New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 2 - AIR QUALITY (STATEWIDE)
Part 70 - OPERATING PERMITS
Section 20.2.70.302 - PERMIT CONTENT

Universal Citation: 20 NM Admin Code 20.2.70.302

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A. Permit conditions.

(1) The department shall specify conditions upon a permit, including emission limitations and sufficient operational requirements and limitations, to assure compliance with all applicable requirements at the time of permit issuance or as specified in the approved schedule of compliance. The permit shall:
(a) for major sources, include all applicable requirements for all relevant emissions units in the major source;

(b) for any non-major source subject to 20.2.70.200 NMAC - 20.2.70.299 NMAC, include all applicable requirements which apply to emissions units that cause the source to be subject to this part;

(c) specify and reference the origin of and authority for each term or condition, and identify any difference in form as compared to the applicable requirement upon which the term or condition is based;

(d) include a severability clause to ensure the continued validity of the various permit requirements in the event of a challenge to any portions of the permit;

(e) include a provision to ensure that the permittee pays fees to the department consistent with the fee schedule in 20.2.71 NMAC (Operating Permit Emission Fees); and

(f) for purposes of the permit shield, identify any requirement specifically identified in the permit application or significant permit modification that the department has determined is not applicable to the source, and state the basis for any such determination.

(2) Each permit issued shall, additionally, include provisions stating the following.
(a) The permittee shall comply with all terms and conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance is grounds for enforcement action. In addition, noncompliance with federally enforceable permit conditions constitutes a violation of the federal act.

(b) It shall not be a defense for a permittee in an enforcement action that it would have been necessary to halt or reduce the permitted activity in order to maintain compliance with the conditions of the permit.

(c) The permit may be modified, reopened and revised, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause in accordance with 20.2.70.405 NMAC.

(d) The filing of a request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, or of a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance shall not stay any permit condition.

(e) The permit does not convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.

(f) Within the period specified by the department, the permittee shall furnish any information that the department may request in writing to determine whether cause exists for reopening and revising, revoking and reissuing, or termination of the permit or to determine compliance with the permit. Upon request, the permittee shall also furnish to the department copies of records required by the permit to be maintained.

(3) The terms and conditions for all alternative operating scenarios identified in the application and approved by the department:
(a) shall require that the permittee maintain a log at the permitted facility which documents, contemporaneously with any change from one operating scenario to another, the scenario under which the facility is operating; and

(b) shall, for each such alternative scenario, meet all applicable requirements and the requirements of this part.

(4) The department may impose conditions regulating emissions during startup and shutdown.

(5) All permit terms and conditions which are required under the federal act or under any of its applicable requirements, including any provisions designed to limit a source's potential to emit, are enforceable by the administrator and citizens under the federal act. The permit shall specifically designate as not being federally enforceable under the federal act any terms or conditions included in the permit that are not required under the federal act or under any of its applicable requirements.

(6) The issuance of a permit, or the filing or approval of a compliance plan, does not relieve any person from civil or criminal liability for failure to comply with the provisions of the Air Quality Control Act, the federal act, federal regulations thereunder, any applicable regulations of the board, and any other applicable law or regulation.

(7) The department may include part or all of the contents of the application as terms and conditions of the permit or permit modification. The department shall not apply permit terms and conditions upon emissions of regulated pollutants for which there are no applicable requirements, unless the source is major for that pollutant.

(8) Fugitive emissions from a source shall be included in the operating permit in the same manner as stack emissions, regardless of whether the source category in question is included in the list of sources contained in the definition of major source.

(9) The acid rain portion of operating permits for acid rain sources shall additionally:
(a) state that, where an applicable requirement of the federal act is more stringent than an applicable requirement of regulations promulgated under Title IV of the federal act, both provisions shall be incorporated into the permit and shall be enforceable by the administrator; and

(b) contain a permit condition prohibiting emissions exceeding any allowances that the acid rain source lawfully holds under Title IV of the federal act or the regulations promulgated thereunder; no permit modification under this part shall be required for increases in emissions that are authorized by allowances acquired pursuant to the acid rain program, provided that such increases do not require a permit modification under any other applicable requirement; no limit shall be placed on the number of allowances held by the acid rain source; the permittee may not use allowances as a defense to noncompliance with any other applicable requirement; any such allowance shall be accounted for according to the procedures established in regulations promulgated under Title IV of the federal act.

B. Permit duration. The department shall issue operating permits for a fixed term of five (5) years.

C. Monitoring.

(1) Each permit shall contain all emissions monitoring requirements, and analysis procedures or test methods, required to assure and verify compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and applicable requirements, including any procedures and methods promulgated by the administrator.

