502(b)(10) Changes
 

There are many changes that a source may make which qualify as a 502(b)(10) change.  Most of these changes will involve adding new equipment or adding new permit conditions.    Both of these can be accomplished through the 502(b)(10) permit amendment.

502(b)(10) changes technically do not modify the Title V permit.  Any new permit conditions are actually issued under the authority of Georgia's SIP construction and operating permit programs.  The following modifications do change the permit under the authority of Georgia's Title V operating permit program.

A 502(b)(10) change cannot include any of the following categories:

  1. A change that would contravene an existing federally enforceable monitoring, (including test methods) record keeping, reporting or compliance certification permit condition. If the change necessitates changing an existing permit condition for monitoring, record keeping, reporting, testing, or compliance certification, then it cannot qualify as a 502(b)(10) change. One way to avoid this is to include NEW permit conditions for the new equipment as opposed to amending the existing conditions. For example, if the existing permit requires the facility to monitor the pressure drop on three scrubbers and the change adds a new scrubber, a new condition could be added requiring pressure drop monitoring on the new scrubber instead of amending the existing condition to add the fourth scrubber. This method would qualify as a 502(b)(10) change.
  2. Exceedance of an allowable emission limit in a permit. If the Title V permit has an emissions cap for one or more pollutants on the entire facility or on part of the facility, and the change would result in emissions above that cap (and therefore necessitate an increase in the cap), it cannot be a 502(b)(10) change. Also if a source has a specific expressed emission limit (i.e., mass per unit time such as lb/hr or concentration such as gr/dscf) and that emission limit must be increased due to the change, it also cannot be a 502(b)(10) change.

A number of Georgia's emission standards are expressed as equations, such as rules (d) and (e). A change which is subject to an "equation" standard may result in increased emissions, but the standard itself does not change. There are other state and federal rules similar to this such as a percent sulfur limit or concentration limit. Changes that increase emissions, but do not result in changes to the emission limit likewise may qualify as a 502(b)(10) change. The addition of a new emission limit or standard that does not result in an exceedance of an allowable limit in a permit, may also qualify as a 502(b)(10) change. Increases in a production limit or a similar limit which effectively caps emissions from a source is the same as increasing an emissions cap and therefore would could not qualify as a 502(b)(10) change.

If the change involves changing a work practice standard, then the change would not qualify as a 502(b)(10) change.