EPA's Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule May Require Title V Air Permits for Many Commercial Facilities

If you work for a hospital or manage a large apartment building or large commercial space that has not been subject to the Clean Air Act (CAA) Title V permitting requirements, you may be subject to new requirements as EPA continues to move forward with regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Though the purpose of EPA's proposed "Tailoring Rule" published in the Federal Register, October 27, 2009 (674 Fed. Reg. 55292), is to limit the applicability of the Title V permit requirements (as well as the Best Available Control Technology requirements) to those sources that emit at least 25,000 tons per year of CO2(e) (a weighted measure of six GHGs expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents). At that level of emissions, EPA expects that large commercial facilities – like hospitals, nursing homes, large retail and apartment complexes – will be subject to these permit and technology forcing requirements for the first time. The cost of complying with these CAA requirements can be quite extensive.

EPA has invited comment on the proposed rule and the effect of these new requirements. One of the areas where EPA has requested public comment is the proposed regulatory threshold level. EPA considered setting the threshold as high as 100,000 tpy CO2(e), which would exempt most commercial facilities. EPA also invited comments on its consideration of incentives rather than permits to encourage reduction of GHGs by improving energy efficiency.

Renewable fuels producers may also want to comment to request that biogenic emissions be excluded from the emissions which count for triggering the CO2(e) threshold as they were in the final mandatory GHG Reporting Rule which is effective December 29, 2009. (See 74 Fed. Reg. 56260-01.)