Powers and Duties of Board of Natural Resources as to Air Quality Generally

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Conservation and Natural Resources
  4. Prevention and Control of Air Pollution
  5. Air Quality
  6. Powers and Duties of Board of Natural Resources as to Air Quality Generally

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  1. Any hearing officer appointed by the Board of Natural Resources, and all members of five-member committees of the Board of Natural Resources, shall, and at least a majority of members of the entire Board of Natural Resources shall, represent the public interest and shall not derive any significant portion of their income from persons subject to permits or enforcement orders under this article. All potential conflicts of interest shall be adequately disclosed.
  2. In the performance of its duties, the Board of Natural Resources shall have and may exercise the power to:
    1. Adopt, promulgate, revise, modify, amend, and repeal rules and regulations necessary to abate or control air pollution, or necessary to implement any of the provisions of this article or requirements of the federal act imposed on the state as an implementing authority, consistent with the declaration of public policy. Such requirements may be for the state as a whole or may vary from area to area, as may be appropriate to facilitate accomplishment of the policy of this article;
    2. Establish ambient air quality standards for the state, including schedules and timetables for the state to achieve such ambient air quality standards, provided that they are in all cases not less stringent than provided by the federal act;
    3. Establish such standards of performance, emission limitations, emission control standards, and emission offsets for sources or facilities as are necessary to prevent, control, or abate air pollution, to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards, to protect the public health and welfare, and to fulfill the policy of this article, provided that such standards or limitations are no less stringent than the federal act;
    4. Establish contingency provisions, alternative methods, and control measures sufficient to comply with the federal act which will be implemented should the state fail to attain or maintain an ambient air quality standard in the state or in any area of the state in accordance with this article and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article;
    5. Establish emission reduction measures which are appropriate, necessary, or beneficial in meeting the provisions of this article, including, but not limited to, economic incentives, fees, marketable permits, emission allowances, and auctions of emission rights;
    6. Require the owner or operator of any stationary source or facility to establish and maintain such records; provide such information or make such reports; install, use, and maintain such emission or process monitoring equipment or methods, continuous or otherwise; and sample such emissions, continuous or not, in accordance with such methods or procedures, at such locations or intervals as reasonably may be required to implement this article, and make such records, reports, information, or monitoring results available to the director or administrator upon request, provided that no requirement under this paragraph shall be any less stringent than the federal act;
    7. Require the use of air-cleaning devices, means of emission limitation, whether continuous, supplemental, or intermittent, or control measures and standards of performance so as to achieve and maintain compliance with the provisions of this article and the federal act;
    8. Prevent the significant deterioration of the air quality by establishing air quality standards or air quality increments limiting the maximum allowable amounts of air pollutantsor air contaminants which a source or facility is allowed to emit; provided, however, that such limits are sufficient to comply with the federal act;
    9. Establish standards of performance, emission limitations, and emission control standards and control measures for mobile sources of air pollution and nonroad engines, provided that no requirement under this paragraph shall be less stringent than those contained in the federal act;
    10. Establish, revise, or modify emission limitations, emission control standards, or control measures for stationary sources or facilities in areas of the state where such sources or facilities significantly contribute to nonattainment of an ambient air quality standard or significantly contribute to a significant deterioration of air quality in the state, an area of the state, or another state; provided, however, that no requirement under this paragraph shall be less stringent than the requirements for such source or facility under this article and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this article;
    11. Establish, revise, modify, and amend emission limitations, emission control standards, or standards of performance limiting the total quantity of air contaminants or emissions which may be emitted by a source, facility, or area of the state;
    12. Establish a program for prevention and mitigation of accidental releases of hazardous air contaminants or air pollutants into the ambient air or within a facility; establish, revise, amend, and modify rules and regulations for program implementation; and require reasonable precautionary and response measures to safeguard public health and public safety including, but not limited to, monitoring hazardous or potentially hazardous air contaminants and air pollutants, record keeping, inspection, control measures, safety procedures, emergency response procedures, training, prevention planning, education, emission control standards, emission limitations, and other necessary safety measures; and the board may require any source or facility subject to this paragraph to obtain a Title V permit;
    13. Establish training and educational programs to ensure the proper operation and utilization of emission control equipment, safety procedures, emission control alternatives, and the dissemination of air quality information to the public;
    14. Establish standards for the construction of new stationary sources or facilities or modification of an existing source or facility in areas where the national ambient air standards are not met or in other areas contributing to the air pollution of such areas only after imposing requirements and appropriate emission offsets or reductions no less stringent than the requirements of the federal act;
    15. Establish requirements for preconstruction or premodification review procedures prior to the construction of any new stationary source or facility or modification of any existing stationary source or facility sufficient to allow the director to make determinations that the proposed construction or modification will not cause or contribute to a failure to attain or maintain any ambient air quality standard, a significant deterioration of air quality, or a violation of any applicable emission limitation or standard of performance; and to require that prior to commencing construction or modification, any person proposing such construction or modification shall submit required information to the director.Such preconstruction and premodification review requirements shall be no less stringent than and shall require that no proposed source or facility may be permitted unless such source or facility meets all the requirements for review and for obtaining a permit prescribed in this article and in accordance with the federal act;
    16. Establish a program to reduce the adverse effects of acid deposition through the reduction of annual emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides within the state sufficient to comply with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. Section 7651, et seq., of the federal act; and
    17. Establish satisfactory processes of consultation and cooperation with local governments or other designated organizations of elected officials or federal agencies for purposes of planning, implementing, and determining requirements under this article to the extent required by the federal act.

(Code 1933, 88-903, enacted by Ga. L. 1967, p. 581, § 1; Ga. L. 1971, p. 184, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 994, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1015, § 1529; Ga. L. 1973, p. 1285, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 275, § 5; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 12; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 12; Ga. L. 1992, p. 918, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2886, § 1.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1992, "article" was substituted for "chapter" throughout this Code section and a comma was added following "standards" in paragraph (b)(2).

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, "42 U.S.C." was substituted for "42 U.S.C" in paragraph (b)(16).

U.S. Code.

- Title I, Part C and Part D of the federal act, referred to in paragraph (b)(8) of this Code section, is codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 7470 through 7508. Section 129(a) of Pub. L. 95-95, also referred to in that paragraph, is not codified.

Administrative Rules and Regulations.

- Air quality control, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, Chapter 391-3-1.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Judicial review of air quality permit.

- Trial court decision invalidating an air quality permit issued by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to a power company to construct a pulverized coal-fired electric power plant in a particular county contained an erroneous ruling that the permit was invalid because the permit failed to include a limit on the power plant's carbon dioxide gas (CO2) emissions since no provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., or the state implementation plan controlled or limited CO2 emissions. Because CO2 was not a pollutant that "otherwise is subject to regulation under the CAA," CO2 was not a regulated new source review pollutant in the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program and was not required to be controlled by use of best available control technology (BACT), therefore, the trial court erred by ruling that the PSD permit was required to include a BACT emission limit to control the power company's CO2 emissions. Longleaf Energy Assocs., LLC v. Friends of the Chattahoochee, Inc., 298 Ga. App. 753, 681 S.E.2d 203 (2009), cert. denied, No. S09C1879, 2009 Ga. LEXIS 809 (Ga. 2009).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Environmental Protection Division has authority to obtain emission and operating information from sources of air pollution. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U80-19; 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-78.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 73 C.J.S., Public Administrative Law and Procedure, §§ 106, 161, 166 et seq.

ALR.

- Air pollution control: validity of legislation permitting administrative agency to fix permissible standards of pollutant emission, 48 A.L.R.3d 326.


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