Virginia Law

A. Minor permit modification procedures shall be used only for those permit modifications that:

1. Do not violate any applicable requirement;

2. Do not involve significant changes to existing monitoring, reporting, or record keeping requirements in the permit such as a change to the method of monitoring to be used, a change to the method of demonstrating compliance or a relaxation of reporting or record keeping requirements;

3. Do not require or change a case-by-case determination of an emission limitation or other standard, or a source-specific determination for temporary sources of ambient impacts, or a visibility or increment analysis;

4. Do not seek to establish or change a permit term or condition for which there is no corresponding underlying applicable federal requirement and that the source has assumed to avoid an applicable federal requirement to which the source would otherwise be subject. Such terms and conditions include:

a. A federally enforceable emissions cap assumed to avoid classification as a Title I modification; and

b. An alternative emissions limit approved pursuant to regulations promulgated under § 112(i)(5) of the federal Clean Air Act;

5. Are not Title I modifications; and

6. Are not required to be processed as a significant modification under 9VAC5-80-230 or as an administrative permit amendment under 9VAC5-80-200.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section and 9VAC5-80-220 A, minor permit modification procedures may be used for permit modifications involving the use of economic incentives, marketable permits, emissions trading, and other similar approaches, to the extent that such minor permit modification procedures are explicitly provided for in the Regulations for the Control and Abatement of Air Pollution or a federally approved program.

C. An application requesting the use of minor permit modification procedures shall meet the requirements of 9VAC5-80-90 for the modification proposed and shall include all of the following:

1. A description of the change, the emissions resulting from the change, and any new applicable federal requirements that will apply if the change occurs.

2. A suggested draft permit prepared by the applicant.

3. Certification by a responsible official, consistent with 9VAC5-80-80 G, that the proposed modification meets the criteria for use of minor permit modification procedures and a request that such procedures be used.

D. Within five working days of receipt of a permit modification application that meets the requirements of subsection C of this section, the department shall meet its obligation under 9VAC5-80-290 A 1 and B 1 to notify the administrator and affected states of the requested permit modification. The department shall promptly send any notice required under 9VAC5-80-290 B 2 to the administrator. The public participation requirements of 9VAC5-80-270 shall not extend to minor permit modifications.

E. The timetable for issuance of permit modifications shall be follows:

1. The department may not issue a final permit modification until after the administrator's 45-day review period or until the administrator has notified the department that he will not object to issuance of the permit modification, whichever occurs first, although the department can approve the permit modification prior to that time.

2. Within 90 days of receipt by the department of an application under minor permit modification procedures or 15 days after the end of the 45-day review period under 9VAC5-80-290 C, whichever is later, the department shall do one of the following:

a. Issue the permit modification as proposed.

b. Deny the permit modification application.

c. Determine that the requested modification does not meet the minor permit modification criteria and should be reviewed under the significant modification procedures.

d. Revise the draft permit modification and transmit to the administrator the new proposed permit modification as required by 9VAC5-80-290 A.

F. The following requirements apply with respect to the ability of an owner to make minor permit modification changes:

1. The owner may make the change proposed in the minor permit modification application immediately after the application is filed.

2. After the change under subdivision 1 of this subsection is made, and until the department takes any of the actions specified in subsection E of this section, the source shall comply with both the applicable federal requirements governing the change and the proposed permit terms and conditions.

3. During the time period specified in subdivision 2 of this subsection, the owner need not comply with the existing permit terms and conditions he seeks to modify. However, if the owner fails to comply with the proposed permit terms and conditions during this time period, the existing permit terms and conditions he seeks to modify may be enforced against him.

G. The permit shield under 9VAC5-80-140 shall not extend to minor permit modifications.