(2) Where the applicable requirement does not require periodic testing or instrumental or noninstrumental monitoring (which may consist of recordkeeping designed to serve as monitoring), the permit shall require periodic monitoring sufficient to yield reliable data from the relevant time period that are representative of the source's compliance with the permit, as reported pursuant to Subsection E of 20.2.70.302 NMAC. Such monitoring requirements shall assure use of terms, test methods, units, averaging periods, and other statistical conventions consistent with the applicable requirement.

(3) The permit shall also contain specific requirements concerning the use, maintenance, and, when appropriate, installation of monitoring equipment or methods.

D. Recordkeeping.

(1) The permit shall require recordkeeping sufficient to assure and verify compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit, including recordkeeping of:
(a) the date, place as defined in the permit, and time of sampling or measurements;

(b) the date(s) analyses were performed;

(c) the company or entity that performed the analyses;

(d) the analytical techniques or methods used;

(e) the results of such analyses; and

(f) the operating conditions existing at the time of sampling or measurement.

(2) Records of all monitoring data and support information shall be retained for a period of at least five (5) years from the date of the monitoring sample, measurement, report, or application. Supporting information includes all calibration and maintenance records and all original strip-chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation, and copies of all reports required by the permit.

E. Reporting. The permit shall require reporting sufficient to assure and verify compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and all applicable requirements, including all of the following.

(1) Submittal of reports of any required monitoring at least every six (6) months. The reports shall be due to the department within forty-five (45) days of the end of the permittee's reporting period. All instances of deviations from permit requirements, including emergencies, must be clearly identified in such reports. All required reports must be certified by a responsible official consistent with Subsection E of 20.2.70.300 NMAC.

(2) Prompt reporting of all deviations from permit requirements, including those attributable to upset conditions as defined in the permit, the probable cause of such deviations, and any corrective actions or preventive measures taken. The report shall be contained in the report submitted in accordance with the timeframe given in Paragraph (1) of this section.

(3) Submittal of compliance certification reports at least every twelve (12) months (or more frequently if so specified by an applicable requirement) certifying the source's compliance status with terms and conditions contained in the permit, including emission limitations, standards, or work practices. The reports shall be due to the department within thirty (30) days of the end of the permittee's reporting period. Such compliance certifications shall be submitted to the administrator as well as to the department and shall include:
(a) the identification of each term or condition of the permit that is the basis of the certification;

(b) the compliance status of the source;

(c) whether compliance was continuous or intermittent;

(d) the method(s) used for determining the compliance status of the source, currently and during the reporting period identified in the permit; and

(e) such other facts as the department may require to determine the compliance status of the source.

(4) Such additional provisions as may be specified by the administrator to determine the compliance status of the source.

F. Portable and temporary sources. The department may issue permits for portable and temporary sources which allow such sources to relocate without undergoing a permit modification. Such permits shall not apply to acid rain sources and shall include conditions to assure that:

(1) the source is installed at all locations in a manner conforming with the permit;

(2) the source shall comply with all applicable requirements and all other provisions of this part at all authorized locations;

(3) the owner or operator shall notify the department in writing at least fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of each change in location;

(4) notification shall include a legal description of where the source is to be relocated and how long it will be located there; and

(5) emissions from the source shall not, at any location, result in or contribute to an exceedance of a national ambient air quality standard or increment or visibility requirement under Part C of Title I of the federal act; the department may require dispersion modeling to assure compliance at any location.

G. Compliance. To assure and verify compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and with this part, permits shall also include all the following.

(1) Require that, upon presentation of credentials and other documents as may be required by law, the permittee shall allow authorized representatives of the department to perform the following:
(a) enter upon the permittee's premises where a source is located or emission related activity is conducted, or where records must be kept under the conditions of the permit;

(b) have access to and copy any records that must be kept under the conditions of the permit;

(c) inspect any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and air pollution control equipment), practices, or operations regulated or required under the permit; and

(d) sample or monitor any substances or parameters for the purpose of assuring compliance with the permit or applicable requirements or as otherwise authorized by the federal act.

(2) Require that sources required under Paragraph (11) of Subsection D of 20.2.70.300 NMAC to have a schedule of compliance submit progress reports to the department at least semiannually, or more frequently if specified in the applicable requirement or by the department. Such progress reports shall be consistent with the schedule of compliance and requirements of Paragraph (11) of Subsection D of 20.2.70.300 NMAC and shall contain:
(a) dates for achieving the activities, milestones, or compliance required in the schedule of compliance, and dates when such activities, milestones or compliance were achieved; and

(b) an explanation of why any dates in the schedule of compliance were not or will not be met, and any preventive or corrective measures adopted.

(3) Include such other provisions as the department may require.

H. Operational flexibility.

(1) Section 502(b)(10) changes.
(a) The permittee may make Section 502(b)(10) changes, as defined in 20.2.70.7 NMAC, without applying for a permit modification, if those changes are not title I modifications and the changes do not cause the facility to exceed the emissions allowable under the permit (whether expressed as a rate of emissions or in terms of total emissions).

