Proposed Revisions to Pennsylvania Air Quality Permit Exemption Policy

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is seeking comments on proposed revisions to Technical Guidance Document Number 275-2101-003 – Air Quality Permit Exemptions.  The public comment period opened on November 22, 2008 and will close on December 22, 2008.  The proposed major revisions pertain to changes to the list of determinations that have been made by PADEP regarding air permitting exemptions.

Under the proposed revisions, facility owners or operators must now submit RFD forms for certain categories of sources that were previously exempt from air quality permitting (e.g., all internal combustion engines, site-wide, with combined NOx emissions of <100 lb/hr, <1,000 lb/day, and <2.75 tons/ozone season and excluding peak shaving generators; bulk material storage bins; certain research and development activities; certain powder metal sintering furnaces; and remediation of gasoline or fuel oil contaminated soil, groundwater or surface water).  In addition, several sources that were previously exempt from air permitting requirements have been removed from the exemption list including sources controlled using baghouses that vent inside of buildings.