Tribal Minor New Source Review

On this page:

• New Source Review Preconstruction Permitting
• Tribal New Source Review Rule 
• Tribal Minor NSR Rule Facility Registration 
• Applying for Site-Specific Tribal Minor NSR Rule Permits
• General Permits
• Permits by Rule
• Regulation of Minor Source Construction Under Federal Implementation Plans 

New Source Review Preconstruction Permitting

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that the states and EPA adopt and implement programs to regulate the construction of stationary sources of air pollution as necessary to assure compliance with ambient air quality standards. One of these programs is called New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction air permitting. NSR requires facility (i.e., source) owners to obtain air permits before building new and/or expanding existing sources to: (1) ensure that air quality is not significantly degraded from the addition of new and modified sources such as factories, industrial boilers and power plants and (2) assure people that any large new or modified sources in their neighborhoods will be as clean as possible, and that advances in pollution control occur concurrently with industrial expansion.

NSR air permits are legal documents that the facility owners/operators must abide by and specify what air emission limits must be met, and may contain conditions on how often the source must be operated. Main pollutants regulated under the NSR air permitting program include those for which the EPA has written National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS): Ozone (O₃), Carbon Monoxide (CO₂), Particular Matter (PM), Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂), Lead (Pb), and Nitrogen Oxide (NO_x) and a few other regulated NSR pollutants (e.g., sulfuric acid mist and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)). Air emissions from the construction of some minor sources of air pollution may be regulated without the need for these sources to obtain individual air permits. See more information about those authorizations later on in this webpage. 

Tribal New Source Review Rule 

On July 1, 2011 EPA finalized the Review of New Sources and Modifications in Indian Country rule, comprised of two sets of regulations, to regulate construction and protect air quality in Indian country. The first set of regulations, known as the Tribal Minor NSR Rule and which is the focus of this webpage, established the minor NSR preconstruction permitting requirements for new or modified sources located in Indian country.  A source must apply for a permit if its emissions of one or more regulated NSR pollutants are lower than the applicable major source thresholds (generally below 100 or 250 tons per year (tpy) of air emissions of one or more regulated NSR pollutants) and equal to or higher than the minor NSR thresholds shown below: 

Regulated NSR pollutant	Minor NSR Thresholds for Non-Attainment Areas (tpy)	Minor NSR Thresholds for Attainment Areas (tpy)
Carbon monoxide (CO)	5	10
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)	5b	10
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)	5	10
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)	2b	5
PM	5	10
PM10	1	5
PM2.5	0.6	3
Lead	0.1	0.1
Fluorides	NA	1
Sulfuric acid mist	NA	2
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)	NA	2
Total reduced sulfur (including H2S)	NA	2
Reduced sulfur compounds (including H2S)	NA	2
Municipal waste combustor emissions	NA	2
Municipal solid waste landfill emissions (measured as nonmethane organic compounds)	NA	10

^a If part of a tribe's area of Indian country is designated as attainment and another part as nonattainment, the applicable threshold for a proposed facility or modification is determined based on the designation where the facility would be located. If the facility straddles the two areas, the more stringent thresholds apply.

^b In extreme ozone nonattainment areas, section 182(e)(2) of the Act specifies that any change at a major facility that results in any increase in emissions is subject to permitting. In other words, any changes to existing major facilities in extreme ozone nonattainment areas must comply with a "0" tpy threshold, but that threshold does not apply to minor facilities.

Examples of minor sources include dry cleaners, gas stations and autobody shops. Minor NSR permits prevent the construction of sources that would interfere with attainment or maintenance of a NAAQS or violate the air pollution control strategy in areas not attaining the NAAQS. Also, minor NSR permits can contain permit conditions to limit the facilities emissions to avoid major NSR permitting under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program that applies to areas attaining the NAAQS or the nonattainment NSR (NNSR) program that applies in areas not attaining the NAAQS. 

The second set  of  regulations, known as the Tribal Nonattainment NSR rule, established the major NSR preconstruction permitting requirements for new and modified sources located in areas in Indian country not attaining the NAAQS with projected emissions at or above the major NNSR threshold, which is generally 100 tpy.

Please visit the following webpage for a compilation of all Tribal NSR related air permitting regulations issued to date.

Tribal New Source Review Facility Registration

The 2011 final rule established a one time registration program for existing true minor sources operating in Tribal lands to improve the Tribal source emissions inventory. The EPA has maintained the registration system past the original March 1, 2013 registration deadline to register sources if they failed to register on time. In addition, a source may still register when it has updated facility emissions estimates due to a modification at the source that did not trigger the minor NSR air permitting requirements. A source owner should contact the respective EPA Regional Office (i.e., permitting authority) to determine if this registration process applies to the source. 

To register a source:

• Submit Registration Form for Existing Sources, Form REG to the applicable  EPA Regional Office.  

  • Tribal Registration Emissions Calculators are available to estimate a source's emissions for the following source categories: gas stations, dry cleaning operations, auto body shops,  sawmills, landfill operations, hot-mix asphalt plants, concrete batch plants, printing operations, rock crushing and stone processing operations, surface coating operations, degreasers/solvents/cleaners, industrial boilers, and stationary internal combustion engines.

  • If construction or modification of a source is subject to the Tribal NSR rule, the owner or operator of the source can use its permit application emissions information to fulfill the 2011 rule's registration requirement.  

