(a) The Commissioner may, by regulation, prohibit the construction, erection, installation, alteration or use of any machine, equipment, device or other article which he finds may cause or contribute to air pollution or is intended primarily to prevent or control the emission of air pollutants, unless a construction and/or operating permit therefore has been obtained from the Commissioner.
(b) After the effective date of the permit program promulgated under this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to violate any requirement of an operating permit issued under this chapter, or to operate, a major source, or any other source subject to standards or regulations promulgated pursuant hereto, except in compliance with an operating permit issued by the Commissioner under this chapter.
(c) The effective date of Part 70 permit program promulgated under this chapter shall be the effective date of approval by the Administrator. No Part 70 source required to have a permit under this chapter shall be in violation of section 206(b) of this chapter before the date on which the source is required to submit an application under this chapter and the rules and regulations promulgated thereto. The Commissioner shall have the authority to issue non-Part 70 permits during the Administrator's approval process.
(d) Applications for a permit to construct or modify an emission source must include site locations maps, construction drawings, plans, specifications and such other information as the Department deems necessary. The application for a permit to operate must include a copy of the construction permit authorization, and such other information as the Department deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, or to carry out the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(e) Failure of the Commissioner to act on a permit application, permit revision application, or permit renewal application within 18 months, or a minor modification application within ninety (90) days, or a minor modification application subject to group processing requirements within one hundred eighty (180) days of submission shall be treated as final permit action solely for purposes of obtaining judicial review in the Superior Court of the United States Virgin Islands. An action may be brought by the applicant, any person who participated in the public participation process and any other person who could obtain judicial review of such actions under Territorial laws.
(f) The Commissioner, by rules and regulations, shall provide for the issuance, suspension, revocation, reopening, modification and renewal of any permits which he may require pursuant to this section.
(g) The Building Permits Division under the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, before issuance of a permit for the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or occupancy of any building or structure, shall submit the application and the plans and specifications therefor to the Commissioner for review and approval if such plans and specifications provide for any fuel burning or refuse-burning equipment, or any chimney or smoke stack, or occupancy or any building for industrial purposes.
(h) No construction permit shall be issued by the Building Permits Division if the Commissioner, after review of applications therefor as provided in subsection (d) of this section, finds that the building or structure will violate the provisions of this chapter.
(i) The Commissioner may, after public notice and opportunity for public hearing, issue a Part 70 operating permit for the emission of any pollutant into the atmosphere about the United States Virgin Islands notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section upon condition that such emission meets or will meet all applicable territorial and federal emission standards and limitations and all other requirements of this chapter. In addition, the Commissioner shall give notice to appropriate governmental agencies of proposed actions concerning the issuance of permits. Permits which are issued for sources other than those required for Part 70 compliance may be issued without the necessity of public notice and hearing, at the discretion of the Commissioner.
(j) Each operating permit issued under this chapter shall have a term not to exceed five (5) years. Permits for solid waste incineration units combusting municipal waste shall have a fixed term not to exceed twelve (12) years, to be reviewed at least every five (5) years. Renewal applications must be submitted at least six (6) months prior to the date of expiration of a permit.
(k) Any permit issued under this chapter may be revoked, reopened, modified, revised or suspended, in whole or in part, during its term for cause, including, but not limited to the following:
(1) violation of any condition of the permit, including, any interim schedule of compliance;
(2) obtaining a permit by misrepresentation or failure to disclose fully all relevant facts;
(3) change in any condition that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the permitted emission;
(4) in the case of permits with a remaining term of three (3) or more years for major sources, promulgation by the Administrator, subsequent to the issuance of the permit, of applicable standards and regulations more stringent than that in effect at the time such permit was issued. Such revisions shall occur as expeditiously as practicable and be consistent with the procedures established under this section, but not later than eighteen (18) months after the promulgation of such standards and regulations. No such revision shall be required if the effective date of the standards or regulations is a date after the expiration of the permit term. Such permit revision shall be treated as a permit renewal if it complies with the requirements of this chapter regarding renewals.
(l) Changes are allowed within a permitted facility without requiring a permit revision, if the changes are not modifications under any provisions of Title I of the Clean Air Act, as amended and the changes do not exceed the emissions allowable under the permit (whether expressed therein as a rate of emissions or in terms of total emissions), or are not changes to the monitoring requirements in the permit; provided, that the facility provides the administrator and the Department with written notification in advance of the proposed changes which shall be minimum of seven (7) days.
(m)
(1) Each permit issued under this chapter shall include enforceable emission limitations and standards, a schedule of compliance, a requirement that the permittee submit to the Department, no less often than every six (6) months, the results of any required monitoring, and such other conditions as are necessary to assure compliance with the applicable requirements of this chapter and the Clean Air Act, as amended.
(2) The Commissioner may by rule, prescribe procedures and methods for determining compliance, and for monitoring and analysis of pollutants regulated under this chapter.
(3) Each permit issued under this chapter shall set forth inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification, test methods and reporting requirements to assure compliance with the permit terms and conditions. Such monitoring and reporting requirements shall be consistent with any applicable regulation under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(n) The owner or operator of all sources subject to the requirement to obtain a permit under this chapter shall pay an annual fee, or the equivalent over some other period as prescribed by rules and regulations. The fee for a Part 70 permit shall be an amount not less than $25.00 per ton of each regulated pollutant, or such other amount as the Commissioner may determine adequately reflects the reasonable costs of the permit program. The Commissioner may reduce any fee required under this chapter to take into account the financial resources of small business stationary sources.