Ohio Code 3704.037 – Tiered permitting system for air contaminant sources – petition for exemption
(A) The director of environmental protection shall formulate and implement a tiered permitting system for air contaminant sources that categorizes, prioritizes, and expedites review of, and final action on, applications for installation permits and operating permits issued pursuant to divisions (F) and (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, respectively. The tiered permitting system shall include at least exemptions, registration status, permits-by-rule, and general permits. The director may issue general permits to install and permits to operate, and permits-by-rule, containing terms and conditions that apply to types of air contaminant sources specified by the director that have sufficiently similar characteristics to warrant substantially identical installation permits and operating permits.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3704.037
- Air contaminant: means particulate matter, dust, fumes, gas, mist, radionuclides, smoke, vapor, or odorous substances, or any combination thereof, but does not mean emissions from agricultural production activities, as defined in section 929. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- Ambient air: means that portion of the atmosphere outside of buildings and other enclosures, stacks, or ducts that surrounds human, plant, or animal life or property. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- emission: means the release into the ambient air of an air contaminant. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- Hazardous air pollutant: means any pollutant listed under section 112(b) of the federal Clean Air Act. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Person: means the federal government or any agency thereof, the state or any agency thereof, any political subdivision or any agency thereof, or any public or private corporation, individual, partnership, or other entity. See Ohio Code 3704.01
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B) Any person may petition the director to exempt a certain source category from obtaining an installation permit or operating permit pursuant to division (F) or (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, respectively, or both. The petition shall contain all of the technical support necessary to justify the exemption, including the estimated emissions levels, the impact on air quality including the impact of any hazardous or toxic emission, and the effect that granting the exemption would have on ambient air quality standards. Sources regulated by the United States environmental protection agency under the new source performance standards or the hazardous air pollutant standards established pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act are not eligible for exemption through petition.
Not later than one hundred eighty days after receiving a petition, the director shall notify the petitioner in writing if the petition has been accepted or rejected and, if rejected, the basis of the rejection. At least once every two years, the director shall propose rules containing the exemptions that have been accepted through the petition process.