Operating Permit Application Guidance

New sources subject to the operating permit requirements must submit their application within 12 months of becoming subject to the requirements of Subchapter X of the Regulations. Whereas construction permits are good for the life of the project (provided no modifications are made), the operating permit must be renewed every five years to incorporate any new requirements that may have been adopted in the interim.  The following documents provide guidance  to assist the applicant with completing  an Air Pollution Control Operating Permit. For new facilities applying for their first Operating Permit, follow the instructions listed below for an Initial Operating Permit. For existing facilities applying for a renewal of their operating permit, follow the instructions for Existing Operating Permits below.

• Initial Operating Permit Application Guidance/Requirements
• Initial Operating Permit Application Checklist 
• Renewal Operating Permit Guidance/Requirements
• Certification of Information Accuracy Page

What do I need to do to obtain an initial Operating Permit for a new facility?

Please submit the following information to the Permitting and Engineering Section. For those looking to renew an existing operating permit, please follow the instructions below for Operating Permit Renewal. Permit applications may be submitted electronically via email to: jay.hollingsworth@vermont.gov (note that any signed certification forms must be submitted as a .pdf with digital signature), or a hardcopy can be printed and mailed to the following address:

Vermont Air Quality and Climate Division
Attention Jay Hollingsworth - Permitting Section Chief
Davis Building - 4th Floor
One National Life Drive
Montpelier, VT 05620

1. Site Information
   1. Name of the source; owner and parent corporation; and operator, if different, as registered with the Secretary of State. Note: The AQCD cannot determine an application administratively complete unless the applicant has registered with the Secretary of State.
   2. Name, telephone number, and email of application contact(s).
   3. Location and layout of source.
      
      1. Physical location and mailing address, if different.
      2. Attach maps, sketches and drawings showing:
      3. A drawing which clearly shows the source's layout. Include building dimensions, location of equipment, location of exhaust stacks, etc. Include a north arrow.
      4. A drawing which clearly show the buildings' side profiles in relation to stack locations, etc. Include dimensions.
      5. A scaled engineering drawing describing the properties' plot plan. Identify all significant buildings, structures, other on-site uses, and roads. Include a north arrow, property boundaries, estimates of distances to property boundaries and a description of adjacent land uses.
      6. A U.S.G.S. topographical, town, or highway map depicting the source's location.
2. Operational Information
   
   1. Nature of Operation:
      1. Please provide a narrative description of the facility operations. Be sure to identify and include all individual processes or operations at the facility that may generate air pollution. Some common examples include combustion units (boilers, furnaces, diesel engines, waste oil furnaces, outdoor wood stoves but not motorized vehicles), occasional open burning, dust producing operations (woodworking operations including transfer and disposal of wood wastes, sandblasting, aggregate and other dust producing material handling, processing or transfer operations), solvent degreasing operations, painting and coating operations, printing operations, other evaporative operations or sources of fumes, potential odor producing operations, and volatile organic liquid storage tanks including fuel storage tanks.
      2. Please sketch a process flow diagram with arrows depicting emissions to the atmosphere.
      3. For multiple processes using common vents or stacks, please provide an additional sketch of the exhaust system(s) indicating the location of inlets and approximate distances, dimensions, and flow rates.
      4. Please provide the facilities' SIC code(s) and/or NAICS code(s)
   2. Equipment Specifications
      
      1. Please provide specifications and/or copies of manufacturer's literature for process equipment including maximum design and actual process rates and capacities (see our Source Categories Page for more information).
      2. Please provide specifications and/or copies of manufacture's literature for all air pollution control equipment.
      3. Please provide the following parameters for each vent or stack, if known:
         • Outlet Height
         • Internal Diameter
         • Flow Rate: actual cubic feet per minute & dry standard cubic feet per minute
         • Moisture Content of Exhaust Gas (% by volume)
         • Exhaust Gas Temperature at Outlet
         • Velocity at Outlet: feet per second
         • Static Pressure, if known: inches of water
         • Lack or presence of a rain cap on the stack. For more information, please see our Rain Guard Guidance page.
   3. Existing or Proposed Operating Limits
      
      1. Annual fuel caps, fuel types, fuel sulfur content (% by weight)
      2. Hourly operation (must be enforceable e.g., non-resettable meters installed, etc.)
      3. Raw material throughput or final product output caps
      4. Solvent or coating usage
      5. If applicable, existing permit limits
3. Quantification of Air Contaminant Emissions
   • Methods of estimating and quantifying emissions are described in Appendix L of the Division's Air Pollution Control Permitting Handbook. Please include fugitive emissions (dust, vapors, etc.). Attach all sample calculations and assumptions as an Appendix to the application. To assist applicants, the U.S. EPA compiles emission factors for most common air pollution generating equipment and operations in A Compilation of Air Pollution Emission Factors (AP-42).
4. Signed Certification of Information Accuracy Form

What do I need to do to renew an existing Operating Permit?

Applications may be sent to the Permitting and Engineering Section. Please note that operating permit renewal applications must be submitted to the AQCD at least 6 months prior to the expiration of the current Permit to Operate or request an extension prior to the deadline.

1. Cover Letter to Application Submittal
   1. The cover letter must include the current Air Pollution Control Number (#OP/#AOP-xx-xxx), and a summary of any minor changes at the Facility since issuance of the last permit. Please note that only minor changes can be approved in the renewal of the Permit to Operate. More substantive changes require a Permit to Construct approval, which must be obtained prior to making the modifications.
   2. Verify the name of the Facility as registered with the Secretary of State. Include any registered trade names the Facility may also operate under.
   3. Verify the name, telephone number, and email of application contact(s).
   4. Verify the corporate mailing address of the Facility on the front page of the Permit.
   5. Verify the physical 911 address of the Facility on the front page of the existing Permit.
2. Operational Information
   
   1. Nature of Operation and Minor Modifications:
      1. Provide a brief one or two paragraph description of the Facility and its operations, noting significant air pollution emitting activities, including (if any) minor modification to existing operations, and how these may or may not affect air emissions.
      2. Verify that all significant air pollution emitting equipment, operations and emission control devices at the Facility are identified and accurately described in paragraph (A) of the existing permit or are noted in the Technical Support Document written by the AQCD to accompany each permit.
   2. Permit Review and Certification of Compliance
      
      1. Review and verify the allowable air contaminant emissions summary in paragraph (D) of the existing permit and the emission calculations on which those emissions are based in the Technical Support Document.
      2. Review and verify applicable requirements tables for both state and federal regulations in paragraph (F) of the existing permit.
      3. Provide a "Certification of Compliance" with the conditions in the existing operating permit that pertain to construction of equipment specifications, operational limitations, emissions limitations, and compliance testing and monitoring conditions. An example of a Certification of Compliance can be found in the Renewal Operating Permit Guidance document.
   3. Hazardous Air Contaminant Review
      
      1. Verify that all hazardous air contaminant from regulated operations at the Facility are below their respective Action Level or are currently addresses under a Hazardous Most Stringent Emission Rate determination as noted in paragraph (G) of the existing permit. If an HMSER has previously been determined, the application must include an evaluation of the feasibility of further emission reductions.
3. Signed Certification of Information Accuracy Form