The Inventory and Support Group maintains the inventory of air
pollutants emitted by stationary sources in Colorado. Details of emission
reporting requirements are found in the Air Quality Control Commission's (AQCC) Regulation No. 3.
Businesses report their emissions using a form known as an Air Pollutant
Emission Notice. Some of the more common business categories have specific Air
Pollutant Emission Notices that are tailored to their needs. The General Air Pollutant Emission Notice is available
for downloading in Adobe Acrobat format. Because of the technical and sometimes
complex nature of air emission calculations, the Division has formed a Small Business Assistance Program team that helps Colorado
businesses to comply with the air quality regulations. Air Pollutant Emission
Notices are valid for five years unless a significant increase in emissions
occurs. Each Notice must be accompanied by a $119.96 filing fee.
Colorado State Law (Section 25-7-114.7 (2) (a) (I)), requires
that every owner or operator of an air pollution source shall pay an annual fee
as follows: $13.54 per ton of regulated criteria pollutants and $90.34 per ton
of hazardous air pollutants and ozone depleting compounds. Invoices are
generated based on the emissions reported the most recent Air Pollutant Emission
Notice on file with the Division. Reporting is done on a calendar year basis,
generally last year, and fees are charged based on the actual quantity released.
A list of the chargeable hazardous air pollutants may be found in Appendix C of
Regulation No.
3. Note that in addition to annual air emission fees, businesses may also
be subject to Air Pollutant Emission Notice (APEN) filing
and air permitting processing fees.
Annual Fee Frequently Asked Questions
- How are the invoiced amounts of pollutants
determined?
They are based on the latest Air Pollutant Emission Notice on
file with the Air Pollution Control Division.
- How do I appeal the invoiced amount or address
questions concerning my invoice?
An appeal must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the
invoice date in order to stop the deadline process and eventual collections
activities. Questions about the invoice can be submitted in a letter or a call
can be made to the Air Pollutant Emission Notice hotline at (303)
692-3210.
- What period of time does the invoice
cover?
Generally, the invoice is for emissions generated during the
previous calendar year.
- What if the facility was sold during the invoiced
year?
Sale of a facility requires the submission of a revised Air
Pollutant Emission Notice (including filing fees) documenting the transfer of
ownership. The previous and new owner can decide among themselves how to prorate
the fee or each can submit a revised Air Pollutant Emission Notice (including
filing fees) documenting emissions for their period of
responsibility.
- What if the facility closed prior to the invoiced
year?
An annual fee invoice may be cancelled if no operation occurred
that year provided a request in writing is submitted to cancel the APEN .
Additional information about source closure procedures is provided
below.
- Some of the pollutants are listed only as
numbers, what are they?
Hazardous air pollutants are designated on the invoice by their
Chemical Abstract Service number. The list of the chargeable pollutants found in
Appendix C of Regulation No. 3 contains these Chemical Abstract Service numbers.
These can also be identified in numerous chemical references or by calling the
Air Pollution Control Division.
If you are closing down an air pollution emissions source you
may wish to have it removed from the inventory. This will avoid further annual
fees for those emissions. If the source is to be permanently closed (i.e.
dismantled) you will need to notify the Air Pollution Control Division in
writing to have it removed and have all associated permits cancelled. Please be
specific as to the equipment and permits that are to be cancelled. No filing fee
is required to cancel a source; if the source is ever reopened it will require
all new Air Pollutant Emission Notices and if the permit was cancelled, permits
just as if it had never been permitted before. If a source is to be closed
temporarily, you may cancel the APEN and keep the permit. However, a new Air
Pollutant Emission Notice (including filing fees) will need to be filed prior to
re-start, showing expected emissions for the coming year.
The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division provides reports to
the public from its air pollution inventory. There is a $30 charge for each
report. All requests for reports must be made in writing. Please specify the
data elements needed and specific selection criteria based upon these elements
(i.e. only plants in a certain county having a certain SIC code).
If the data in the inventory are not adequate, the Division's
files are available for public examination, by appointment. To arrange for an
appointment, please call the Division.
