Permit Center

Operating Permits:

• Legally-enforceable documents designed to improve compliance by clarifying what facilities (sources) must do to control air pollution.
• Required by Title V of the Clean Air Act.
• Issued to all large sources (“major” sources) and a limited number of smaller sources (called “area” sources, “minor” sources, or “non-major” sources).
• Most are issued by State or local agencies (“part 70” permits); a small number are issued by EPA (“part 71” permits).
• Permits include pollution-control requirements from federal or state regulations that apply to a source.
• Other air permits may be required (e.g., “Pre-construction” permits, “PSD” permits, or “NSR” permits), but this web site does not address such permits.

 

---

More Detailed Information on Operating Permits

• Air Pollution Operating Permit Program Update - Key Features and Benefits -- A plain language guide (February 1998).

• Frequently Asked Questions About Permits -- Includes topics related to title V and PSD/NSR permits (EPA Region 9).

• Who Has to Obtain a Title V Permit -- Describes which types of sources have to get permits.

• Definitions of Selected Permitting Terms (EPA Region 9).

Basic Information on Air Quality and Air Programs

• EPA - AIR - Basic Information

Title V Permits

Title V operating permits are legally enforceable documents issued to air pollution sources after the source has begun to operate. Most Title V permits are issued by state, local, and tribal permitting authorities. However, EPA also issues Title V permits to some sources. EPA-issued Title V permits are sometimes called “Part 71 permits” because the regulations that establish the standards for them are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 40 CFR Part 71.”

The Title V program provides for public participation in the permitting process. The public generally has 30 days to comment on all draft Title V operating permits. For all permits issued by a state or local permitting authority, EPA also has a 45-day review period, which may or may not run concurrently with the public comment period.

 

Public Participation in the Title V Permitting Process

On this page:

• Resources to help understand the Title V permit review process
• Title V Permit Review Guidelines

---

As a member of the public, you can use the Title V program to ensure that sources are complying with the requirements that apply to them. Title V gives you the opportunity to:

• Comment on and request a public hearing on permits before they are issued, when they are renewed, and when important changes to them are proposed.
• Petition the EPA Administrator to object to State-issued permits.
• Appeal EPA-issued permits to the Environmental Appeals Board and the federal courts.
• Review the reports and certifications that permittees are required to send to the permitting agency.

Also, members of the public can bring enforcement actions in court against facilities that don't comply with their permits. For a more detailed discussion of these topics, see the Proof is in the Permit.

---

Permitting Process

Prior to issuing a permit, State permitting authorities generally follow these steps:

1. Determine if permit application is complete enough to begin processing it.
   
2. Prepare a draft permit.
   
3. Publish a notice to inform public of (1) the public comment period (usually 30 days) for the draft permit, and (2) deadline for requesting a public hearing on the draft permit. The notice can be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the source is located or in a State publication, like a State register. The permitting authority must mail notices of draft permits to persons who have requested to be on a mailing list. The notice must include:
   • the name of the facility, the name and address of the permittee and the permitting agency;
   • activities covered by the draft permit;
   • any emissions change involved in the permit action;
   • who to contact for more information, including a copy of the draft permit and supporting materials;
   • how to submit comments; time/place of any hearing already scheduled;
   • how to request a hearing if one has not already been scheduled.
     
4. Decide whether to revise the draft permit (based on comments from the permitee, the public or EPA).
   
5. Send the proposed permit to EPA for its 45-day review. If EPA has agreed to concurrent review, then its 45-day review period generally starts at the beginning of the public comment period. Check with your permitting agency, its rules, or EPA to determine if your state uses a concurrent review process.
   
6. Revise permit within 90 days, if EPA has objected.
   
7. Issue permit.

   ---

Resources

The following resources that may be useful in understanding the issues involved in reviewing a Title V permit:

• The Proof is in the Permit: How to Make Sure a Facility in Your Community Gets an Effective Title V Air Pollution Permit (a citizens' guide produced by the Earth Day Coalition and New York Public Interest Research Group)
  
• EPA Region 3's Permit Writers' Tips
  
• Title V Petition Database containing EPA's responses to public petitions asking that EPA object to a permit plus most of the petitions that EPA has received.
  
• EPA's Applicability Determination Index, containing over one thousand EPA letters and memoranda pertaining to the applicability, monitoring, record keeping, and reporting requirements of the NSPS and NESHAP.
  
• Title V Policy and Guidance Database containing a number of policy and guidance documents that interpret Title V and its regulations.

---

 

 

Designed and Maintaned by NNEPA
Updated July 2008