The director of environmental protection may do any of the following:
Consistent with division (K) of section 3704.036 of the Revised Code, the director shall consider alternative emission limits proposed by the owner or operator of an air contaminant source that is subject to an emission limit established in rules adopted under this division and shall accept those alternative emission limits that the director determines to be equivalent to emission limits established in rules adopted under this division.
No installation permit shall be required for activities that are subject to and in compliance with a plant-wide applicability limit issued by the director in accordance with rules adopted under this section.
No installation permit shall be issued except in accordance with all requirements of this chapter and rules adopted thereunder. No application shall be denied or permit revoked or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or permit holder by certified mail.
Division (F)(2)(b) of this section applies to an installation permit that has not terminated as of October 16, 2009.
The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the purpose of establishing additional requirements that are necessary for the implementation of division (F)(2)(b) of this section.
The director may modify the rule adopted under division (F)(3)(c) of this section for the purpose of adding or deleting air contaminants. For each air contaminant that is contained in or deleted from the rule adopted under division (F)(3)(c) of this section, the director shall include in a notice accompanying any proposed or final rule an explanation of the director's determination that the air contaminant meets the criteria established in that division and should be added to, or no longer meets the criteria and should be deleted from, the list of air contaminants. The explanation shall include an identification of the scientific evidence on which the director relied in making the determination. Until adoption of the rule under division (F)(3)(c) of this section, nothing shall affect the director's authority to issue, deny, modify, or revoke permits to install under this chapter and rules adopted under it.
No variance shall be issued except pursuant to those rules. The rules shall prescribe conditions and criteria in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and consistent with the federal Clean Air Act governing eligibility for issuance of variances, which shall include all of the following:
The rules shall prohibit the issuance of variances from any emission limitation that was applicable to a source pursuant to an installation permit and shall prohibit issuance of variances that conflict with the federal Clean Air Act.
Applications for variances shall be accompanied by such information as the director may require. In issuing variances, the director may order the person to whom a variance is issued to furnish plans and specifications and such other information and data, including interim reports, as the director may require and to proceed to take such action within such time as the director may determine to be appropriate and reasonable to prevent, control, or abate the person's existing emissions of air contaminants. The director shall specify in each variance that the variance is conditioned upon payment of the applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter upon the premises of the person to whom the variance has been issued, at any reasonable time and subject to safety requirements of the person in control of the premises, for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, the rules adopted thereunder, and the conditions of any permit, variance, or order issued thereunder.
The director may hold a public hearing on an application for a variance or renewal thereof at a location in the county where the variance is sought. The director shall give not less than twenty days' notice of the hearing to the applicant by certified mail or another type of mail accompanied by a receipt . The director also shall cause at least one publication of notice in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the variance is sought or may instead provide public notice by publication on the environmental protection agency's web site. The director shall keep available for public inspection at the principal office of the environmental protection agency a current schedule of pending applications for variances and a current schedule of pending variance hearings. The director shall make a complete stenographic record or electronic record of testimony and other evidence submitted at the hearing. The director shall make a written determination to issue, renew, or deny the variance and shall enter the determination and the basis therefor into the record of the hearing. The director shall issue, renew, or deny an application for a variance or renewal thereof, or issue a proposed action upon the application pursuant to section 3745.07 of the Revised Code, within six months of the date upon which the director receives a complete application with all pertinent information and data required by the director.
Any variance granted pursuant to rules adopted under this division shall be for a period specified by the director, not to exceed three years, and may be renewed from time to time on such terms and for such periods, not to exceed three years each, as the director determines to be appropriate. A variance may be revoked, or renewal denied, for failure to comply with conditions specified in the variance. No variance shall be issued, denied, revoked, or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which the issuance, denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or variance holder by certified mail.
Best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall be expressed only in one of the following ways that is most appropriate for the applicable source or source categories:
Best available technology requirements shall not apply to an air contaminant source that has the potential to emit, taking into account air pollution controls installed on the source, less than ten tons per year of emissions of an air contaminant or precursor of an air contaminant for which a national ambient air quality standard has been adopted under the federal Clean Air Act. In addition, best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall not apply to any existing, new, or modified air contaminant source that is subject to a plant-wide applicability limit that has been approved by the director. Further, best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall not apply to general permits issued prior to January 1, 2006, under rules adopted under this chapter.
For permits to install issued three or more years after August 3, 2006, any new or modified air contaminant source that has the potential to emit, taking into account air pollution controls installed on the source, ten or more tons per year of volatile organic compounds or nitrogen oxides shall meet, at a minimum, the requirements of any applicable reasonably available control technology rule in effect as of January 1, 2006, regardless of the location of the source.
The environmental protection agency shall develop a plan to control air pollution resulting from state-operated facilities and property.
R.C. § 3704.03