What is the Operating Permit Program?
In 1990, Congress created, under Title V of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), an operating permit program. The operating permit program requires all air pollution control requirements to be incorporated into a single document that applies to a source’s everyday activities. Each state was required to submit a state Title V permitting program for EPA approval. All Region I (New England) state programs currently have approval that allows them to issue permits.
Each year in the United States, industrial operations emit nearly 100 million tons of pollutants into the air. These include pollutants that make breathing difficult, form urban smog, impair visibility, and attack ecosystems. Some of these pollutants also cause cancer or other serious health effects. Among the many pollutants emitted into the air each year are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, mercury, and dioxin. Many of the sources of this air pollution are large facilities, such as petroleum refineries and chemical plants, that can have literally thousands of potential emission points. Finding common-sense solutions to reduce this air pollution is a constant challenge to local communities and federal, state, and tribal governments. In 1990, Congress established one such innovative program under Title V of the Clean Air Act Amendments. The operating permit program streamlines the way federal, state, tribal, and local authorities regulate air pollution by co
