The Emission Inventory for Georgia facilities is due to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) by June 30, 2019. This is for the mandatory reporting of facility emissions that occurred in calendar year 2018. This is part of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The NEI is developed during three-year cycle reporting periods, where all Title V (or Part 70) permitted sources will be required to report at least every third year. The other two years only comprise larger sources with greater emission potentials. The 2017 emission inventory required all Title V sources to report. The 2018 inventory due this year, and the 2019 inventory that will be due in 2020, is for the larger Title V sources only.
The NEI is a comprehensive and detailed estimate of air emissions released by the USEPA every three years, compiled from data submitted by the State, Local, and Tribal air agencies. This data is used by the agencies for rule development, attainment/nonattainment designations, and State Implementation Plans (SIPs) for attainment and maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This data is also used for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit reviews. As part of the PSD Review, the source must show that the proposed project does not cause significant deterioration to the NAAQS. As part of this review, air modeling is often required which will utilize the emission inventory for a 50 km radius around the subject property.
The State, Local, and Tribal air agencies are required to submit the emission inventory data to the USEPA for a given calendar year, by the end of the following calendar year. For example, the 2018 data is due by the end of 2019. When an inventory is due to the State (or, where applicable, Local) air agency is left up to that agency. Therefore, due dates for a given facility are dependent on the location of the facility. The GAEPD sets the due dates for all applicable GA facilities as June 30th every year. Most other states set a due date somewhere during the 1st or 2nd quarter of a calendar year.
For the GAEPD Emission Inventory due this year, the reporting threshold is based on potential emission thresholds as identified in the Table 1.
To determine if your facility is required to report this year, you must know the facility’s Potential to Emit (PTE). PTE is the maximum capacity of a source to emit any regulated air pollutant under its physical and operational design. This is calculated as if the source were to operate for 24 hours/day, 365 days/yr (a total of 8,760 hours/yr). If you are not sure of the potential to emit for your facility, a good place to check would be a review of your facility’s most recent Title V Application. Another source would be the Permit Narrative issued by the GAEPD with your facility’s current permit. Air permits and narratives for Georgia facilities can be searched for on the GAEPD’s Georgia Air Permit Search Engine: http://permitsearch.gaepd.org/.
The emission inventory for GA is entered and submitted through the Georgia Environmental Connections Online (GECO) website: https://geco.gaepd.org/. Through this system, you will enter your applicability for the emission inventory. If it is determined that you are required to submit an emission inventory, you will be required to enter in the process and emission points and associated annual emissions into the system.
Conversion Technology Inc. (CTI) has decades of experience in completing emission inventories for many State and Local air agencies. If you need help in determining if your facility is subject to the Emission Inventory or in completing the emission inventory, please contact us at (770) 263-6330 or cti@conversiontechnology.com.