Air pollution: stationary sources: best available control technology.

"?>Existing law authorizes air districts to establish a permit system to require, with specified exceptions, that a person obtain a permit before constructing or operating any article, machine, equipment, or contrivance that may cause the issuance of air contaminants. Existing law prohibits an air district from issuing a permit to a Title V source, as defined, if the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency objects to its issuance, as specified.

Existing law requires each district with moderate, serious, or severe air pollution to include certain measures in its plan to attain state ambient air quality standards, including the use of best available control technology for any new or modified stationary source, and the use of best available retrofit control technology for all existing stationary sources, under certain circumstances, as prescribed. Under the federal Clean Air Act, a new or modified major stationary source is required to meet various requirements in order to obtain a permit to operate, including a requirement that the source employs best available control technology on its emission-emitting equipment.

This bill would establish definitions for the terms "best available control technology" and "best available retrofit control technology" for purposes of the laws governing air pollution and would set forth various requirements for the determination of best available control technology.

The bill would require an air district to submit a proposed permit for a Title V source to the executive officer of the state board. The bill would require the executive officer to review the permit and, if the executive officer determines that the permit does not comply with the federal Clean Air Act or state law governing air pollution, to object to the issuance of that permit. If the executive officer objects to the issuance of a permit, the bill would prohibit the air district from finalizing that permit without revising it to address the objection to the satisfaction of the executive officer. The bill would also authorize any person to petition the executive officer to object to a proposed Title V permit within 30 days of the executive officer's receipt of the proposed permit, as specified.

The bill would require an applicant for a renewal of a Title V permit to submit a technical feasibility analysis to the air district as part of its application for the renewal of that permit if the facility's current effective operating permit includes equipment or control apparatus that meets certain criteria. The bill would require an air district to require best available retrofit control technology to be applied at each piece of equipment or source category identified in the technical feasibility analysis and would authorize an air district to impose measures more stringent than those proposed by the applicant, as specified.

(2) Existing law requires the state board to implement a program to assist air districts to improve efficiencies in the issuance of permits and requires that program to include a process to precertify simple, commonly used equipment and processes as being in compliance with air quality rules and regulations, to expedite permitting of air pollution sources. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the precertification program to involve other state and local regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over other environmental media.

This bill would revise the precertification program including by requiring the state board to update criteria and guidelines for precertification at least once every 8 years. The bill would authorize the precertification program to include the identification of equipment, controls, fuels, and processes, as specified. As part of the precertification program, the bill would authorize the state board to prescribe rules to establish a voluntary program for the temporary assignment or loan of employees within an agency, or between agencies or jurisdictions, including air districts, on a limited-term basis, to enable the state to obtain expertise needed to meet a compelling program need.

The bill would authorize the California Environmental Protection Agency to expand the precertification program to involve other state and local regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over other environmental media.

(3) Existing law requires every air district, except as provided, to establish a program to provide for the expedited review of permits. Existing law requires that expedited permit system to include, among other things, a precertification program for equipment that is mass-produced and operated by numerous sources under the same or similar conditions and a training and certification program for private sector personnel, as specified.

This bill would eliminate the requirement that the expedited permit system include a precertification program established by the applicable air district. The bill would instead require the expedited permit system to include an expedited permit review pathway for permit applications that propose to use equipment and processes identified through the state board's precertification program described above, as specified. The bill would also eliminate the requirement that the expedited permit system include a training and certification program and would instead require the publication of online training resources for private sector personnel that explain expedited permitting pathways.

(4) Existing law requires the state board to establish and maintain a statewide clearinghouse that identifies the best available control technology and best available retrofit control technology for criteria air pollutants, and related technologies for the control of toxic air contaminants. When updating best available control technology determinations, existing law requires a district to use the information in the statewide clearinghouse.

This bill would require the state board to periodically issue determinations to suggest best available control technology, and best available retrofit control technology, for any class or category of sources and to establish best available control technology for the control of toxic air contaminants for any class or category of sources. The bill would authorize members of the public to petition the state board to issue a determination.

(5) Existing law authorizes the state board to appoint employees and prescribe their duties.

This bill would authorize the state board and any district to temporarily loan and assign staff members to each other, via a memorandum of agreement, for any lawful purpose.

(6) Existing law generally makes any violation of a rule or regulation of the state board or an air district relating to nonvehicular air pollution control a misdemeanor.

To the extent that the bill would expand the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(7) By expanding the duties of air districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(8) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.