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* *. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	20-P-0146
§ mmj \ Office of Inspector General	Apnl 22 2020
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At a Glance
Why We Did This Project
We conducted this audit to
determine the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency's progress in
implementing a Clean Air Act
preconstruction permitting
program, called New Source
Review, for new sources of
emissions and modifications to
existing sources of emissions in
Indian Country.
In 2011, the EPA issued
regulations for developing
permits that contain emission
limitations for new and modified
facilities in Indian Country,
referred to as the tribal NSR
rule. These regulations provide
authority for the EPA to issue
permits for smaller sources of
emissions, called minor
sources, in Indian Country
where tribes do not conduct
such permitting themselves.
The tribal NSR rule set
regulatory time frames that
range from 90 to 365 days for
processing minor-source
permits, depending on the
permit type. We assessed
whether the EPA had met
these time frames for permit
applications received from
2011 to August-October 2018.
This report addresses the
following:
• Improving air quality.
Address inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391 or
OIG WEBCOMMENTS@epa.gov.
EPA's Processing Times for New Source Air Permits
in Indian Country Have Improved, but Many Still
Exceed Regulatory Time Frames
What We Found
Of the tribal minor-source-NSR permits that the
EPA issued between 2011 and August to
October 2018, 62 percent exceeded the
applicable regulatory time frame. In addition, more
than half of the permits still in process exceeded
the applicable time frame. However, since 2011,
the average number of days it has taken the EPA
to issue two types of minor-source permits has
declined. Further, the EPA processed permits for
Delays in processing
tribal-NSR permits could
impact construction
projects and increase the
risk that existing facilities
awaiting a permit could be
emitting more pollution
than would be allowed if
they were operating under
an approved permit.
the construction of new facilities faster than it
processed permits for existing facilities. Processing permits for new facility
construction is more critical since delays could have negative economic impacts
on industry and tribal communities.
The main causes of permitting delays included time-consuming back-and-forth
communication between the applicant and the EPA during the application
process, as well as competing and limited resources. In April 2018, staff and
managers from EPA headquarters and regions met to identify ways to make the
NSR permitting process more efficient, but they have not implemented all the
recommendations from that meeting. The EPA began tracking processing times
in the summer of 2018.
In addition, not all EPA regions were accurately documenting the date that
applications were deemed complete, which is the basis for computing processing
time frames. Without accurate application completion dates, the Agency cannot
accurately assess the timeliness of permitting actions. We also found that the
EPA does not have a systematic approach to identify non-filers, which are
facilities on tribal lands that need an NSR permit but have not applied for one.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the EPA (1) establish a permit tracking system that is
accessible to both applicants and the EPA, (2) develop guidance for the EPA
regions on how to properly determine the date an application is considered to be
complete for tracking purposes, (3) develop a strategy to periodically coordinate
with tribes to identify potential non-filers, and (4) develop a strategy to conduct
outreach to industry to educate facilities on their permitting responsibilities. The
Agency agreed with our recommendations and provided acceptable corrective
actions and completion dates.
List of OIG reports.

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