Those individuals interested in performing stationary source
opacity grading are required to be certified in accordance with the EPA's
Reference Method No. 9, "Visual Determination of the Opacity of Emissions From
Stationary Sources. Certification to perform opacity readings may be obtained
from private firms such as Eastern
Technical Associates.
The state's Odor Regulation states that personnel evaluating odors for compliance shall be
selected using an "intensity-rating test." This testing is performed six times a
year at the Division's "Odor School." Persons passing the test are certified for
a one year period.
Questions and requests for Odor School enrollment forms should
be directed to Roy Doyle at (303) 692-3159, comments.apcd@state.co.us.
Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 4, the
woodburning regulation, is designed to reduce particulate emissions through the
sale and usage of advanced and cleaner residential burning devices. It does so
through the standards established for approving residential burning devices and
the implementation of residential burning bans when meteorological and air
quality conditions require it.
The Inventory and Support Unit maintains an accurate list of all
EPA-approved Phase II stoves, EPA-exempt devices, Colorado-approved masonry
heaters and Colorado- approved pellet stoves. These are updated and mailed out
on an annual basis to various wood stove dealers and local governments in
Colorado. Reports of wood burning enforcement activities of local agencies are
received and tracked to ensure that efforts are made to reduce the amount of
wood burning in uncertified devices on high pollution days. Requests to have
various models of wood burning devices granted approval status are received and
analyzed for approval or denial.
For more detailed information please see the Division's residential burning regulations page.
Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 16 is
designed to reduce particulate emissions by requiring reductions in application
rates of street sanding materials by governmental agencies, increased usage of
alternative liquid de-icing compounds, and improved and more frequent street
sweeping. It also specifies requirements for the types of street sand that can
be used.
The Inventory and Support Group monitors activities related to
the emission of particulate from street sanding. To this end, the Unit maintains
a database for reports of street sand usage and reduction by municipalities on
an annual basis, along with tracking the production of street sanding materials
by various suppliers in terms of the percent of fine (sized) particulates they
contain.
Street Sanding Frequently Asked Questions
- How "dusty" can street sand be?
The established percentage of fines (silt) content for street
sand materials depends on how durable (easily ground up) the material is. For
less durable street sand, 2 percent is the maximum percent fines content and for
more durable material, 4 percent is allowed.
- Should I call the state about dusty street
sweeping operations on windy days?
No, the local street maintenance, highway, or road and bridge
department, which has jurisdiction, is responsible for such operations and
should be notified of such complaints.
- What are particulates and specifically what is
PM10?
Particulates are fine dust particles. Many processes produce
particulates, including the continued "grinding up" action of traffic on street
sand. PM10 is the designation applied to particulate matter with an average
particle size of less than 10 microns (millionths of a meter) in
diameter.
- How much sand can be applied to the road?
Application rates are left up to the decision of the local
jurisdiction, but the maximum established baseline rate is 500 pounds of sand
per lane mile. Each governmental agency must achieve a 20 percent reduction over
their established baseline rate (Denver's is 30 percent) each
year.
e-mail: comments.apcd@state.co.us
Roy Doyle (303) 692-3159
- Unit Supervisor
- Odor Intensity Grading Certification
Tim Barber (303) 692-3213
- Emissions Inventory
- Inventory Data Retrieval Requests
Gary Finiol (303) 692-3165
- Emissions Inventory
- Annual Fees
- Wood-Burning Stove Certifications
- Street Sanding Oversight
Pat Gonzales (303) 692-3201
- Emissions Inventory
- Annual Fees
Mark Kendra (303) 692-3172
Emissions Inventory
Dave Thayer (303) 692-3187
- Emissions Inventory
- Inventory Data Retrieval Requests
- Engineering Analysis and Systems Support
Contacting the Stationary Sources Program:
Telephone: 303-692-3150
FAX: 303-782-0278
Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment
APCD-SS-B1
4300 Cherry Creek
South
Denver, Colorado 80246-1530
