Air Quality Management Team
Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Air Quality Management (AQM) staff issue permits to regulate emissions generated by facilities in Orange County. These facilities include, but are not limited to, hospitals, bakeries, small power plants, painting operations, defense plants, and plastic manufacturing companies. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a guidance document for determining if your business needs an Air Permit. Do you need a permit?
AQM staff meets with facility management prior to the submittal of permit applications. These meetings educate facility staff about the permit process and EPD expectations in order to help alleviate unnecessary informational requests after the submittal of the application. Additional permitting information and applications are available in the environmental permitting section at Permits and Licenses.
Certain small sources of air pollution may be eligible for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Air General Permit (AGP) Registration Program, which is administered by DEP’s Division of Air Resources Management (DARM). This program offers an alternative to individual air operating permits and simplifies the process.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates certain types of facilities without EPD involvement. Examples include the release of Greenhouse Gases and Freon and the EPA’s Collision Repair Campaign (for additional information visit Environmental Protection Agency Collision Repair).
Process
- Determine if the facility/air emissions source is exempt from the requirement to obtain a construction permit and subsequent air operating permit by checking the list of exemptions in 62-210.300(3), Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). EPD air permitting staff can also assist in determining if a particular exemption may apply (see contact information below).
- Determine if the facility/air emissions source falls into one of the Air General Permit (AGP) categories. If it does, no construction permit is needed. Learn more about AGP at https://floridadep.gov/air/permitting-compliance/content/air-general-permits
- If a company proposes to construct a new source of air emissions or an existing facility proposes to expand an existing air emissions source, the facility must obtain an air construction permit, unless the proposed activity qualifies for a permitting exemption or an AGP. The applicant should complete and submit the appropriate application forms as described below to obtain an air construction permit. Application forms are available in Microsoft Word and PDF formats or may be submitted electronically as described in item iii. below:
- For Title V air emission sources, complete DEP Form 62-210.900(1) – Application for Air Permit – Long Form.
- For Non-Title V sources, complete FDEP Form 62-210.900(3) – Application for Air Permit Non-Title V Source.
- Applications may be submitted online using the DEP Electronic Permitting Submittal and Processing System (EPSAP). The DEP and EPD encourage applicants to submit air permit applications electronically using EPSAP. The electronic application is designed to save work for the applicant while helping DEP maintain an accurate database of permitted facilities. The DEP EPSAP system automatically notifies EPD staff of all applications for projects in Orange County. After submitting an application via EPSAP, an applicant must mail or hand-deliver the application fee as described in the Fees section below.
- Hard copies of permit applications may be mailed or hand delivered to EPD’s office at the address given below. Though the instruction forms have not been updated to reflect this change, it is no longer necessary to submit four copies of permit applications. One copy of each application form and supporting documentation is sufficient.
- Questions concerning the air construction permit application process can be directed to the contact information given at the bottom of this page.
- EPD permitting engineers review applications for compliance with Environmental Protection Agency federal regulations, FDEP regulations, and Orange County Code of Ordinances.
- All air construction permits have a draft permit package issued before the final permit is issued. Each air construction draft permit package is required to be published in a newspaper of regular circulation in the area where the activity will occur. The public has an opportunity to comment on the draft permit before it is issued. The DEP posts these notices on the Air Permit Documents Search webpage. At this website, the public can see all air permits for sources in a county and sort by industry (SIC code), city, and/or facility name.
- Air construction permit application processing fees, where applicable, are due when the permit application is submitted. Checks made out to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners may be mailed to or dropped off at the EPD address noted below. Applicants may pay permit application fees by credit card in person during EPD business hours of 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, excluding Orange County holidays. However, EPD does not accept online payment or credit card payments over the phone.
- After the public notice period has ended, the final construction permit is issued to the property owner or applicant.
- The expiration date for the permit is indicated on the permit and will generally coincide with the timeframe for expected completion of construction related activities, plus adequate time to perform any initial testing required to be per
formed before the facility may apply for an air operating permit.
- Facilities that are required to obtain a construction permit must separately apply for an appropriate air operating permit in order to continue to operate the air emission source once construction is completed.
- DEP issues construction permits for certain industries and sources subject to new source review (NSR) or prevention of significant deterioration (PSD). Examples of facilities permitted by DEP include the following: bioenergy plants, coal-fired power plants, waste-to-energy facilities, and emissions from municipal solid waste landfills.
Fees
The fee for an air construction permit application varies based on the amount of emissions associated with the proposed source. For application fees for construction of Non-Title V emission sources, see 62-4.050(4)(a), F.A.C. There is no application fee for construction permits for facilities already regulated by a Title V operating permit unless the proposed activity is subject to NSR or PSD requirements (which are processed by FDEP).