§ 55.6 - Permit requirements.

§ 55.6 Permit requirements.

(a) General provisions -

(1) Permit applications.

(i) The owner or operator of an OCS source shall submit to the Administrator or delegated agency all information necessary to perform any analysis or make any determination required under this section.

(ii) Any application submitted pursuant to this part by an OCS source shall include a description of all the requirements of this part and a description of how the source will comply with the applicable requirements. For identification purposes only, the application shall include a description of those requirements that have been proposed by EPA for incorporation into this part and that the applicant believes, after diligent research and inquiry, apply to the source.

(2) Exemptions.

(i) When an applicant submits any approval to construct or permit to operate application to the Administrator or delegated agency it shall include a request for exemption from compliance with any pollution control technology requirement that the applicant believes is technically infeasible or will cause an unreasonable threat to health and safety. The Administrator or delegated agency shall act on the request for exemption in accordance with the procedures established in § 55.7 of this part.

(ii) A final permit shall not be issued under this part until a final determination is made on any exemption request, including those appealed to the Administrator in accordance with § 55.7 of this part.

(3) Administrative procedures and public participation. The Administrator will follow the applicable procedures of 40 CFR part 71 or 40 CFR part 124 in processing applications under this part. When using 40 CFR part 124, the Administrator will follow the procedures used to issue Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) permits.

(4) Source obligation.

(i) Any owner or operator who constructs or operates an OCS source not in accordance with the application submitted pursuant to this part 55, or with any approval to construct or permit to operate, or any owner or operator of a source subject to the requirements of this part who commences construction after the effective date of this part without applying for and receiving approval under this part, shall be in violation of this part.

(ii) Any owner or operator of a new OCS source who commenced construction prior to the promulgation date of this rule shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (e) of this section.

(iii) Receipt of an approval to construct or a permit to operate from the Administrator or delegated agency shall not relieve any owner or operator of the responsibility to comply fully with the applicable provisions of any other requirements under Federal law.

(iv) The owner or operator of an OCS source to whom the approval to construct or permit to operate is issued under this part shall notify all other owners and operators, contractors, and the subsequent owners and operators associated with emissions from the source, of the conditions of the permit issued under this part.

(5) Delegation of authority. If the Administrator delegates any of the authority to implement and enforce the requirements of this section, the following provisions shall apply:

(i) The applicant shall send a copy of any permit application required by this section to the Administrator through the EPA Regional Office at the same time as the application is submitted to the delegated agency.

(ii) The delegated agency shall send a copy of any public comment notice required under this section or §§ 55.13 or 55.14 to the Administrator through the EPA Regional Office.

(iii) The delegated agency shall send a copy of any preliminary determination and final permit action required under this section or §§ 55.13 or 55.14 to the Administrator through the EPA Regional Office at the time of the determination and shall make available to the Administrator any materials used in making the determination.

(b) Preconstruction requirements for OCS sources located within 25 miles of States' seaward boundaries.

(1) No OCS source to which the requirements of §§ 55.13 or 55.14 of this part apply shall begin actual construction after the effective date of this part without a permit that requires the OCS source to meet those requirements.

(2) Any permit application required under this part shall not be submitted until the Administrator has determined whether a consistency update is necessary, pursuant to § 55.12 of this part, and, if the Administrator finds an update to be necessary, has published a proposed consistency update.

(3) The applicant may be required to obtain more than one preconstruction permit, if necessitated by partial delegation of this part or by the requirements of this section and §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part.

(4) An approval to construct shall become invalid if construction is not commenced within 18 months after receipt of such approval, if construction is discontinued for a period of 18 months or more, or if construction is not completed within a reasonable time. The 18-month period may be extended upon a showing satisfactory to the Administrator or the delegated agency that an extension is justified. Sources obtaining extensions are subject to all new or interim requirements and a reassessment of the applicable control technology when the extension is granted. This requirement shall not supersede a more stringent requirement under §§ § 55.13 or § 55.14 of this part.

(5) Any preconstruction permit issued to a new OCS source or modification shall remain in effect until it expires under paragraph (b)(4) of this section or is rescinded under the applicable requirements incorporated in §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part.

(6) Whenever any proposed OCS source or modification to an existing OCS source is subject to action by a Federal agency that might necessitate preparation of an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321), review by the Administrator conducted pursuant to this section shall be coordinated with the environmental reviews under that Act to the extent feasible and reasonable.

(7) The Administrator or delegated agency and the applicant shall provide written notice of any permit application from a source, the emissions from which may affect a Class I area, to the Federal Land Manager charged with direct responsibility for management of any lands within the Class I area. Such notification shall include a copy of all information contained in the permit application and shall be given within 30 days of receipt of the application and at least 60 days prior to any public hearing on the preconstruction permit.

(8) Modification of existing sources. The preconstruction requirements above shall not apply to a particular modification, as defined in § 55.13 or § 55.14 of this part, of an existing OCS source if:

(i) The modification is necessary to comply with this part, and no other physical change or change in the method of operation is made in conjunction with the modification;

(ii) The modification is made within 24 months of promulgation of this part; and

(iii) The modification does not result in an increase, in excess of any de minimis levels contained in the applicable requirements of §§ 55.13 and 55.14, of potential emissions or actual hourly emissions of a pollutant regulated under the Act.

