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  2. Permitting Under the Clean Air Act

EPA Activities to Promote Environmental Justice in the Permit Application Process Frequently Asked Questions

EPA has developed an FAQs - EPA Activities to Promote Environmental Justice in the Permit Application Process to explain how it will encourage meaningful engagement of such communities on EPA-issued permits:

  • Some of the Promising Practices are mentioned in EPA regulations, guidance and recommendations that EPA has issued in the past. So why is EPA issuing the Promising Practices?

  • Will EPA provide incentives to permit applicants who adopt Promising Practices, like an expedited permit process?

  • EPA Actions does not require EPA regional offices to prioritize the same types of permits and adopt the same outreach activities. Why doesn’t EPA require regional offices to always prioritize certain permits and always do certain outreach activities?

  • Are permit applicants required to adopt the Promising Practices?

  • If permit applicants are not required to adopt the Promising Practices, why should a permit applicant adopt them?

  • What will be included in regional implementation plans?

  • Why doesn’t EPA do enhanced outreach for every permit?

  • If a permit is prioritized for enhanced outreach, does this mean that EPA will require stricter emission or discharge limits, or deny a permit?

  • If an EPA regional office finds that a permit may not have significant public health or environmental impacts, or may not impact an already overburdened community, can the permit still be prioritized for enhanced outreach? Will the permit receive any outr

  • Will EPA regional offices screen every permit application to determine whether potential overburdened communities may be impacted by permitted activities?

  • How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity impacts a potential overburdened community? What screening tool or process will EPA regional offices use to screen permit applications?

  • Are tribal and indigenous communities within the definition of overburdened communities?

  • What is the definition of “overburdened community” that is relevant for EPA Actions and Promising Practices?

  • If EPA is not changing the permitting process, why did EPA issue EPA Actions and associated regional implementation plans?

  • How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity may have significant public health or environmental impacts?

  • Do EPA Actions or the Promising Practices impact any obligations the States may have under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other non‐discrimination statutes?

  • Does EPA Actions apply to permits that are jointly issued by EPA and a state, tribal, or local permitting authority with partially delegated permitting authority?

  • How will EPA Actions apply to EPA‐permitted activities that may impact multiple EPA regions?

  • Do EPA Actions or the Promising Practices in the Federal Register notice apply to permits that are issued by state, tribal, or local permitting authorities, or just permits that are issued by EPA?

Permitting Under the Clean Air Act

  • Clean Air Act Permitting Around the Nation
    • New England Region (R1)
    • New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (R2)
    • Mid-Atlantic Region (R3)
    • Southeastern Region (R4)
    • Great Lakes Region (R5)
    • South Central Region (R6)
    • Midwest Region (R7)
    • Mountains and Plains Region (R8)
    • Pacific Southwest Region (R9)
      • About PSD Permitting in Region 9
      • Air Permit Delegation and PSD SIP Approval Status in Region 9
      • About NSR Permitting in Region 9
      • About Title V Permitting in Region 9
      • Electronic Permit System and Dashboards
      • Pending and Completed Permit Actions
      • Clean Air Act Permitting in Arizona
      • Clean Air Act Permitting in California
      • Clean Air Act Permitting in Hawai'i and Pacific Islands
      • Clean Air Act Permitting in Nevada
    • Pacific Northwest Region (R10)
  • Environmental Justice and Permitting
  • CAA Permitting Tools & ​Related Resources
  • Outer Continental Shelf Air Permits
Contact Us About Permitting Under the Clean Air Act
Contact Us About Permitting Under the Clean Air Act to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on July 11, 2024
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