A.
Projects requiring multiple
application submittals under this Chapter. If a source is applying
simultaneously for the renewal of a source license and/or amendments under more
than one section of this Chapter, the source may submit one application
covering all required information for each relevant section.
B.
Required application form and
additional information. The application shall include an application
form prescribed by the
Department and additional information required by the
Department, unless otherwise specified by this Chapter. The application may not
omit information needed to determine the applicability of, or to impose, any
requirement, or to evaluate the fee amount. An application for a Minor
Modification or Major Modification need supply only that information related to
the proposed amendment. The application form and the additional required
information shall include, but is not limited to, the following elements:
(1) Identifying information, including owner
or operator name (legal name as registered with the Secretary of State),
facility site name and physical site location, facility mailing address,
responsible official's name, and name(s) with corresponding contact information
for the facility manager/contact;
(2) Identification of the source's processes
and products;
(3) Any insignificant
activities which the source proposes to be qualified as substantially
equivalent to the insignificant activities specified in Appendix B of this
Chapter;
(4) The following
emissions related information for units and activities that are not
insignificant activities (the
Department may waive the requirement to submit
any or all of items (a)-(h) if the information required is deemed not pertinent
to the application):
(a) All emissions of
regulated pollutants;
(b) Any
additional emissions-related information necessary to verify which requirements
are applicable to the source or to calculate annual license fees;
(c) Identification and description of all
points of emissions described in (a) and (b) above in sufficient detail to
establish the source's applicability to any requirements;
(d) Emission rates in such terms as are
necessary to establish compliance with applicable requirements and consistent
with the applicable EPA standard reference test method and compliance
consistent with the applicable emission limit;
(e) The following information to the extent
it is needed to determine or regulate emissions: fuel types, fuel use, raw
materials, production rates, and operating schedules;
(f) Identification and description of air
pollution control equipment and compliance monitoring devices or
activities;
(g) Limitations on
source operations affecting emissions, or any work practice standards, where
applicable, for all regulated pollutants;
(h) Calculations used as the basis for
emissions-related information;
(5) Any other information that may be
necessary to implement and enforce any requirements applicable to the
source;
(6) If required by the
Department, proposed monitoring, modeling, testing, record keeping and
reporting protocols, the results of previously performed instack monitoring,
and results of previously performed stack testing. This information shall not
be used in the completeness determination of the application, unless the
information is required as part of a New Source Review application;
(7) Results of meteorology or air quality
monitoring if required by the Department, including an analysis of
meteorological and topographical data necessary to evaluate the air quality
impact pursuant to Section 7 of this Chapter. The information required pursuant
to Section 7 of this Chapter shall not be used in the completeness
determination of the application, unless the information is required as part of
a New Source Review application; and
(8) If any regulated pollutant from an
existing source has or will have a significant impact, a description of the
factors used in the ambient air quality impact analysis pursuant to Section 7
of this Chapter. The information required pursuant to Section 7 of this Chapter
shall not be used in the completeness determination of the application, unless
the information is required as part of a New Source Review
application.
C.
Certification by Responsible Official. All application forms submitted
to the
Department shall contain a certification of truth, accuracy, and
completeness with the signature and printed name of the responsible official
(see Definitions, 06-096 CMR
100). The signatory sheet shall make the following
certification:
"I certify under penalty of law that, based on information
and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, I believe the information included
in the attached document is true, complete, and accurate."
Upon becoming aware that he or she submitted incorrect
information or failed to submit relevant facts, the responsible official must
provide the Department with the supplementary facts or corrected
information.
D.
Public Notice of Intent to File. Any applicant for a renewal license, a
new source license, any modification, or a license transfer must publish,
within thirty (30) days prior to filing an application, a public notice of
Intent to File at the applicant's expense. No public notice is required for a
minor revision. This notice shall be published once in the public notice
section of a newspaper of general circulation in the region in which the source
would be located. In addition, a copy of the application shall be made
available at the municipal office of the municipality(ies) where the source is
located. A copy of the public notice from the paper (cut or copied from the
newspaper in which it was printed) must be submitted with the application. The
public notice of Intent to File must include the following information:
(1) Name, address and telephone number of the
applicant;
(2) Citation of the
statutes or rules under which the application is being processed;
(3) Location of the proposed
action;
(4) Summary of the proposed
action;
(5) Anticipated date for
filing the application with the Department;
(6) A statement that public requests for
either of the following must be submitted to the
Department in writing no later
than twenty (20) days after the application is accepted as complete for
processing:
(a) for the Board of
Environmental Protection to assume jurisdiction over the application;
or
(b) for a public hearing on the
application;
(7) A
statement of the name, address and phone number of the Department contact
person;
(8) A statement providing
the local filing location where the application can be examined; and
(9) Any other information required by rule or
law.
An applicant must publish a public notice of Intent to File
for a resubmitted application that was originally returned and deemed
incomplete by the Department.
NOTE: A Public Notice of Intent to File form is available
from the Department.