(9) Compliance plans. Sources intending to perform modifications that meet all of the criteria of paragraph (b)(8) of this section shall submit a compliance plan to the Administrator or delegated agency prior to performing the modification. The compliance shall describe the schedule and method the source will use to comply with the applicable OCS requirements within 24 months of the promulgation date of this part and shall include a request for any exemptions from compliance with a pollution control technology requirement that the applicant believes is technically infeasible or will cause an unreasonable threat to health and safety. The Administrator or delegated agency shall act on the request for exemption in accordance with the procedures established in § 55.7 of this part.

(i) The Administrator or delegated agency shall review the compliance plan and provide written comments to the source within 45 days of receipt of such plan. The source shall provide a written response to such comments as required by the reviewing agency.

(ii) Receipt and review of a compliance plan by the Administrator or delegated agency shall not relieve any owner or operator of an existing OCS source of the responsibility to comply fully with the applicable requirements of §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part within 24 months of promulgation of this part.

(c) Operating permit requirements for sources located within 25 miles of States' seaward boundaries.

(1) All applicable operating permit requirements listed in this section and incorporated into §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part shall apply to OCS sources.

(2) The Administrator or delegated agency shall not issue a permit to operate to any existing OCS source that has not demonstrated compliance with all the applicable requirements of this part.

(3) If the COA does not have an operating permits program approved pursuant to 40 CFR part 70 or if EPA has determined that the COA is not adequately implementing an approved program, the applicable requirements of 40 CFR part 71, the Federal operating permits program, shall apply to the OCS sources. The applicable requirements of 40 CFR part 71 will be implemented and enforced by the Administrator. The Administrator may delegate the authority to implement and enforce all or part of a Federal operating permits program to a State pursuant to § 55.11 of this part.

(d) Permit requirements for sources located beyond 25 miles of States' seaward boundaries.

(1) OCS sources located beyond 25 miles of States' seaward boundaries shall be subject to the permitting requirements set forth in this section and § 55.13 of this part.

(2) The Administrator or delegated agency shall not issue a permit-to-operate to any existing OCS source that has not demonstrated compliance with all the applicable requirements of this part.

(e) Permit requirements for new sources that commenced construction prior to September 4, 1992 -

(1) Applicability. § 55.6(e) applies to a new OCS source, as defined by section 328 of the Act, that commenced construction before September 4, 1992.

(2) A source subject to § 55.6(e) shall comply with the following requirements:

(i) By October 5, 1992, the owner or operator of the source shall submit a transitional permit application (“TPA”) to the Administrator or the delegated agency. The TPA shall include the following:

(A) The information specified in §§ 55.4(b)(1) through § 55.4(b)(9) of this part;

(B) A list of all requirements applicable to the source under this part;

(C) A request for exemption from compliance with any control technology requirement that the applicant believes is technically infeasible or will cause an unreasonable threat to health and safety;

(D) An air quality screening analysis demonstrating whether the source has or is expected in the future to cause or contribute to a violation of any applicable State or Federal ambient air quality standard or exceed any applicable increment. If no air quality analysis is required by the applicable requirements of §§ 55.13 and 55.14, this requirement does not apply;

(E) Documentation that source emissions are currently being offset, or will be offset if the source has not commenced operation, at the ratio required under this part, and documentation that those offsets meet or will meet the requirements of this part; and

(F) A description of how the source is complying with the applicable requirements of §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part, including emission levels and corresponding control measures, including Best Available Control Technology (“BACT”) or Lowest Achievable Emission Rates (“LAER”), but excluding the requirements to have valid permits.

(ii) The source shall expeditiously complete its permit application in compliance with the schedule determined by the Administrator or delegated agency.

(iii) The source shall comply with all applicable requirements of this part except for the requirements of paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this section. The source shall comply with the control technology requirements (such as BACT or LAER) set forth in the TPA that would be applicable if the source had a valid permit.

(iv) Any owner or operator subject to this subsection who continues to construct or operate an OCS source thirty days from promulgation of this part without submitting a TPA, or continues to construct or operate an OCS source not in accordance with the TPA submitted pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, or constructs or operates an OCS source not in accordance with the schedule determined by the permitting authority, shall be in violation of this part.

(3) Upon the submittal of a permit application deemed to be complete by the permitting authority, the owner or operator of the source shall be subject to the permitting requirements of §§ 55.13 and 55.14 of this part that apply subsequent to the submission of a complete permit application. When a source receives the permit or permits required under this part, its TPA shall expire.

(4) Until the date that a source subject to this subsection receives the permit or permits required under this part, that source shall cease operation if, based on projected or actual emissions, the permitting authority determines that the source is currently or may in the future cause or contribute to a violation of a State or Federal ambient air quality standard or exceed any applicable increment.

[57 FR 40806, Sept. 4, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 34228, July 1, 1996; 62 FR 46409, Sept. 2, 1997; 81 FR 71630, Oct. 18, 2016]