5 Common Problems Associated With Title V Applicability

Your facility falls under the Title V program if it exceeds any of the pollutant thresholds covered in our previous post. The most common Title V problem we see is the simplest: the facility didn't know it was subject to Title V in the first place. Here are the five we run into most, and how to avoid each one.

1. Inaccurate emissions inventory

A facility can get inadvertently pulled into the Title V program if it submits an emissions inventory with errors that result in the actual emissions being more than the major source threshold. Such over-reporting can cause your facility to become subject to Title V — without your knowing. Solution: To avoid this, check your calculations carefully, then check them again, so you don't exceed a major source threshold by mistake.

2. Ignorance of the threshold

Even if your calculations are correct and you do exceed the major source threshold, you'll likely be fine, but only if you file your Title V permit application on time. Some facilities aren't aware of the threshold at all, so they miss the deadline or never file. Solution: You need to be aware that if your facility exceeds any of the major source thresholds, then you must submit an initial Title V application in a “timely manner.” Appoint a staff member to stay on top of regulations and make sure they have access to the facility’s most recent data.

3. Production increases

Your facility might not currently be subject to Title V, but that might not always be the case. That's because one criterion for inclusion in the Title V Program is actual emissions. If your emissions increase, you could suddenly fall within the purview of Title V compliance. We often see this situation when there’s a production increase, additional equipment is purchased, or when there are significant changes to an existing process Solution: Production growth and new equipment are normal, so plan for the compliance side of them. Know the thresholds (see point 2), and before you expand, confirm you can meet and afford any new regulations the change triggers. If you can't, you may need to hold production or leave the existing equipment as is.

4. Missing the deadline

In our last post, we outlined the five criteria that can cause a facility to become subject to Title V. Once you learn that you meet one of these criteria, you need to submit an initial Title V application in a timely manner. However, “timely manner” can mean one of two things. If the SCAQMD has already notified you that you must now comply with Title V, you have 90 days to submit a permit application from the time you were notified. (The deadline is usually in the notification letter you receive.) If you have not been notified by the SCAQMD, then you have 180 days from the time your facility became subject to Title V. If not, you’ll likely get a notice of violation (NOV), or at the very least, a notice to comply (NTC). Solution: File the application without delay.

5. Amendments to NSPS or NESHAP

Your applicability can also change when a New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) or National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulation is amended and your facility suddenly needs a Title V permit. Given how often regulations change, this can happen without warning, and no agency will notify you. Tracking it is on you. Solution: Put someone in charge of tracking rule amendments and emission increases, so you catch a change in your Title V applicability before the agency does.

About Grant T. Aguinaldo, PhD

Grant provides techno-economic-regulatory modeling, analysis, and decision support on §45Z, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and the decarbonization of the economy. He also leads air permitting projects across all of California's major air districts and in other states across the U.S. He is a Lead Verifier for California GHG and LCFS, and Washington GHG.