After an application has been filed, if the Department
determines that the applicant submits significant new or additional information
or substantially modifies its application at any time after acceptance of the
application as complete, the applicant shall provide additional notice to
interested persons who have commented on that application. The Department may
also require additional public notice and may extend the time to submit
requests for a public hearing or for the Board to assume jurisdiction.
E.
Application
acceptability and completeness
(1)
General. Within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of any
application, the Department shall determine the completeness of an application
and shall notify the applicant in writing of the official date on which the
application was accepted as complete for processing; or return the application
with the reasons why the application was not accepted as complete. If the
Department does not make a determination regarding the acceptance or rejection
of the application within fifteen (15) working days, the application shall be
deemed accepted as complete for processing on the 16th day.
(2)
Criteria for completeness.
An application shall be deemed complete when all of the relevant information
and other data required by the
Department to evaluate the application and to
allow the
Department to begin processing the application are submitted. In
addition, for completeness determination the certification by the Responsible
Official and a copy of the public notice of Intent to File must be included as
part of the application submittal.
For new source licenses the air emission license fee must be
paid in full to meet the completeness criteria.
F.
Application submittal.
Applications must be filed with the Bureau of Air Quality, Department of
Environmental Protection, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME
04333-0017.
G.
Authority to
request additional information. The
Department's determination that an
application is accepted as complete for processing is not a review of the
sufficiency of that information, and does not preclude the
Department from
requesting additional information. Additional information needed to process the
license may be requested in writing by the
Department and shall be provided by
the applicant within the deadline specified by the
Department.
If the applicant fails to submit the requested information
by the deadline specified or as otherwise agreed in writing by the Department,
the Department may deny the license. Thirty (30) days prior to denying the
license, the Department shall provide written notice to the applicant including
a list of the required information. A person may reapply at any time after the
license is denied. The reapplication shall meet all requirements of a complete
initial license application, including any required license fee.
H.
Procedures for timely
license processing and license denials
(1) The requirements of Title 38 MRSA
§344 shall govern the processing of applications under this
Chapter.
(2) Upon the denial of any
license, the Department shall provide the applicant a written statement with
the grounds of the denial.
I.
Permit Shield. Compliance
with the conditions of a license shall be deemed compliance with any
state-enforceable requirements as of the date of license issuance, provided
that:
(1) Such state-enforceable requirements
are included and are specifically identified in the license; or
(2) The
Department, in acting on the license
application or revision, determines in writing that other state-enforceable
requirements specifically identified are not applicable to the source, and the
license includes the determination or a concise
summary thereof.
However, in no case shall such a determination within the
license be a permit shield from a federally enforceable requirement.
J.
Operational
Flexibility. The following changes are allowed without requiring a
license amendment:
(1) Operational
flexibility provided for in the license language;
(2) Off-permit changes that are not addressed
in the license and are one of the following:
(a) The installation of an insignificant
activity found in Appendix B of this Chapter. In no case shall insignificant
activities be exempt from determining whether the source is a Part 70
source;
(b) The modification of an
insignificant activity that still qualifies as an insignificant activity after
the modification; and
(c) A change
at the source for which the applicant has received written Departmental
approval that the change does not require a license, license amendment, or
other action under Sections 4, 5, or 6 of this Chapter.
K.
Public and EPA Draft
Notification. A public comment period shall be held on draft licenses
for major modifications and new major sources as follows:
(1)
Public.The applicant shall
provide a copy of the draft license and the application, including any
supporting documentation and any subsequent amendments to the application, to
the municipal clerk of the municipality where the source is located, or, if the
project is in an unorganized area, to the county commissioners. This material
shall also be available at the Department's Augusta office. This material must
be on file for public comment for thirty (30) calendar days.
(2)
EPA.The Department shall
provide a copy of the draft license to EPA. EPA shall have a thirty (30) day
review period on the draft.
(3)
Draft Availability Notice.The notice of Draft Availability shall
be published, at the applicant's expense, once in the public notice section of
a newspaper of general circulation in the region in which the source would be
located. The Draft Availability notice shall include:
(a) the name, address and telephone number of
the applicant;
(b) a citation of
the statutes or rules under which the application is being processed;
(c) the location of the proposed
action;
(d) a summary of the
proposed action including the emissions change involved in any proposed license
modification;
(e) a statement of
the availability of the application and supporting documents and the
Department's preliminary determination in the form of a draft
license;
(f) a statement of the
public's right to provide written public comment or to request a public
meeting, with the mailing address of the Department; and
(g) for the purpose of a Major New Source
Review draft license subject to this subsection, the date, place and time a
public meeting may be held, if requested within 15 calendar days from the date
upon which the notice is published. The date the public meeting is scheduled
shall be no sooner than 30 days after the date the notice is published.
NOTE: A Draft Availability Notice form is available from the
Department.
For a Major New Source Review draft license subject to this
subsection, any person may request the Department in writing to hold a public
meeting. The written request shall state the nature of the issues to be raised
at a public meeting. If the Department's Augusta office receives a written
request for a public meeting within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date
upon which the notice is published which raises a material issue, a public
meeting may be held on the date and time as scheduled in the public notice.
