The Clark County Department of Environment & Sustainability's Division of Air Quality (DAQ) develops General Permits for select minor stationary sources in accordance with
Section 12.11 of the Air Quality Regulations. A General Permit is written for a specific group or category of facilities that emit air pollutants, rather than for an individual facility ("source"). Eligible sources can obtain coverage under a General Permit by way of an Authority to Operate (ATO), which involves a streamlined application and review process.
Coverage under a General Permit is the same as that under a Minor Source Permit issued per Section 12.1, with one exception: all the terms and conditions of the permit have been developed in advance. Potential applicants can review a General Permit for its qualifying criteria and its terms and conditions to determine whether these apply to their operation.
A minor source subject to the permit requirements of Section 12.1 may satisfy those requirements by obtaining an ATO for a General Permit if one is available for their type of facility. Sources seeking coverage under a General Permit must have similar operations and emissions and be subject to the same standards, limitations, and compliance demonstration requirements as other facilities permitted within the same source classification. The General Permit must contain all air quality requirements that would apply to that facility. General Permits are intended to provide the broadest operational flexibility to the most applicants. However, sources that find the permit conditions are not suited to their facility may choose to apply for a tailored Minor Source Permit instead.
A potential applicant should begin by reviewing the qualifying criteria for a General Permit of interest. This review will determine whether the configuration and operational needs of the source match those covered by the General Permit. Additionally, potential applicants should determine whether the General Permit addresses all activities that emit regulated air pollutants at their facility. If the source identifies emitting activities in addition to those covered by a specific General Permit, DAQ cannot approve its coverage under that General Permit.
General Permits expire after five years, so a source may operate under one for no more than five years without undergoing the renewal process. The five-year anniversary of a General Permit remains the same for anyone who obtains coverage, regardless of when a source receives its ATO; therefore, coverage under a General Permit may last less than five years based on when the source obtained the ATO.