions limit).
• Modifications aren’t considered under Title I of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA).
• Aren’t required by a state Title V program to be processed as a significant modification.

A source must submit an application to its permitting authority to make a minor permit modification. Minor permit modification applications must include a description of the proposed change, the emissions that would result from the change, any new requirements that would apply as a result of the change, a certification statement and signature of a responsible official, and any other information required under applicable state regulations. As with administrative permit amendments, a source may make the change proposed in its minor permit modification application immediately after submitting the application to the permitting authority and before the revised permit is issued. Upon receipt of a complete minor permit modification application, the permitting authority will notify affected states and the EPA of the requested modification.

Significant permit modifications

Permit modifications that don’t qualify as minor are considered significant permit modifications. States are responsible for establishing the criteria for what constitutes a significant permit modification, but at a minimum, every significant change in existing monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping permit terms and conditions is considered a significant modification.

A source must submit an application to its permitting authority to make a significant permit modification, and each state has set forth the required procedure for doing so in its regulations. In addition to applying, sources and permitting authorities must follow procedures for public notice and participation to provide the opportunity for public comment and a hearing on the new draft permit.

Check your state’s regulations

State permitting authorities have varying requirements for what qualifies as an administrative permit amendment, a minor permit modification, and a significant permit modification. State regulations may also stipulate what types of permit changes a source can make to its Title V permit without initiating a formal permit revision process at all. States might have different definitions for the word “significant” and other key terms in their respective regulations. States also have differing requirements for how and when to apply for each type of permit revision. Check with your permitting authority and your state’s regulations to determine the specific requirements you need to follow to ensure compliance when initiating a permit revision.