October 1995
Perhaps you recall the enormous pressures that accompanied the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the big sigh of relief that went up from Congress when it was finally done. During the last week of that Herculean legislative effort, you can imagine the quantity and quality of the compromises that were struck.
One in particular has become known as Title V: an entirely new operating permit program for air emission sources. The proponents of Title V suggested that they compromised by clearly specifying that no new regulatory limits would be part of this program, and that the new permits would have the advantage of consolidating all the information in one place.
As promised, Title V has not changed permitted limits, but it changed the nature of enforcement. And, yes, the permit puts all the information in one place, but this may be far from an advantage.
Perhaps you have had the experience of crossing the line at one time or another on air pollution limits. Regardless of the situation, enforcement proceedings were probably tedious. The agency had to investigate and negotiate in order to achieve "enforcement".
Now with Title V, that will all change. First, failure to file a timely and "complete" application is in itself considered a violation. Second, the program makes you, the permittee, responsible for: (1) identifying every applicable permit requirement (In Michigan, this applies to every condition that may have slipped into your permit in the past), and (2) certifying that the facility is in compliance with all those requirements. Finally, no longer does the agency have to go to the trouble of building a case, as long as they can identify a missing or inaccurate detail in your certification.
The tough new certification procedure is probably the easiest to explain and the most difficult to evaluate. Although certification is now required, it is not always obvious who is responsible for the specific contents of a permit. If you are submitting the application and you fail to properly apply for the permit (either missing a deadline or an application that is not administratively complete): you are in trouble. If, however, you fail to recognize all "requirements" or "inaccurately certify", your boss, or boss's boss, is in trouble. (The law requires that the Vice President of Operations, or the Plant Manager, certify.)
Finally, the certification process is a long term commitment: Certify compliance now and you will recertify forever, and continue to develop the data necessary to prove compliance. As you can tell, the permit application is not the end of the program. It is the beginning of an eternal process of "voluntary" monitoring, record keeping, reporting, and certifying compliance. If the same type of program were used by traffic enforcement authorities, you would find yourself having to continually record your speedometer readings and mail in the results along with a certification, subject to prosecution for perjury, that you never exceeded the limit!
This is not to suggest that you immediately attempt to change the law: some congressmen have sworn to never open up the Clean Air Act again: but, perhaps, you should recognize the higher no-nonsense enforcement program that is contained in Title V.
The objective of a Title V program should be basically the same as with any other management problem:
In that spirit, you are in great shape if (1) you are confident that you understand the problem, (2) can respond with your current resources in a timely way, and (3) have the expertise to devise the best possible strategy to deal with the program. If not, keep in mind that whatever your Title V response is, you can probably expect to live with it for seven years. (These are five year permits, but give your agency a couple of years to get the permit out.) If we dare to predict the future, we might suggest that the permits won't be any more lenient in the next millennium.
The first step is completing an emission inventory. When done right, this inventory assures that you know which compounds are regulated, what process is emitting what compounds, and where, when, and how much is emitted. A key element in preparing the inventory is understanding which chemical compounds are regulated, and what compounds are included in general categories such as "volatile organics". It is not always apparent from the chemical composition, so you must rely on the definitions in the regulation.
This is a good start, but now the real challenge begins. The next step is planning the permit process, including determining if you really need to be in the Title V program. The tasks for this step include:
For more information on environmental programs for your business, contact Mr. Thomas Wackerman, Managing Partner at Applied Science & Technology, Inc. at 800.395.ASTI or visit our homepage
Next month we look at the individual steps in evaluating your obligations under Title V and preparing a Title V permit application.
Applied Science & Technology, Inc. staff is presenting a one semester course on Environmental Information Management using the Internet. at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. The course starts January 1996 and is taught entirely on the Internet. For more information call Tom Wackerman at 800.395.ASTI or send email request to twacker@chem1.eng.wayne.edu
1st: Owners or operators of hydraulic systems that every contained PCBs at concentrations greater than 50ppm must test for PCBs [TSCA: 40 CFR761.30(e)]
14th: 1995 third quarter reports for producers and importers of Class I or Class II controlled substances due [CAA: 40 CFR82.13, FR 5/10/95]
15th :EPA must list a sufficient number of categories or subcategories of area sources of hazardous air pollutants to ensure 90% of emissions are regulated [CAA: Section 112(c)]
19th: Owners and operators of synthetic organic chemical manufacturing production with new sources beginning construction or reconstruction after Dec. 31, 1992, must submit the semiannual report to EPA [CAA: 40 CFR63.152, FR 4/22/94]
TECH-BITS is a monthly publication of Applied Science & Technology, Inc. (ASTI), P.O. Box 1328, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48106. For a free mail subscription call 800.395.ASTI. For a free electronic subscription, send an email message to twacker@chem1.eng.wayne.edu, referencing Tech-Bits in the body of the message.
TECH-BITS is intended to provide information concerning current environmental issues, and is not intended to provide technical or legal advice regarding any particular situation. Questions about individual situations should be addressed to your environmental engineer. Copyright 1995 by ASTI