Pennsylvania small businesses should note that any air quality applications, RFDs, or initial Asbestos Notifications received on or after 1/16/2021 by Pennsylvania DEP’s Air Quality Program must be accompanied by the new or updated fee amount.
Common air quality applications used and submitted by small businesses include Plan Approval applications (new), modifications, and extensions as well as State-Only Operating Permit applications (new) and renewals.
For those small business facilities with existing air quality permits a new “annual operating permit maintenance fee” will take place in 2021 which will replace the “annual operating permit administration fee”. This new maintenance fee will vary depending whether the facility status is considered a “natural minor” versus “synthetic minor” and the fee will also vary due to the calendar year.
Small businesses that qualify as a “small business stationary source” should take particular note that Requests for Determinations (RFDs), which are often used to determine if a facility or operation is exempt from air permitting or not, will now be subject to a fee equal to the following:
- $400 for RFDs during calendar years 2021 – 2025
- $500 for RFDs during calendar years 2026 – 2030
- $600 for RFDs during calendar years beginning in 2031
The new Pennsylvania air quality fees can be found in the Air Quality Fee Schedule Amendments as posted in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
A summary of the new fees for non-Title V sources can be found below and are the ones most likely to affect small business operations in Pennsylvania.
If you are a Pennsylvania small business and would like to know more as to how the new air quality fees may affect your business operation, you can talk to one of EMAP’s environmental consultants by calling our toll-free environmental hotline at (877) ASK-EMAP or emailing EMAP at questions@askemap.org.