Whenever the Department holds a public meeting, the duration of the public
comment period may be extended to the close of the public meeting or extended
to a later date announced at the public meeting.
The Department shall receive comment for at least thirty
(30) days, beginning after the day on which the notice of the Draft
Availability is published or after the day on which EPA received the draft,
whichever is later.
The Department shall consider and keep records of all
analyses and all written comments received during the public comment period,
and all comments received at any public meeting or public hearing in making a
final decision on the approvability of the draft license. The Department shall
file all written comments for public inspection at the Department's Augusta
office.
L.
Effective date of a license.
Unless otherwise indicated as a condition of the license, a license
granted by the Department is effective when the Commissioner, or his or her
designee, signs the license. A license granted by the Board of Environmental
Protection (BEP) is effective when the BEP chair signs the license.
M.
Term of a license. Each
renewal or a new source air emission license issued to a minor source by the
Department shall have a term of ten (10) years from the date of issuance.
NOTE: A license issued for a new major source or major
modification shall not expire.
N.
Expiration of a license. If a
complete renewal application, as determined by the
Department, is submitted
prior to expiration, then pursuant to Title 5 MRSA §10002, all terms and
conditions of the license shall remain in effect until the
Department takes
final action on the renewal of the license. The provisions of this subsection
do not bar enforcement action pursuant to Title 5 MRSA §10004, Title 38
MRSA §349 or any other applicable statutes.
Failure to submit a timely and complete application prior to
expiration of the license renders the license expired and the owner or operator
is considered to be operating and maintaining an air emission source without a
license from the Department, in violation of this Chapter.
For those sources that fail to submit a timely and complete
application and continue to operate, the source shall submit a new application
which will be processed as a renewal. These sources shall apply the BPT results
of an analysis similar to subsection 4(A)(4)(d) of this Chapter in addition to
any appropriate enforcement response for the operation of an air emission
source without a license.
O.
Source obligation. Approval
to construct a new source or modification, or an exemption pursuant to
subsection 1(C) of this Chapter shall not relieve any owner or operator of a
source from the responsibility to comply fully with any requirements applicable
to the source.
P.
Public
access to information and confidentiality. As a general rule, all
information and data submitted in an application for a license shall be
available upon request for public inspection and copying. Any exception to this
general rule shall be governed by the provisions of the Freedom of Access Law,
Title 1 MRSA §401
et seq., as amended. Information for
which the applicant seeks confidential status shall be conspicuously identified
in a separate document and submitted to the
Department for a determination that
one or more of the criteria of Title 1 MRSA §402(3) with respect to the
exemptions from the term, "public records," was met. Such information shall be
stored separately in accordance with procedures developed by the
Department.
Public records include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Information concerning the nature and
extent of the emissions of any regulated pollutant by a source; and
(2) Information submitted by the source with
respect to the economic, environmental and energy impacts of various control
options in the determination of the control technology requirements.
In the case where a source has submitted information to the
Department under a claim of confidentiality, the Department may also require
the source to submit a copy of such information directly to EPA.
At reasonable times and location the Department shall
provide for the inspection of public records. Charges for copying shall reflect
the costs to the Department and payment shall be made to the Maine
Environmental Protection Fund.
Q.
Inspections to verify information.
Employees and authorized representatives of the Department shall be
allowed safe access to the licensee's premises during business hours, or any
time during which any emissions units are in operation, and at such other times
as the Department deems necessary for the purpose of performing tests,
collecting samples, conducting inspections, or examining and copying records
relating to emissions.
R.
Replacement of Air Pollution Control Systems. If a licensee is proposing
to replace an existing air pollution control system or replacement of burner
systems, the applicant must demonstrate to the Department that the new
equipment will achieve BPT. The replacement may be proposed within the renewal
application or as a Minor Revision and shall be treated consistent with the CAA
and federal regulations.
S.
Licensing of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emissions. Pursuant to 38
MRSA Section585-B, the Department may control HAPs by adopting emission limits,
design, equipment, work practices or operational standards for activities
emitting hazardous air pollutants if no ambient air quality standards have been
established for those pollutants.
T.
Computation of time period.
"Days" are calendar days unless otherwise designated. "Working days"
excludes Saturdays, Sundays, state holidays and state shutdown days. In
computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this Chapter, the last
day of the period is to be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, state
holiday, or state shutdown day in which event the period runs until the end of
the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, state holiday, or state shutdown
day. If a person is required to take some action within a prescribed period
after service of notice or other paper and the notice or paper is served by
mail, three (3) days shall be added to the prescribed period.
U.
Pollution Control Projects.
Pollution control projects shall be exempt from the requirements of this
Chapter to the extent allowed under the Clean Air Act, as determined by the
Department on a case-by-case basis. To be exempt, the applicant must
demonstrate that the proposed pollution control project is consistent with and
meets all requirements of applicable State and EPA rules, policies and
guidelines which specifically address exemptions from New Source Review and
Prevention of Significant Deterioration programs for pollution control
projects.
