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1. Who should I contact with questions about my permit?

Please visit the Air Permits Section of our staff directory to learn more about who you should contact with your permit questions.

2. How much is the fee for an operating permit application?

Class I & Class II Operating Permit Application Fees

Application Type	Class I	Class II
Initial	$3,000	$200
Renewal	$3,000	N/A
Modification	Minor: $0 Significant: $1,500	$100
General Application	N/A	$50
Permit by Rule	N/A	$50
Re-opening	$0	$0
Administrative Amendment	$0	$0

3. My Responsible Official has changed. Do I need to notify the Bureau of Air?

No, there is no requirement to notify the department of the change in responsible official. A Responsible Official is defined as:

1. For a corporation, a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly authorized representative of such person if the representative is responsible for the overall operation of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities applying for or subject to permit or other relevant regulatory requirement and if either:
   1. the facilities employ more than 250 persons or have gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25 million, in second quarter, 1980 dollars: or
   2. the delegation of authority to such representative is approved in advance by the department;
2. For a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or the proprietor, respectively;
3. For a municipality, or a state, federal, or other public agency, a principal executive officer or ranking elected official. For purposes of this definition, a principal executive officer of a federal agency shall include the chief executive officer having responsibility for the overall operations of a principal geographic unit of the agency; or
4. For affected sources, the designated representative under title IV of the federal clean air act, acid deposition control. (K.A.R. 28-19-200(ccc))

4. How many copies of my operating permit application do I send in?

The original and two copies of the application, including all supporting documentation shall be submitted for Class I Operating permit applications. One copy of the Class II application must be submitted.

5. What is included as an exempt activity for a Class I Operating Permit?

Exempt activities are activities, not otherwise triggering any specific applicable requirement, the emissions of which are beyond the scope of the permit program. These activities do not need to be listed in the permit application.

The principles used to establish lists of exempt activities (which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calls "trivial" activities) are:

1. The activities that do not have applicable requirements that apply to them.
2. Their emissions are small enough that their emissions are below construction permit and approval thresholds.

The applicability of the "exempt activity" concept to the operating permit and construction permit programs should be identical. That is, an activity that is exempt from the operating permit program should also be exempt from the construction permit program. In the event that an activity listed as exempt in the operating permit program is deemed to have emission levels under some circumstances that would trigger an applicable requirement such as a construction permit, it cannot be viewed as an exempt activity. Similarly, if an activity needs to have some form of emission limit applied to it in order to be placed on the exempt list, it should not be on the list. If the emissions from the activity are not below permit or approval thresholds (even though it may not have applicable requirements), it should be looked at as an insignificant activity, not an exempt unit.

Refer to the list of exempt activities in the Class I Operating Permit application glossary for a complete description. All applications and reports are located in the Kansas Environmental Information Management System (KEIMS). Please visit the KEIMS page to set up your KEIMS account.

6. What is a Method 9 test?

Many stationary sources discharge visible emissions into the atmosphere; these emissions are usually in the shape of a plume. A Method 9 test involves the determination of plume opacity. Opacity is the amount of light obscured by pollution. A person conducting a Method 9 must be certified. Method 9 can be found in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 60, Appendix A.

7. What is a qualitative assessment?

A qualitative assessment is an observation of visible emissions, or opacity, from a stationary source. The person responsible for making qualitative opacity assessments must be knowledgeable about the effect on visibility of emissions caused by background contrast, ambient lighting, observer position relative to lighting, wind, and the presence of uncombined water in the plume. A qualitative assessment is a brief description of the visible emissions. The qualitative assessment is not required to be six minutes long, and the observer is not required to be certified.

Records usually required for qualitative assessments include: time and date assessment occurred, whether emissions appeared normal, a description of the emission point from which any unusual emissions emanated, steps taken to correct any abnormal emissions, and the name of the person conducting the assessment, and any other information required by the permit.

8. What is CAM? Do the requirements include hazardous air pollutants?

CAM is an acronym for Compliance Assurance Monitoring. The Clean Air Act requires compliance assurance monitoring (CAM) for major stationary sources of air pollution that are required to obtain operating permits under Title V. CAM requirements are outlined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 64. CAM requires monitoring for each emissions unit that is a major source, and that relies on pollution control equipment to achieve compliance with one or more emission standards. CAM requirements do include sources of hazardous air pollutants and emission standards for hazardous air pollutants.

9. What should my semi-annual report look like?

KDHE has developed an Example Semiannual Report (PDF). This format may need to be modified to include requirements that are specific to your facility.

10. Do I have to startup an emission unit for a Method 9 test or qualitative assessment if I normally would not operate it at all during the reporting period?

No. If the emission unit isn't operating during the reporting period, a test is not required.

11. I operate the equipment June to August only. The permit requires that Method 9 tests be conducted twice per year with no less than 6 months between readings. What should I do to stay in compliance?

If the facility operates only 3 months per year, conduct a Method 9 during that time period. If the emission units do not operate during the remaining 9 months, a second Method 9 is not required. Municipal power plants sometimes start units up for a very short time to perform maintenance checks and operator training. Fire pumps and emergency generators are also occasionally started up for maintenance checks. Such startup is not considered operating time, if units are not used for generating power or pumping water. Therefore, Method 9 tests and qualitative assessments would not be required unless the emission unit operates.

12. I have applied for a Class I Operating Permit and have not received the new permit; a new MACT standard has been finalized, and my facility will be subject. What should I do?

Update your Class I permit application to include the new MACT standard. If you know how the facility will comply with the new rules, you can include this in the permit application. Review the new rules carefully, and submit required notifications. 40 Code of Federal Regulations 63.9(b) requires an initial notification within 120 days after the effective (promulgation) date of the standard. The notification should be submitted to:
Mr. Ward Burns
Air Permitting and Compliance Branch
U.S. EPA Region 7
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219

KDHE requests that a copy of the initial MACT notification be submitted to the Bureau of Air. The copy should be submitted to:
KDHE Bureau of Air
Air Compliance and Enforcement Section
1000 SW Jackson
Suite 310
Topeka, KS 66612-1366

13. How can I find out if my generator is an emergency generator?

KDHE relies on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance on Calculating Potential to Emit (PTE) for Emergency Generators (PDF), which describes the parameters within which the generator must operate to be considered an emergency generator for these purposes. The intent and usage of the generator must be consistent with the guidance.