Proposed Rule2026-00215
Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program Revision; District of Columbia
Primary source
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Published
January 8, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to the District of Columbia (DC, the District)'s title V operating permits program, submitted on behalf of the District by the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). The revision updated title V operating permit fees collected by DOEE in order to ensure that the title V operating program will continue to be adequately funded. The revision also reorganized some sections in Chapter 3 with no substantive change in content. This action is being taken under section 502 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 654-656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00215]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 70
[EPA-R03-OAR-2025-1614; FRL-13044-01-R3]
Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program Revision; District
of Columbia
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
approve a revision to the District of Columbia (DC, the District)'s
title V operating permits program, submitted on behalf of the District
by the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). The revision
updated title V operating permit fees collected by DOEE in order to
ensure that the title V operating program will continue to be
adequately funded. The revision also reorganized some sections in
Chapter 3 with no substantive change in content. This action is being
taken under section 502 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-
OAR-2025-1614 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#792a0c0909151c1c573e0e1c171d16150017391c0918571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="50032520203c35357e1727353e343f3c293e103520317e373f26">[email protected]</span></a>. For comments submitted at <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>,
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted,
comments cannot be edited or removed from <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>. For either
manner of submission, the EPA may publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you
consider to be confidential business information (CBI) or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person
identified in the For Further Information Contact section. For the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit
[[Page 655]]
<a href="http://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yongtian He, Permits Branch (3AD10),
Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
III, Four Penn Center, 1600 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-2339. Mr. He can
also be reached via electronic mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1078753e697f7e776479717e507560713e777f66"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2b434e055244454c5f424a456b4e5b4a054c445d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The DC title V operating permit program is implemented through its
``Operating Permits and Acid Rain Programs,'' codified in 20 District
of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) Chapter 3. The EPA initially
granted full approval of the DC title V operating permit program
effective on November 30, 2001. See 66 FR 52538 (October 16, 2001).
However, in a notice of deficiency (NOD) published in the Federal
Register on December 21, 2001 (66 FR 65947), the EPA notified the
District of Columbia of EPA's finding that the District's provisions
for providing public notification of permitting actions did not fully
comply with the requirements of the CAA and its implementing
regulations. On April 4, 2003, the District of Columbia submitted
revisions to the public notification requirements of the operating
permit program and adequately resolved the deficiency identified in the
2001 EPA NOD (December 21, 2001, 66 FR 65947). The EPA subsequently
determined that the District of Columbia maintains final full approval
of the Clean Air Act title V operating permit program. See 68 FR
18581(April 16, 2003).
On May 30, 2024, DOEE submitted a revision to 20 DCMR Chapter 3 for
approval into the state's EPA-approved title V program. DOEE revised 20
DCMR Chapter 3 to update fees for 40 CFR part 70 operating permits
(``major source'' or title V permits). Additionally, the DOEE revision
clarified and resolved errors in the existing regulations, including
adding a definition for the term ``relevant emission units.'' The
revision also reorganized some sections in Chapter 3 with no
substantive change in content.
DOEE's updated fee collection schedule is designed to ensure
sufficient funding for its title V program, in order to cover all
reasonable costs required to implement and administer the DOEE Title V
Operating Permit Program as required by 40 CFR 70.9(a) and (b). Title V
program costs include those for activities such as reviewing and
processing operating permits and preconstruction permits, conducting
inspections, responding to complaints and pursuing enforcement actions,
emissions and ambient air monitoring, preparing applicable regulations
and guidance, modeling, analyses, demonstrations, emission inventories,
and tracking emissions. Under 40 CFR 70.9(a), an approved state or
local title V operating permits program must require that the owners or
operators of 40 CFR part 70 sources pay annual fees, or the equivalent
over some other period, that are sufficient to cover the permit program
costs and ensure that any fee required under 40 CFR 70.9 is used solely
for permit program costs. The fee schedule must result in the
collection and retention of revenues sufficient to cover the permit
program implementation and oversight costs. See 40 CFR 70.9(b).
Following the District of Columbia's municipal rulemaking process,
DC revised its State Operating Permits Program under title V of the
Clean Air Act through a rulemaking titled Air Quality Permit Fees and
Synthetic Minor Permitting Program (effective June 5, 2020, 67 DCR
006789-006825). Through this rulemaking, DOEE revised fees for 40 CFR
part 70 operating permits--major sources or title V permits--in 20 DCMR
Chapter 3. Additionally, Chapter 3 was revised to clarify and resolve
errors in the existing regulations, including adding a definition for
the term ``relevant emission units.'' The District requests the EPA
approval of Air Quality Permit Fees and Synthetic Minor Permitting
Program as a revision to the District of Columbia's title V program, as
required under 40 CFR 70.4(i). This submittal also satisfies one of the
action items from DOEE's FY2023 Clean Air Act Title V Program
Evaluation, dated September 6, 2023, which required DOEE to submit this
regulation as a title V program revision within 12 months of the report
date.\1\ The DC submission indicates that it is necessary to update its
fee collection schedule, otherwise DOEE would not be able to fully fund
its title V program.
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\1\ September 6, 2023, the US EPA Region 3 issued a Clean Air
Act Title V Program Evaluation Report for District of Columbia
Department of Energy and Environment--FY2023.
