New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Chapter III - AIR RESOURCES
Subchapter A - PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF AIR CONTAMINATION AND AIR POLLUTION
Part 201 - Permits And Registrations
Subpart 201-3 - PERMIT EXEMPT AND TRIVIAL ACTIVITIES
Section 201-3.3 - Trivial activities

Universal Citation: 6 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 201-3.3

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, March 26, 2025

(a) The owner or operator of an emission source or activity that is listed as being trivial in this sectio n m a y be required to certify that it is operated within the specific criteria described in this Subpart. The owner or operator of any such emission source or activity must maintain all required records on-site for a pe rio d o f f ive years and make them available to representatives of the department upon request.

(b) The owner or operator of any emission source or activity that is listed as being trivial in this section shall operate and maintain the emission source and any associated emissions controls in a manner consistent with manufacturer's specifications and good engineering practices. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of this Part.

(c) The category headings used in the following listing of trivial activities are strictly for organizational purposes and are not intended to be definitive. The following activities are trivial and are exempt from permitting requirements and do not need to be included in the title V facility permit application:

Combustion

(1) Boiler water treatment operations.

Domestic / Work Station Comfort and Related

(2) Any emission source or process constructed or operated at a domestic residence strictly for domestic use.

(3) Vacuum cleaning systems used exclusively for office type areas at industrial facilities, or commercial or residential housekeeping.

(4) Ventilating systems used exclusively for temperature and humidity control of buildings for the comfort of people living or working within the building except those systems which are subject to applicable requirements under title VI of the act.

(5) Exhaust systems for the storage of portable containers, drums, and bags of chemicals in rooms, buildings and warehouses, subject to the following:
(i) the rooms, buildings and warehouses subject to this exemption are solely for the purpose of chemical storage, and no mixing, transfer or filling operations with the exception of sampling for quality assurance/quality control purposes, take place within such areas; and

(ii) the chemicals stored in such areas are maintained in sealed containers.

(6) Smoking rooms and areas.

(7) Bathroom/toilet vents.

(8) Beauty salons, nail salons, and barber shops.

(9) Laundry dryers, extractors, or tumblers used to clean fabrics with water solutions of bleach and detergents, where the emissions of such operations are controlled by appropriate emission control devices.

Mobile Sources and Mobile Source Related

(10) Engine exhaust emissions and/or refueling emissions generated from mobile and portable powered vehicles and equipment used for the propulsion or operation of passengers and/or freight transportation vehicles, marine vehicles and equipment, construction and vehicles and equipment powered by non- road engines, farm vehicles and equipment, competition and entertainment vehicles and equipment, and/or any other type of mobile or portable engine powered vehicles or equipment when these vehicles or equipment are operated anywhere outside of an enclosed facility for the purpose of their design and intended use or f or compliance assessment with any safety or emission control or inspection programs sanctioned by New York State, the Federal government or any governmental entity empowered to carry out such activities.

(11) Engine exhaust emissions and/or refueling emissions generated from mobile and portable powered vehicles and equipment such as competition and entertainment vehicles and equipment, farm vehicles and equipment, construction and vehicles and equipment powered by non-road engines, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, marine vehicles and equipment, small engine powered tools and equipment, or any other type of mobile or portable engine powered vehicles or equipment which are collected and/or vented in any manner to the outdoor atmosphere when these vehicles and equipment are operated inside of an enclosed structure or under a covered structure for the purposes of their design and intended us e, p ub lic safety, comfort or entertainment, facility maintenance, vehicle or equipment repair, adjustment or testing, or compliance assessment with any safety or emission control or inspection programs sanctioned by New York State, the Federal government, or any governmental entity empowered to carry out such activities.

(12) The use of products such as antifreeze and fuel additives for the purpose of maintaining motor vehicles.

(13) Fugitive emissions related to movement of passenger vehicles, provided the emissions are not counted for applicability purposes and any required fugitive dust control plan or its equivalent is submitted.

Agricultural

(14) Ventilating systems used in buildings to house animals.

Commercial - Food Service Industries

(15) Emissions from process, exhaust or ventilating systems in bakeries and restaurants which derive over 50 percent of their revenues from retail sales on premises.

