EPA turns focus on compliance certifications

Every Title V permit issued pursuant to the Clean Air Act must contain a requirement for an annual or semi-annual compliance certification. EPA has recently urged state and local regulatory agencies to review facilities’ compliance certification statements with scrutiny.

Fully understanding how difficult it is to meet 100% compliance at a complex facility, EPA enforcement officials are trained to focus on facilities that claim 100% compliance on a regular basis. EPA’s logic is that the facility may have filed the certification without due diligence.

To complicate the issue, some Title V permits may not accurately represent the plant operations. Unless these permit conditions are clarified and/or amended, a simple “full compliance” certification may be legally dangerous to the responsible official.

Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations are complicated and many facilities overlook the importance of a systematic assessment of the Title V compliance program. It is important to know that compliance less than 100% does not necessarily trigger enforcement. Following is a recommended approach before the annual certification should be ready for signature:

• develop a detailed matrix of Title V requirements as an aid for personnel responsible for environmental issues in compliance fulfillment.
• create forms for documenting emission exceedances, exceedance explanations, and steps taken to correct such deviations.
• educate facility personnel on methods for complying with permit conditions and properly completing deviation reports.
• document that missing a monitoring and recordkeeping requirement does not indicate emission exceedence.
• explain any non-compliance issues in the best possible light.

If you have any questions regarding CAA compliance at your facility, please contact Sam Joshi at (215) 389-2811.