New Source Review (NSR) Permitting

Regulated New Source Review (NSR) Pollutants

Date	Title	EPA Office	Author	Issues Addressed
05/01/1978	Applicability of Section 169 of the CAA (PSD) in Respect to the Control of Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions from New Geothermal Power Plants in California	SSCD	Reich, Edward	Concerns the applicability of the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) regulations to emissions of hydrogen sulfide from geothermal power plants.
04/02/2010	Reconsideration of Interpretation of Regulations that Determine Pollutants Covered by Clean Air Act Permitting Programs; Final Rule	Administrator	Jackson, Lisa	Federal Register notice of EPA’s final reconsideration of its interpretation of regulations that determine pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act permitting programs, which provides clarifying guidance on the scope of the phrase ‘‘subject to regulation’’ found within the definition of the PSD term ‘‘regulated NSR pollutant.’’ More specifically, speaks to when PSD and Title V permitting requirements will apply to GHG emissions.
12/18/2008	EPA's Interpretation of Regulations that Determine Pollutants Covered by Federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permit Program	Administrator	Johnson, Stephen	Establishes an interpretation clarifying the scope of the EPA regulation that determines the pollutants subject to the federal PSD program under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
08/05/1987	Implementation of Revised PSD Program for Particulate Matter	CPDD	Tyler, Darryl	Addresses the then-new PM-10 indicator for Particulate Matter NAAQS and points out the potential differences of applying it for sources that are subject to PSD review under EPA’s federal PSD regulations versus PSD rules in approved SIPs.
06/18/1986	Exemption of Dimethyl Acetamide (DMAC) from Regulation under PSD Review	Region 4	Miller, Bruce	Addresses the inclusion of dimethyl acetamide (DMAC) as an organic compound that is regulated under PSD.
10/23/1979	B.F. Goodrich - PSD Modification	SSCD	Reich, Edward	Addresses whether vinyl chloride and volatile organic compounds should be considered separate pollutants for purposes of PSD review.
04/08/1980	NSR Requirements for Lead	OAQPS	Rhoads, Richard	Provides guidance on including NSR requirements in lead SIPs.
07/31/1981	Policy Determinations Regarding PSD Questions	Region 4	Devine, Thomas	Addresses multiple PSD questions, including the addition of 7 compounds to the list of organic compounds of negligible photochemical reactivity and thus not considered VOCs, and the fact that some of the 7 compounds are proposed for regulation under the NSPS which will not make them a VOC but will otherwise make them a pollutant covered under PSD.
09/11/1986	Ozone Control Strategy - Regional Office Review of Potential in Improvements in New Source Review (NSR) Regulations	OAQPS	Helms, G. Tom	Addresses a number of issues in which State regulations are inconsistent with Federal NSR requirements – e.g., using VOC definitions that incorrectly exclude certain compounds, omitting specific enforceable criteria for offsets and netting, not using enforceable permit conditions to exempt sources from NSR – and discusses how fixing these problems could be considered a control measure under the ozone control strategy to minimize emissions increases that otherwise might result from new source growth.
06/29/1983	Exclusion of Exempt Solvents from VOC Calculations	OAQPS	Helms, G. Tom	Describes exclusion of certain exempt solvents for VOC calculations – specifically, those containing 1,1,1-trichloroethane and methylene chloride – and provides examples of calculations related to the VOC content of coatings with exempt solvents.
04/01/2010	PSD Permit Requirements and Applicability of New and Revised NAAQS	OAQPS	Page, Stephen	Describes when a new or revised NAAQS is applicable for NSR permitting purposes and provides specific guidance on the permitting applicability of the 2010 1-hour NO2 NAAQS.
05/04/1995	Clarification of Applicability of the PSD Regulations at 40 CFR 52.21 to Modifications at Major Stationary Sources that Increase Emissions of Noncriteria Air Pollutants	OAQPS	Seitz, John	Clarifies which organic chemicals are to be regulated as VOC in several new source performance standards (NSPS), and for the Magnetic Tape NESHAP that uses VOC as a surrogate for HAP.
07/24/2014	Next Steps and Preliminary Views on the Application of Clean Air Act Permitting Programs to Greenhouse Gases Following the Supreme Court's Decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency	OAR, OECA	McCabe, Janet and Giles, Cynthia	Explains how the EPA plans to implement a Supreme Court decision with respect to permit applications for GHG Tailoring Rule “Step 2” sources and modifications that were previously classified as major for PSD based solely on GHG emissions, and provides guidance in response to several questions regarding ongoing permitting requirements for Tailoring Rule “Step 1” sources (or “anyway sources”) and issues pertaining to GHG Step 2 sources.
12/19/2014	No Action Assurance Regarding EPA-Issued Step 2 Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permits and Related Title V Requirements Following Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency	OECA	Giles, Cynthia	Regards EPA’s plans to revise its rules to enable rescission of EPA-issued “Tailoring Rule Step 2” PSD greenhouse gas (GHG) permits and to exercise enforcement discretion for Step 2 permits and for related GHG terms and conditions contained in a source’s title V permit.

Return to Policy & Guidance Document Index

The “Relevant Guidance” index includes a collection of documents issued by EPA organized by topic area. These documents include memoranda, letters, orders, and other types of EPA actions that may provide guidance in one or more forms, such as an adjudication, statement of policy, interpretation of statutes or regulations, or technical information. Each collection is intended to be representative of EPA statements on the topic, but it may not be a complete listing of such statements. The collection does not reflect topic-specific statements that have been expressed by EPA though published rule preambles and Title V petition orders, nor does it include EAB decisions. Each document in the collection speaks for itself, and the inclusion or exclusion of a document in the collection is not intended by EPA to communicate anything more than what is expressed within each document. EPA makes no independent representations on this website as to the extent to which any document in the collection reflects EPA’s current views on the topic, is a final action by EPA, or has any legal effect or precedential weight. Readers are advised to review the documents in the collection and conduct their own assessment of such considerations based on the content of each document and other documents in the collection. Some of the information or views included in the documents may be affected by subsequent changes to the referenced statutory or regulatory language or by court decisions. In addition, many of the statements in these documents are based upon the federal regulations which may differ from rules that govern federally-approved programs. Permitting authorities are advised to consult with their EPA Regional Offices if there is a question as to the relevance of a particular statement to their NSR program.