The general regulatory requirements for Title V major sources in Florida are contained in Rule 62-213, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). On November 5, 2024, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a notice of proposed rule (NOPR) for amendments to this Rule. These rule amendments have been in development since December 5, 2023, when the Notice of Rule Development (NORD) was initially published.
 

Impacts to Title V Sources

The rule amendments DEP has proposed are mostly procedural and administrative changes to better align Florida’s regulations with federal precedent for regulation of major sources.
 
The main changes to the rule are:
 

• Codification of the use of administrative amendments to revise existing Title V permits; and
• Clarifying what operational changes Title V operators can make that do not require a Title V revision application.

Administrative Amendments for Title V Sources

The first significant change in the proposed amendments to Rule 62-213 is the explicit codification of provisions allowing Title V sources to amend their Title V Air Operation permit through an administrative amendment pursuant to Rule 62-210.360, F.A.C. This explicit codification of the allowance for administrative amendments reflects the recent regulatory push to prevent full Air Construction permitting for minor, administrative changes to facilities.
 
In practice, the use of administrative amendments to revise air operation permits has mostly been limited to minor/non-Title V sources. However, this rule amendment seems to affirm that administrative amendments can be used to change Title V permits, which there has been uncertainty about in the leadup to these amendments. Trinity expects that DEP will be increasing their use of administrative amendments to streamline minor permitting actions for existing Title V sources.
 

Changes That Do Not Require a Title V Revision

The second significant change of the proposed amendments to Rule 62-213 is the clarification of what changes Title V sources can make to their operations without a formal Title V permit revision. DEP first clarifies that Title V sources may switch between varying methods of operation already authorized in their permit without Title V revision. The DEP goes on to state that Title V operators may implement “changes at the source that are not addressed within or prohibited by the permit without a permit provision,” provided:
 

1. Each such change shall meet all applicable requirements and shall not violate any existing permit term or condition;
2. The changes are not physical changes in, or changes in the method of operation of, the facility which increase the amount of any air pollutant emitted by the facility or which result in the emission of any air pollutant not previously emitted by the facility, and the changes do not exceed the emissions allowable under the permit (whether expressed therein as a rate of emissions or in terms of total emissions);
3. The source provides the Department with at least 7 days’ written notice prior to implementation of any such chance. Such prior written notice shall describe each such change, including the date, any change in emissions, pollutants emitted, and any applicable requirement that would reply as a result of the change; and
4. The permittee keeps a record describing changes made at the source that result in emissions of a regulated air pollutant subject to an applicable requirement, but not otherwise regulated under the permit, and the emissions resulting from those changes.

DEP is responding to questions from industry on changes to their operation that are not explicitly allowed or prohibited in their Title V permit. Under this amendment, Title V operators may change their operations without changing their Title V permit so long as the changes do not violate their permit conditions and are not a typical “modification” as defined in Rule 62-210.200(165), F.A.C, that result in increased actual emissions or emissions of a new pollutant. These Title V sources are required to submit notification to DEP at least 7 days in advance of this change with information contained in bullet C. above.
 
Additional clarification is sought prior to finalizing these rules since the proposed rule states that changes resulting in emissions increases are not allowed, but the 7-day notification required to be provided to DEP must include information about emissions increases or additional regulatory requirements triggered by the change, which would require air construction permitting by definition. Title V sources should continue to seek DEP concurrence before making operational changes to ensure the appropriate air permitting pathway is followed.
 
If you have further questions about what these updates could mean for your facility, or any Title V compliance questions in general, feel free to contact the Orlando office and we will promptly help you through any questions or concerns.