Air Permits

The Permits Branch issues new permits and permit modifications to existing facilities after reviewing and evaluating permit applications for administrative and technical completeness and ensuring that each application meets regulatory adequacy. The permit is written to meet state and federal regulations to include information on which pollutants are being released, how much may be released, and what kinds of steps the source's owner or operator is taking to reduce pollution. All permits will include a mechanism to demonstrate compliance with the permit conditions. There are two types of air permits: Minor Source and Major Source/Title V. To view a facility-specific air permit or permitting activity, please use the "Databases" link in the left menu of this web page. If you have questions about a specific facility or permit please contact us.

Applicants can submit confidential information. The presumption is that all material submitted to the Air Office is available for public review unless specific procedures are followed to claim confidentiality. Arkansas Code Annotated § 8-4-308, APC&EC Rule 18, Chapter 14: Public Information and Confidentiality and APC&EC Rule 19, Section 19.413 Confidentiality contain the requirements for confidential information. Applications and other material claiming confidentiality will be returned to the applicant unprocessed if these requirements are not met.

  • Regulation 8
    (Administrative Procedures)
  • Rule 9
    (Permit Fee Regulations)
  • Rule 18
    (Arkansas Air Pollution Control Code)
  • Rule 19
    (Arkansas Plan of Implementation of Air Pollution Control)
  • Rule 26
    (Air Permit Program)

For minor (non PSD) permit modifications, ambient air evaluations are required by the State Implementation Plan and as summarized in the DEQ Air Permit Screening Modeling Instructions. If required and no analysis is provided with an air permit application, DEQ staff will conduct the screening analysis.

The DEQ Non-Criteria Pollutant Strategy is a tool for the evaluation of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) and non-criteria pollutant emissions. It is important to note that the Strategy is not a regulation but rather a screening methodology used to determine if the emission of air contaminants from the facility may occur in quantities sufficient to constitute air pollution as defined by the Arkansas Air Pollution Control Code (DEQ Rule 18). In practice, the Strategy will begin a regulatory exercise to determine whether additional information concerning proposed non-criteria air emissions from a facility is necessary.

Based on past experience, the Strategy has been revised to limit the scope of pollutants evaluated.

The first two steps of the Strategy are known as the presumptively acceptable emission rate (PAER) and the presumptively acceptable impact level (PAIL). The initial screening of non-criteria emissions is performed by calculating the PAER for each pollutant. If the emissions fail to pass the PAER, then an emission model is developed using the newest version of the AERMOD air quality model approved by the US EPA. If this modeling indicates potential off-site impacts at levels greater than the PAIL for one or more non-criteria pollutants, then the facility may take any combination of the following measures:

  1. Use refined modeling to predict lower concentrations
  2. Revise emission rate estimates
  3. Use alternative risk assessments to develop site specific presumptively acceptable impact levels
  4. Propose additional control of emissions of the contaminants of concern
  5. Propose alternative operating scenarios that result in lower modeled concentrations
  6. Install ambient air monitors at appropriate locations
  7. Accept emission limitations in a permit that result in lower modeled concentrations
  8. Consideration of (unfenced) property lines and areas where there will be no impact on human health can be considered. Generally, all facility property can be excluded from the model if there is no general access by the public. Other impacted areas, such as roads, rivers, and other uninhabited property, can be excluded on a case by case basis.

The full text of the Strategy, including a more detailed description of the determination of PAER and PAIL, can be found by viewing Non-Criteria Strategy.

In accordance with the recent Supreme Court decision and EPA guidance, GHG permitting only applies to sources otherwise required to obtain a PSD permit. Arkansas regulations requiring a permit otherwise are stayed and not enforceable.

As required by Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Reg. 9.502(A), the permit fee factor used to calculate fees for air permits will be adjusted for inflation from $27.27/ton to $28.14/ton beginning October 1, 2023.

Reg. 9.502(A) provides that the $/ton factor shall be increased annually by the percentage, if any, by which the federal Consumer Price Index exceeds that of the previous year (except under limited circumstances).