(b) For each such change, the permittee shall provide written notification to the department and the administrator at least seven (7) days in advance of the proposed changes. Such notification shall include a brief description of the change within the permitted facility, the date on which the change will occur, any change in emissions, and any permit term or condition that is no longer applicable as a result of the change.

(c) The permittee and department shall attach each such notice to their copy of the relevant permit.

(d) If the written notification and the change qualify under this provision, the permittee is not required to comply with the permit terms and conditions it has identified that restrict the change. If the change does not qualify under this provision, the original terms of the permit remain fully enforceable.

(2) Emissions trading within a facility.
(a) The department shall, if an applicant requests it, issue permits that contain terms and conditions allowing for the trading of emissions increases and decreases in the permitted facility solely for the purpose of complying with a federally enforceable emissions cap that is established in the permit in addition to any applicable requirements. Such terms and conditions shall include all terms and conditions required under 20.2.70.302 NMAC to determine compliance. If applicable requirements apply to the requested emissions trading, permit conditions shall be issued only to the extent that the applicable requirements provide for trading such increases and decreases without a case-by-case approval.

(b) The applicant shall include in the application proposed replicable procedures and permit terms that ensure the emissions trades are quantifiable and enforceable. The department shall not include in the emissions trading provisions any emissions units for which emissions are not quantifiable or for which there are no replicable procedures to enforce the emissions trades. The permit shall require compliance with all applicable requirements.

(c) For each such change, the permittee shall provide written notification to the department and the administrator at least seven (7) days in advance of the proposed changes. Such notification shall state when the change will occur and shall describe the changes in emissions that will result and how these increases and decreases in emissions will comply with the terms and conditions of the permit.

(d) The permittee and department shall attach each such notice to their copy of the relevant permit.

I. Off-permit changes.

(1) Permittees are allowed to make, without a permit modification, changes that are not addressed or prohibited by the operating permit, if:
(a) each such change meets all applicable requirements and shall not violate any existing permit term or condition;

(b) such changes are not subject to any requirements under Title IV of the federal act and are not Title I modifications;

(c) such changes are not subject to permit modification procedures under 20.2.70.404 NMAC; and

(d) the permittee provides contemporaneous written notice to the department and US EPA of each such change, except for changes that qualify as insignificant activities. Such written notice shall describe each such change, including the date, any change in emissions, pollutants emitted and any applicable requirement that would apply as a result of the change.

(2) The permittee shall keep a record describing changes made at the source that result in emissions of a regulated air pollutant subject to an applicable requirement, but not otherwise regulated under the permit, and the emissions resulting from those changes.

J. Permit shield.

(1) Except as provided in this part, the department shall expressly include in a Part 70 (20.2.70 NMAC) permit a provision stating that compliance with the conditions of the permit shall be deemed compliance with any applicable requirements as of the date of permit issuance, provided that:
(a) such applicable requirements are included and are specifically identified in the permit; or

(b) the department, in acting on the permit application or significant permit modification, determines in writing that other requirements specifically identified are not applicable to the source, and the permit includes the determination or a concise summary thereof.

(2) A Part 70 (20.2.70 NMAC) permit that does not expressly state that a permit shield exists for a specific provision shall be presumed not to provide such a shield for that provision.

(3) Nothing in this section or in any Part 70 (20.2.70 NMAC) permit shall alter or affect the following:
(a) the provisions of Section 303 of the federal act -- Emergency Powers, including the authority of the administrator under that section, or the provisions of the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act, Section 74-2-10 NMSA 1978;

(b) the liability of an owner or operator of a source for any violation of applicable requirements prior to or at the time of permit issuance;

(c) the applicable requirements of the acid rain program, consistent with Section 408(a) of the federal act; or

(d) the ability of US EPA to obtain information from a source pursuant to Section 114 of the federal act, or the department to obtain information subject to the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act, Section 74-2-13 NMSA 1978.

(4) The permit shield shall remain in effect if the permit terms and conditions are extended past the expiration date of the permit pursuant to Subsection D of 20.2.70.400 NMAC.

(5) The permit shield shall extend to terms and conditions that allow emission increases and decreases as part of emissions trading within a facility pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subsection H of 20.2.70.302 NMAC, and to all terms and conditions under each operating scenario included pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of 20.2.70.302 NMAC.

(6) The permit shield shall not extend to administrative amendments under Subsection A of 20.2.70.404 NMAC, to minor permit modifications under Subsection B of 20.2.70.404 NMAC, to Section 502(b)(10) changes under Paragraph (1) of Subsection H of 20.2.70.302 NMAC, or to permit terms or conditions for which notice has been given to reopen or revoke all or part under 20.2.70.405 NMAC.

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