22.3.1 Overview
If you are building a new facility or if you are making certain additions or modifications to an existing facility, you may require an air construction permit (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 60) regardless of whether the facility has an air operating permit. The following changes typically require an air construction permit:
- Addition of an operation that emits pollutants (i.e., an air emissions source).
- Increasing the rate of an operation that emits pollutants
- Debottlenecking: increasing the operating rate of a unit without modifying the unit, but instead removing a capacity limitation on an associated unit
22.3.2 Impact on Facilities
The air permit application preparation can take weeks to months once the final project design is complete. It can take 90 to 180 days or longer to receive an air construction permit from the environmental regulatory agency after submittal of the application. Although the regulations vary from state to state, the air construction permit regulations generally prohibit or limit construction activities before air construction permit issuance. Section 22.12.2 addresses allowable activities prior to receipt of an air construction permit.
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