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II. Summary of Title V Program Revision and EPA Analysis
In its May 30, 2024 submittal, DC sought the EPA approval of its
revisions to 20 DCMR Chapter 3 into its title V program. DC's revisions
to 20 DCMR Chapter 3 revised fees (Section 305) for its title V
operating permit program. The revision reorganized three sections in
Chapter 3 with no substantive change in content, including section 300
on applicability, section 301 on permit applications, and section 303
on permit issuance, renewal, reopening, and revision. The revision also
clarified and resolved errors in the existing regulations, including
adding a definition for the term ``relevant emission units.'' DOEE's
initial submission also included revisions in 20 DCMR Chapter 2
sections 200, 202, and 210 to create a synthetic minor permitting
program, and added new section 211 to establish general construction
and operating permit fees. However, in a May 28, 2025 supplemental
letter which is included in the docket for this action, DOEE clarified
its request so that only the revisions in 20 DCMR Chapter 3 found in
Air Quality Permit Fees and Synthetic Minor Permitting Program will be
incorporated as a revision to the District of Columbia's title V
program, as required under 40 CFR 70.4(i).\2\
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\2\ On November 20, 2025, the EPA proposed approval of a
revision to the DC SIP that included revisions to Chapter 2 which,
among other things, created a synthetic minor program to which the
relevant fees in this current action apply. See 90 FR 52305.
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In 20 DCMR Chapter 3 section 305, DOEE restructured 40 CFR part 70
sources permit application fee (section 305.1) and annual fees based on
the total tons of actual emissions of each regulated pollutant (section
305.2, section 305.3). Section 305.5 requires that owners or operators
of sources accepting federally enforceable emission limits pursuant to
sections 200.6 and 300.3(c) shall pay a permit application fee
(original and renewal applications) of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
Section 305.6 stipulates that DOEE use the Consumer Price Index for
annual increases of fees charged under sections 305.2 and 305.3. Other
subsections of section 305 are related to when and where to pay and
penalties for failure to pay on time. DOEE added a definition of
``relevant emission units'' in section 399 (Definitions and
Abbreviations).
With this fee schedule change, DOEE indicates that it can ensure
that fees will remain sufficient to cover the costs of administering
the plan approval application and operating permit process as required
by section 502(b) of the CAA. Without this fee update, DOEE's title V
program is vulnerable and may not be able to sustain its title V
operating permit program in a manner that is consistent with Federal
requirements. If funds were to become
[[Page 656]]
insufficient to sustain an adequate title V program in DC, the EPA may
determine that DOEE has not taken ``significant action to assure
adequate administration and enforcement of the Program'' and take
subsequent action as required under 40 CFR 70.10(b) and (c). This
determination could lead to the EPA withdrawing approval of the DC
title V operating permit program. Were that to occur, the EPA would
have the authority and obligation to implement a Federal title V
operating permit program in DC pursuant to 40 CFR part 71. The
withdrawal of program approval could also lead to the imposition of
mandatory and discretionary sanctions under the CAA. See 42 U.S.C.
7509(b).
The EPA reviewed DOEE's submittal for consistency with the
presumptive minimum fee rate outlined in the September 17, 2024, EPA
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards memorandum,\3\ as well as
the requirements of 40 CFR 70.9(b)(2), and determined that DOEE met the
requirements of CAA section 502. The EPA also determined the submittal
is consistent with applicable EPA requirements in the title V operating
permit program of the CAA and 40 CFR 70.9 for the collection of
sufficient title V fees to cover permit program implementation and
oversight costs. This rulemaking proposes to approve DC's revision of
its title V fees in order to ensure the fees collected are sufficient
to fund DC's title V program.
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\3\ Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS),
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-09/fee70_2025.pdf">https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-09/fee70_2025.pdf</a>.
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III. Proposed Action
Pursuant to 40 CFR 70.4(i)(2), the EPA is proposing to approve as a
revision to the District of Columbia title V operating permit program.
DOEE's May 30, 2024 submittal revised DC's title V fee structure in
order to ensure sufficient fees are collected each year adequately and
continually fund DC's title V program. The revisions meet the relevant
requirements of section 502 of the CAA and 40 CFR 70.4 and 70.9. The
EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document. These comments will be considered before taking final action.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator approves title V operating permit
program revisions that comply with the Act and applicable Federal
Regulations. See 42 U.S.C. 7661a(d). Thus, in reviewing title V
operating permit program submissions, the EPA's role is to approve
state choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. This
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 14192 (90 FR 9065,
February 6, 2025) because SIP actions are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866:
<bullet> Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
<bullet> Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
<bullet> Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
<bullet> Does not have federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
<bullet> Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
<bullet> Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001); and
<bullet> Is not subject to requirements of section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the Clean Air Act.
In addition, the proposed rulemaking is not approved to apply on
any Indian reservation land or in any other area where the EPA or an
Indian Tribe has demonstrated that a Tribe has jurisdiction. In those
areas of Indian country, the rule does not have Tribal implications and
will not impose substantial direct costs on Tribal governments or
preempt Tribal law as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 70
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, Incorporation by reference,
Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds.
Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2026-00215 Filed 1-7-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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