  • For the Indian reservations in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington State subject to the Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR) registration requirement under 40 CFR 49.138, the air emissions information being collected under the FARR can fulfill the Tribal Minor NSR rule registration requirements.

Applying for Site-Specific Tribal Minor NSR Rule Permits

If a source, other than those described in other sections of this webpage, has air emissions equal to or higher than the minor NSR thresholds shown above, but below the applicable major NSR thresholds, the source is subject to the minor NSR permitting program and must apply for one of the following site-specific permit types. 

Please note that: (1) these permit application forms must be submitted to the EPA Regional Office corresponding to the state where the facility is or will be located and (2) we discourage the submittal of information claimed to be confidential business information (CBI) if it is not germane to the approval of the requested permit. However, if a permit applicant deems it necessary to submit CBI, the permit applicant must also submit a claim of confidentiality in accordance with 40 CFR part 2, subpart B and for any electronic submittals indicate in the subject line of the email, as well as in any body text, that the email contains information subject to a CBI claim.

Permit or Authorization Type		Definition	Permit Application or Authorization Form
True Minor Permits		Issued for a source that emits or has the potential to emit (PTE) regulated NSR pollutants in amounts that are less than the applicable major source thresholds, but equal to or greater than the corresponding minor NSR thresholds without the need to use an enforceable restriction to reduce its PTE to such levels.	Submit the New Source Application Form, Form NEW, to the applicable EPA Regional Office. *Application not needed for emissions units and activities listed in 40 CFR 49.153(c).
Minor Modifications at an Existing Major Source Permits		Issued when a major source undergoes a modification with emissions above the minor NSR thresholds, but below the applicable major source thresholds.	Submit the New Source application form, Form NEW, to the applicable EPA Regional Office.
Synthetic Minor Permits		Issued for a source that has the potential to emit pollutants in amounts that are at or above major source thresholds, but has voluntarily accepted emission limits so that its potential emissions are below those thresholds, allowing the facility to avoid PSD, NNSR, Title V Operating Permits and Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) standards.	Submit the Synthetic Minor application form, Form SYN, to the applicable EPA Regional Office.

General Permits and Permits by Rule  

To streamline the NSR permitting process for minor sources located in Indian County, EPA developed General Permits (GP) and Permits by Rule (PBR) for selected source categories. These general permits and permits by rule establish standard requirements to control air emissions from sources that have similar characteristics.

General Permits

Individual sources that qualify may submit a Request for Coverage and be granted approval to be covered by an applicable general permit in lieu of obtaining a site-specific permit (i.e. true minor permit, minor modification at an existing major source permit or synthetic minor permit).

The following table provides background information, instructions on how to submit forms to establish coverage under a general permit, questionnaires on the applicability of a particular general permit to an individual source and potential to emit emissions calculators for each general permit developed to date. The table also includes the Request for Coverage form for each general permit and a copy of each general permit developed to date.

Source Category	Background Information	Instructions	Questionnaire  & PTE Calculator	Request for Coverage Forms	General Permit
Boilers and Emergency Engines GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Concrete Batch Plants GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Graphic Arts & Printing Operations GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Hot Mix Asphalt Plants GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Sawmill Facilities GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Stationary Compression Ignition Engines GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Stationary Spark Ignition Engines GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit
Stone Quarrying, Crushing and Screening Facilities GP	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Request for Coverage	General Permit

Permits by Rule

Sources to which a permit by rule applies may submit a Notification of Coverage (NoC) and do not need to wait for EPA approval of such form to begin construction.

The following table provides background information, instructions on how to submit the Notification of Coverage form for a permit by rule, questionnaires on the applicability of a particular permit by rule to an individual source and potential to emit emissions calculators for each permit by rule developed to date. The table also includes the Notification of Coverage form for each permit by rule developed to date.

Source Category	Background Information	Instructions	Questionnaire  & PTE Calculator	Notification of Coverage (NoC) Form
Autobody Repair and Miscellaneous Surfacing Coating Operations	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Notification of Coverage
Gasoline Dispensing Facilities	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	CA: NoC  Rest of USA: NoC
Petroleum Dry Cleaning Facilities PBR	Background	Instructions	Questionnaire PTE Calc.	Notification of Coverage

Regulation of Minor Source Construction Under Federal Implementation Plans 

Oil and Natural Gas Production and Natural Gas Processing Federal Implementation Plan

In May 2016, the EPA finalized a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) that regulates the construction of smaller oil and natural gas (O&NG) production and natural gas processing facilities located in Indian County. Sources subject to this FIP do not have to obtain site-specific permits or establish coverage under a general permit or permit by rule if subject to the Tribal Minor NSR rule.  Therefore, if an oil and natural gas source is subject to this rule, the facility must submit the following forms:

• Submit Part 1 form to the applicable EPA Regional Office. In the Part 1 form the source provides initial emissions estimates in tpy and screening procedures documentation to satisfy the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) as required by 40 CFR 49.104. See the document titled: "Procedures to Address Threatened and Endangered Species and Historic Properties"  for more information on how to fulfill these screening requirements.
• Submit Part 2 form to the applicable EPA Regional Office within 60 days after startup of production with tpy actual emissions data and production information normally determined through emissions testing at the source.