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Region 7's Part 71 Program for Indian Country
EPA has promulgated regulations setting forth its approach for issuing Federal operating permits to covered stationary sources of air pollution in Indian country. EPA will administer a Part 71 program and issue Federal operating permits within Indian country unless a Tribal or State part 70 program has been explicitly approved for the area. The EPA will administer the program within Indian country even where a Tribe has not established its authority to regulate air resources within the same area.
Currently in Region 7, no Tribal or State part 70 programs have been explicitly approved for sources in Indian country. Therefore, the Region will be administering the program in all Indian country in Region 7.
Entities subject to this operating permit rule are stationary sources that (1) are located in Indian country and (2) are major sources under title I, § 112, or § 302 of the CAA; affected sources under title IV of the CAA (acid rain sources); solid waste incineration units required to obtain a permit under section 129 of the CAA; and sources subject to a standard under § 111 or 112 of the CAA, except for those area sources that have been exempted or deferred from title V permitting requirements.
To determine whether your facility is subject to this rule, you should carefully examine the rule's applicability criteria in 40 CFR § 71.3(a), the definition of "Indian country" in 40 CFR § 71.2, and the provisions of 40 CFR § 71.4. Indian country means "all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation, (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state, and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same." Also note that on March 7, 1999, EPA issued a memorandum addressing its policy regarding title V permitting for smaller air pollution sources in Indian country. Under this policy, EPA would treat a source as nonmajor for the purposes of the Federal part 71 program if it keeps records to show that its actual emissions are below 50 percent of the potential to emit thresholds for major source status. This would mean that if the source is not otherwise subject to title V, EPA would not require it to apply for a permit or to pay part 71 permit fees.
Note that the effective date of the part 71 program triggers new requirements for Indian country sources under § 112(g) of the Clean Air Act. Regulations governing the 112(g) program are found at 40 CFR part 63, subpart B. The program applies to major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAP), which are not yet subject to a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard or are not yet on the list of source categories for which EPA will develop MACT standards. The regulations require that such facilities obtain a notice of MACT approval (similar to a preconstruction permit) from EPA prior to construction or reconstruction.
Part 71 application forms are available at http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/permits/p71forms.html.The following links could also be useful:
