Registration Permits: Frequently Asked Questions
The following are answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Department’s Air Registration Permits program, organized into the following topics:
In addition, the Department has fact sheets and application guides to provide more detail on the Registration Permit program.- Type A Registration Permit
- Type C Registration Permit - only for qualified printing facilities.
- For both types of Registration Permits, emissions caps are set at 25 tons per year for criteria pollutants: particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. For lead, the cap is set at 0.5 tons per year.
- Different emissions caps are set for federal hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). For Type A, these are 2.5 tons per year for a single pollutant and 6.25 tons per year for a combination of all pollutants. For Type C, emissions levels are set at 5 tons per year for a single HAP pollutant and 12.5 tons per year for a combination of all HAPs.
Background information
What is a Registration Permit?
A Registration Permit is a standardized operation permit for facilities with low actual emissions. The Registration Permit establishes a “cap” on the amount of emissions that a facility is allowed to emit and includes the methods that must be used to demonstrate compliance with the emissions cap. There are two types of registration permits, each with somewhat different emission cap levels:
What are the emissions caps?
What are the permit requirements?
- Operation and maintenance of pollution control equipment.
- Recordkeeping of production/usage data and pollution control operating parameters.
- Stack requirements and other requirements needed to protect air quality standards.
- Annual submission of compliance certification, monitoring, and emissions reports.
- Compliance with all other applicable state and federal air pollution requirements.
- What are some of the advantages of a Registration Permit versus a traditional operation permit?
- Flexibility to construct, modify, or replace equipment without obtaining a construction permit as long as the facility continues to comply with all conditions of the Registration Permit after the change.
- Less frequent and less prescriptive monitoring and recordkeeping requirements.
- Swift DNR permit issuance – 15 days.
- Simplified permit applications and permitting process.
- Lower administrative costs – no construction permits, permit renewals, or revisions.
- Is there a downside to a Registration Permit?
In addition to the emission caps, the Registration Permit also includes the following requirements:
A Registration Permit has several advantages over a traditional type permit including the following:
Yes. The Registration Permit does not list all of the state and federal air pollution requirements that apply to the facility. It is up to the permitted facility to determine what these requirements are, to comply with them, and to maintain adequate records to demonstrate compliance.
- Facilities considering the Registration Permit must have emissions that are, and will continue to be, less than the emission caps. Please view the Type A Registration Permits Fact Sheet (PDF, 62KB) or Type C Registration Permits Fact Sheet (PDF, 291KB) for additional eligibility criteria.
Who Is Eligible
Am I eligible if my actual emissions last year were greater than the emissions cap?
Yes, as long as you will be able to meet the emission cap in the calendar year during which your facility is granted coverage under the Registration Permit. Emission levels during prior years are not part of the eligibility determination.
Am I eligible if my facility emits NR 445 hazardous air pollutants?
Yes, as long as your facility complies with NR 445 requirements without needing a Best Available Control Technology (BACT) or Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) determination.
What if my facility does not meet all of the eligibility criteria?
Your facility must meet all of the criteria when it applies for coverage under the Registration Permit. If your facility currently does not meet one or more of the eligibility criteria but you can make changes that would make it eligible, you may make the changes and then apply for coverage.
- If your facility’s emissions of particulate matter are 5 or more tons/year, then you will need to provide information to the Department so that we can model your facility’s PM emissions.
- If your facility’s stacks don’t meet the stack requirements for a Registration Permit, you will need to submit an air dispersion modeling analysis of all your emissions with your completed application.
How to Apply
Follow these four steps:1. If your facility has been issued any air pollution construction or operation permits or orders, they need to be reviewed and approved for revocation by the Department before you apply for a registration permit. Submit a revocation request using Revocation Form (PDF, 144KB) to the Bureau of Air Management. For more information, see the Revocation of Permits Fact Sheet (PDF, 73KB).
2. Make sure that your facility is eligible. Review the application questions and the information in the Application Worksheet and the Application Guide.
3. Determine whether a modeling assessment will need to be performed for some of your facility’s emissions.
4. Fill out and submit the on-line application. After you submit your electronic application, you will be directed to print a hard copy, have a responsible official sign it and mail two copies to the Bureau of Air Management. If modeling was needed for your facility, you will also need to include two copies of your completed Modeling Assessment Form which is available in the latter part of the Application Worksheet.
Where can I find the application form?
The Registration Permit application is an on-line application.
Where do I send the hard copy of my application?
Be sure that the hard copy of your application has been signed by the Responsible Official of your facility. Send two copies including the Modeling Assessment Form, if required, and any other necessary documents to:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Bureau of Air Management
AM/7 – ROP
Address:101 S. Webster St.
Madison, WI 53703
Fees
What are the Registration Permit fees?
After coverage under a registration permit, your facility will be billed $1,100 in May of the calendar year after the year in which you received your coverage approval. Do not send any money with your application. This fee is billed in place of an emissions fee for the first calendar year the facility is covered under the Registration Permit. If your facility has never been on our emission inventory system, also known as the consolidated reporting system, you must establish a Web Access Management System (WAMS) user ID through DNR's electronic Switchboard. See DNR's Air Emissions Inventory Homepage for more information.What about registration construction permit fees?
There are no construction permit fees for operational changes or new construction as long as total facility emissions remain below the Registration Permit cap and all other eligibility requirements are met.
Contact
Who do I contact if I have questions or want more information?
Please contact:
Kristin Hart
Phone: 608 273-5605
E-Mail: Kristin Hart
Address: DNR South Central Regional Office
3911 Fish Hatchery Road
Madison, WI 53711
Next Review Date: December 30, 2007
Last Revised: Thursday October 30 2008
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