There is still time to apply for a Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit (FESOP). Also known as a "synthetic minor" air permit, this simplified air quality compliance option could enable your composites manufacturing facility to avoid the more complex and restrictive Reinforced Plastic Composites Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) requirements imposed by the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). But you must act now: Only nine months remain until the April 21, 2006 compliance deadline. Completing the permit process can take six to eight months. Facilities seeking hazardous air pollutant (HAP) synthetic minor status must obtain a final permit before April 21, 2006 because once a facility becomes subject to MACT, the facility is always subject to MACT.

Open molding facilities will derive the greatest benefit from synthetic minor permits, because they are subject to more NESHAP compliance requirements than closed-molding operations. If an open molder can demonstrate that its emissions stay below HAP major source thresholds, it can drastically simplify compliance by complying with a synthetic minor permit in lieu of NESHAP requirements.

A synthetic minor permit limits HAP emissions to less than the major source threshold imposed by MACT. A facility may obtain a FESOP if its actual HAP emissions are less than the HAP major source threshold and its potential HAP emissions are greater than the threshold. For HAPs, the major source threshold is the potential to emit at least 10 tons per year (tpy) of any single HAP or 25 tpy of all HAPs combined. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), potential emissions must be calculated assuming that the facility is operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The only way to reduce potential emissions is to obtain federally enforceable emission restrictions via a federally enforceable permit (such as a FESOP or Title V operating permit) or a federally enforceable regulation, such as a volatile organic compound (VOC) state regulation that is part of an EPA-approved state implementation plan.

There is one case in which FESOPs are not needed when potential HAP emissions exceed major source thresholds. Composite parts manufacturers with very low resin and gel coat usage rates are exempt from NESHAP requirements. If the total usage of styrene-containing resin and gel coat (combined) is less than 1.2 tpy, a facility is automatically exempt from the composites NESHAP.

If you determine that a synthetic minor permit is advantageous, then your goal is to obtain the least restrictive synthetic minor permit. Your facility should seek a permit that 1) caps emissions at the HAP major source thresholds (if possible), and 2) minimizes all other requirements. At the very least, the permitting authority will require your facility to demonstrate that actual emissions do not exceed the permit's limits. The permit will include recordkeeping and reporting requirements designed to demonstrate compliance with the new permit's emission limits.

In addition, the synthetic minor permit will include several pages of boilerplate language. Each permitting agency has its own list of provisions regarding inspections, fees, permit modification and renewal procedures, noncompliance reporting procedures and legal provisions. As with Title V operating permits for major sources, this language is designed to notify synthetic minor facilities of all state and federal requirements that already apply to the facility. Well-written permits will provide the state or federal regulatory citation for each requirement.

Your facility should ensure that the synthetic minor permit clearly identifies and distinguishes between federally enforceable requirements and state-only requirements. When state-only requirements form the basis for the facility's limit on potential-to-emit, the resulting emission limits must be identified as federally enforceable provisions. For example, a permit issued to a hot tub manufacturer by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection restricts emissions of a single HAP to 9.9 tpy and emissions of combined HAPs to 9.9 tpy. The 9.9-tpy combined HAP limit imposed by the Florida rule is more restrictive than the limit required under the federal 25-tpy major source threshold. In this case, therefore, the FESOP turns a state-only requirement into a federally enforceable requirement.

Permits issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management take several different approaches. For one composite parts manufacturer, an 8.8-tpy styrene emission limit applies to the entire facility. However, to avoid monitoring or estimating emissions from insignificant activities, the facility is required to demonstrate that total emissions from the company's two significant styrene emission units do not exceed 7.2-tpy on a 12-month rolling basis. At another Indiana composites facility, facility-wide emissions are limited to below 10 tpy for a single HAP and below 25 tpy for combined HAPs.

There appears to be a disconnect between the basis for determining annual emissions when comparing the definition of a HAP "major source" to frequently used FESOP requirements. As defined in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, a "major source" of HAPs is determined on a "per year" basis. Typically, this type of emission trigger has been interpreted as the potential to emit during a calendar year. Consequently, it seems reasonable that FESOP provisions would require that compliance demonstrations be determined on a calendar year basis. However, many FESOPs require facilities to demonstrate compliance with synthetic minor emission limits on a 12-month rolling basis. In effect, the 12-month rolling compliance demonstrations included in the reinforced plastic composites NESHAP are bleeding into FESOPs.

Remember, the advantage of a FESOP lies in avoiding NESHAP requirements. If your permitting authority proposes 12-month rolling compliance demonstrations, ask the agency for the underlying state or federal requirement and point out that NESHAP requirements do not apply to your facility (that is the whole idea behind obtaining a FESOP). Aside from the extra recordkeeping and reporting work involved with 12-month rolling emission tallies, this compliance basis puts a facility at risk for more enforcement actions.

A good FESOP minimizes compliance requirements and allows maximum operational flexibility to the composites facility. However, the procedure for quantifying emissions should be clearly explained and should either specify emission factors or identify the resource from which emission factors can be obtained. Specifically, the permit should identify 1) insignificant emission units that will be excluded from emission calculations, 2) emission units to be included in the calculation, 3) emission control equipment and control factors and 4) emission calculation equations. With this detailed information, the facility can produce reliable figures for total emissions. Typically, permits will require facilities to maintain monthly purchase records for HAP-containing resins, gel coats and solvents, as well as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each of these materials. In best-case scenarios, facilities will submit emission and compliance reports once a year. However, some permitting authorities require more frequent reporting.

To begin the FESOP process, you can obtain a FESOP application form by either calling your air quality permitting authority or visiting that agency's Web site. Many state and some regional EPA office Web sites post online examples of synthetic minor permits for composite parts manufacturers. Although the information-gathering process for the application may seem daunting, don't be deterred. If you miss out on obtaining a FESOP, your facility will go through an even more complex permitting process to obtain a Title V operating permit (assuming that you do not already have one).