(16) Non-conveyorized bakery ovens, including batch ovens, which are defined as a non-conveyor b e lt oven operating a single baking cycle in which a determinate amount of product is cooked at one baking.

(17) Bakery ovens used exclusively to produce baked goods leavened chemically in the absence of yeast.

(18) Process or exhaust or ventilating systems involved in the preparation of food, food blanching or cooking in water.

(19) Process, exhaust or ventilating systems or stationary combustion installations exclusively involved in the production of maple syrup.

Commercial - Graphic Arts

(20) Lead melting pots used in printing establishments.

(21) Blueprint machines.

(22) Photocopying, photographic processing or related equipment.

(23) Proof press operations.

(24) Heat sealing operations which are used to seal and separate polyethylene and polypropylene bags.

Commercial - Other

(25) Batch process kilns used for firing ceramic ware, subject to the following:
(i) the exhaust stream does not contain emissions of fluorides, lead, and/or beryllium; and

(ii) the total heat input is less than one million Btu/hr.

Municipal/Public Health Related

(26) Equipment used exclusively to generate ozone for water treatment processes.

(27) Air stripping processes utilized on public drinking water supplies.

(28) Su b -slab depressurization systems that are not installed or operated as a remedial system for soil or groundwater contamination.

(29) Remedial systems used to remediate soil and groundwater contamination that are required under the provisions of an order on consent or stipulation agreement, operated under the supervision of the department, and are properly controlled as required by the department.

(30) Air strippers and monitoring wells operated for test purposes to q u alif y a n d quantify air emissions for remediation projects where such operations do not exceed a time perio d that is acceptable to the department.

(31) Emissions from the storage and application of road salt (calcium chloride or sodium chloride).

(32) All process emission sources which are located at private, public, or vocational education institutions, where the emissions are primarily the result of teaching and training exercises, and the institution is not engaged in the manufacture of products for commercial sale.

(33) Emergency relief vents, stacks and ventilating systems except any with the potential to emit vinyl chloride located at a facility where ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride and/or polyvinyl chloride are produced. This activity does not include bypass stacks or vents on incinerators or any other equipment, or any other vents or stacks that operate or release air contaminants to the outdoor atmosphere on a frequent or regular basis.

(34) Snow plowing, street sweeping, sanding and ashing of streets and roads to abate traffic hazards.

(35) Emergency road flares.

(36) Road and lot paving and striping operations.

(37) Public or private roadways, parking lots.

(38) Manhole covers.

(39) Sewers.

(40) Storm drains and vents.

(41) Solid waste handling equipment, including but not limited to: dumpsters, transfer stations, wood chippers, recycling operations, composting operations, and associated activities. This activity does not include solid waste incinerators and other thermal treatment technologies, scrap metal and automotive shredding operations, or construction and demolition waste crushers.

(42) Excavation for the repair of underground utility lines such as water, electric, or natural gas.

(43) Asbestos demolition and removal work subject to 40 CFR part 61, subpart M and/or 12 NYCRR Part 56.

Storage Vessels

(44) Storage vessels, tanks and containers with a capacity of less than 750 gallons.

Maintenance and Construction Related Activities

(45) The following activities are considered trivial when they occur strictly for maintenance or construction activities: plastic pipe welding, soldering, brazing, cutting torches, janitorial activities, steam cleaning, water washing, acid and caustic washing activities, miscellaneous use of solvents, adhesives and caulking, miscellaneous sandblasting, non-asbestos insulation removal, application of refractory and insulation, the periodic use of air for clean-up, the process of demolition and rebricking boilers, smelters, furnaces and kilns (this does not include the subsequent operation of such equipment), the surface coating of equipment and buildings as is related to maintenance and construction, and activities which occur for maintenance of grounds such as lawn care, weed control and pest control.

(46) Excavation for new construction.

Industrial

(47) Degreasing units which exclusively use non-hazardous air pollutant acids.

(48) Degreasing units which exclusively use caustics (e.g., potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide).

(49) Remote reservoir parts cleaners whose use of solvent is contained to the immediate cleaning of the part, after which time the solvent is drained through a drain opening, not to exceed 16 square inches, and is returned to a remote reservoir containing the solvent.

