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Welcome to the Part 71 Page of the Operating Permits Web site. We hope
the information here will give you a better understanding of how this operating
permit program for stationary sources of air pollution works.
What this web page covers
State and local permitting authorities issue most of the permits required
by title V of the Clean Air Act. (These are called part 70 permits). However,
EPA issues title V permits (called part 71 permits) to sources in Indian
country and in other situations, as needed. This site provides information
on the operating permits program that EPA administers, which is called
the part 71 program. The federal regulations that govern this program are
found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 40
CFR part 71. EPA adopted these regulations to carry out the requirements
of title V
of the Clean Air Act, which require large sources and some smaller sources
of air pollution to obtain operating permits. Click here
for more detail on the rules that define which sources are required to
get title V permits.
This site is organized into sections on:
1. Basic information on the part 71 permit program
2. The part 71 program in Indian country
3. Public involvement
4. Forms used by part 71 sources
5. Statistics on permit issuance
6. Links to other relevant web sites
7. Links to part 71 permits
Basic information on the part 71 permit program
Part 71 permits are issued after a source has been constructed and has begun operating. They are designed to:
- Ensure that source operators, regulators and the public know what air
pollution control requirements apply to each facility, and
- Reduce violations of air pollution laws and regulations and improve
enforcement.
As of June 2004, EPA has issued part 71 permits only to sources in Indian country, so most of the information on this page is relevant to EPA's title V program in Indian country.
EPA is also authorized to issue part 71 permits to offshore sources
located on the Outer Continental Shelf and in some of the U.S. Territories.
If EPA has objected to a State, local or Tribal permit and the permitting
authority does not fix or correct the permit, EPA will issue a part
71 permit instead. Also, EPA will issue part 71 permits if a State
or local agency's part 70 program approval expires or is withdrawn.
In some cases when a State does not have approval of its part 70
program, EPA will delegate its authority to issue part 71 permits
to the State. These federal permits, although issued by the State,
must comply with the requirements of 40 CFR part 71.
Most part 71 sources were required to submit a permit application by
March 22, 2000. Permit applications must be sent to the appropriate EPA
Regional Office. The Regional Offices develop and issue part 71 permits.
To obtain a copy of the application or other documents related to a part
71 source, contact the appropriate EPA Regional
Office.
Part 71 sources submit permit fees with the initial application
and every year thereafter. Click here
(17KB PDF) for
the current per ton fee for part 71 sources. After a source gets
its part 71 permit, it is required to submit a monitoring report
every 6 months and an annual statement of its compliance status.
In the annual compliance statement, the permittee must certify
whether it has been in continuous compliance with each of its
applicable requirements. All reports and certifications submitted
by the permittee are available to the public upon request.
The part 71 program in Indian country
There are approximately 100 major sources in Indian country that are
subject to the part 71 program. Permits for these sources are issued by
EPA's Regional Offices.
Indian country includes:
(a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation (this term applies
not only to the territory traditionally know as reservations, but includes
Tribal trust lands) under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Government (including
land owned by non-Indians);
(b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the U.S.;
and
(c) all Indian allotments, as long as the Indian title has not been extinguished.
Indian Tribes are not required to develop Title V permit programs, although
EPA encourages them to do so. EPA expects that most Tribes will not develop
operating permit programs, in part due to the resources required to develop
a program and in part because for some Tribes it is not practical to develop
a program for just a small number of facilities. Within
Indian country, EPA will run a Title V program (called the Part
71 program) until Tribes receive approval to run their own programs.
This is consistent with EPA's Indian policy and it supports Tribal sovereignty.
For more information on the part 71 program in Indian country, click
here.
Public Involvement
We encourage the public to get involved with the part 71 permit process.
Members of the public can use the part 71 permit program to help ensure
that sources are complying with the requirements that apply to them. When
it enacted Title V, Congress recognized that public oversight can improve
compliance by industry. Title V gives the public 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 permits are
proposed. In each of these situations, the Regional Office will publish
a notice of the action it proposes to take on the permit application.
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;
- how to get 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.
- Keep track of whether facilities are complying with their permits,
by reviewing reports submitted by the source (such as semiannual
monitoring reports, annual compliance certifications).
In addition, before the Regional Office drafts the part 71 permit, you
can:
- Establish a dialogue with the permit applicant and the Regional Office,
which gives them the benefit of your views in time to influence the first
draft of the permit.
- Get on the mailing list maintained by the Regional Office to receive
notice when a new permit is drafted.
- Review the relevant files (such as pre-construction permits, monitoring
reports, title V permit application, compliance history) at the Regional
Office. Talk with agency staff.
After a part 71 permit has been issued, you can:
- Track the permittee's compliance with its permit terms.
- Bring enforcement actions in court against facilities that don't comply
with their permits or talk to EPA about bringing an enforcement action.
- Appeal EPA-issued permits to the Environmental Appeals Board and the
federal courts.
Forms used by part 71 sources
Click here
for EPA's standard forms for part 71 sources.
Statistics on permit issuance
Most part 71 sources in Indian Country have been issued a part 71 permit.
However, there are some difficult jurisdictional and boundary issues that
have slowed down permit issuance. Here are the most current statistics
on the Regional Offices' permit issuance rates.
Links to EPA regulations and policy
The part 71 regulations were finalized
on July 1, 1996, but they have been amended since that time.
- On October 22, 1997, EPA made changes to the monitoring and compliance
certification requirements for part 71 permits as part of its rule on
Compliance
Assurance Monitoring
- On February
19, 1999, part 71 was amended to change the approach to issuing
permits in Indian country.
- On June
3, 2002, EPA amended part 71 to change the approach to issuing
permits to sources located in areas where the EPA believed the source
was in Indian country, but the issue was still in question.
EPA has not issued much guidance on the part 71 program. Much of the
guidance on the part 70 program applies equally to the part 71 program.
A handy resource for locating EPA guidance is the Region
VII Searchable Database on Title V Policy and Guidance. Also, you
may want to check for guidance on the Office of Air and Radiation's Technology
Transfer Network (TTN).
Links to part 71 permits
Region 10 puts its draft
permits and final
issued permits on the web.
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