(50) 'Reserved'.

(51) Cold cleaning degreasers with an internal volume less than or equal to two gallons.

(52) Hand-held or manually operated equipment used for buffing, polishing, carving, cutting, drilling, machining, routing, sanding, sawing, surface grinding, sand blasting or turning ceramic art work, ceramic precision parts, leather, metal parts, plastics, fiberboard, fiberglass, masonry, carbon, glass, graphite, wood or rubber.

(53) Manual surface coating/painting processes which exclusively use brushes, rollers, hand helds pray guns with a capacity less than three ounces, or aerosol cans.

(54) Hand-held or manually operated welding, brazing and soldering equipment.

(55) Acetylene, butane, and propane torches.

(56) Equipment used for hydraulic or hydrostatic testing.

(57) Equipment lubricating systems, including metal cutting coolants and oils.

(58) Pneumatic starters used to start reciprocating engines, turbines, and other equipment.

(59) Instrument air systems, excluding fuel-fired compressors.

(60) Air vents from air compressors and pneumatically operated equipment emitting ambient air.

(61) Drum washing operations, where such operations are necessary to meet Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) standards.

(62) Vacuum producing devices where only ambient air and the oil emissions from the vacuum producing mechanism itself are exhausted.

(63) Woodworking operations provided such operations exhaust to a sawdust collection system controlled by an appropriate emission control device. This activity does not include surface coating operations.

(64) Sawmills, provided all processes are located at least 500 feet from any recreational area, school, or private residence and all residues from debarking, planing, sawing, etc., are contained in such a manner as to minimize fugitive emissions.

(65) Equipment used to mix and package soaps, vegetable oil, grease, animal fat, and nonvolatile aqueous salt solutions, provided appropriate lids and covers are utilized.

(66) Drop hammers or hydraulic presses for forging or metalworking.

(67) Transportable chemical containers including rail cars, portable tanks, totes and trailers.

Miscellaneous

(68) Open fires as defined in Part 215 of this Title.

(69) Fire training activities as allowed under Part 215 of this Title.

(70) Fire suppression systems.

(71) Fecal incinerators with a charging rate not exceeding 10 pounds per hour, such as those used on certain vehicles or other special cases.

(72) Paint mixing operations located at retail paint, hardware or department stores where the paint is sold in five gallon or smaller containers.

(73) Rifle and pistol ranges.

(74) Aircraft de-icing operations.

(75) Contaminant detectors, sampling devices and recorders.

(76) Emissions from natural gas odoring activities.

(77) Battery charging areas except those located at battery manufacturing plants.

(78) Incubators.

(79) The venting of compressed natural gas, butane or propane gas cylinders.

(80) Coal car thaw-pit burners.

(81) Use of office equipment and products including, but not limited to, desktop printers, fax machines, scanners and photocopiers used as printers, but not including graphic arts processes as defined in Part 234 of this Title.

(82) Consumer use of paper trimmers/binders.

(83) Blacksmith forges.

(84) Laser and plasma cutters and trimmers using appropriate emissions control devices that do not emit hazardous air pollutants.

(85) 'Reserved'.

(86) Environmental chambers not using hazardous air pollutant gases.

(87) Shock chambers.

(88) Humidity chambers.

(89) Solar simulators.

(90) Process water filtration systems and demineralizers.

(91) Demineralized water tanks and demineralizer vents.

(92) Steam leaks.

(93) Steam vents.

(94) Emissions of water vapor, oxygen, nitrogen, inert gases such as argon, helium, neon, krypton and xenon, hydrogen, ethane, and trace constituents included in raw materials where the constituents are less than 1 percent by weight for any regulated air pollutant, or 0.1 percent by weight for any carcinogen listed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Fourteenth Report on Carcinogens (2016) (see Table 1, Section 200.9 of this Title).

(95) Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, except where specifically regulated by a Federal or State law or regulation.

(96) Solvent cleaning of parts and equipment performed exclusively by hand wiping or hand cleaning unless such cleaning reaches the applicability criteria of Subpart 226-2 of this Title.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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