Summary
This is an EPA Clean Air Act rule approving a synthetic minor air permit program for the District of Columbia, dealing with criteria air pollutant emissions from stationary sources. It has no connection to peptide research, manufacturing, or supply, and only tangentially affects industrial facilities that might emit regulated air pollutants.
Full Document Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 122 (Friday, June 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 122 (Friday, June 26, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38526-38530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-12898]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R03-OAR-2025-0734; FRL-13009-02-R3]
Air Plan Approval; District of Columbia; Creation of Synthetic
Minor Permit Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a state
implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the Department of
Energy and Environment (DOEE) on behalf of the District of Columbia
(DC). The revision pertains to creating a synthetic minor permit
program and resolving the regulatory differences between DC's current
regulations and those regulations approved previously in Chapters 1 and
2 of the Air Quality Regulations codified in title 20 of the District
of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The intended effect of this
action is to enable DC to create federally enforceable synthetic minor
permit conditions for sources of criteria pollutants. The EPA is
approving these revisions to the DC SIP in accordance with the
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES: This final rule is effective on July 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID Number EPA-R03-OAR-2025-0734. All documents in the docket are
listed on the <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the
index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential
business information (CBI) or other information the disclosure of which
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are
available through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, or please contact the person
identified in the For Further Information Contact section for
additional availability information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yongtian He, Permits Branch (3AD10),
Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
III, 1600 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.
The telephone number is (215) 814-2339. Mr. He can also be reached via
electronic mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bad2df94c3d5d4ddced3dbd4fadfcadb94ddd5cc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8d0dd96c1d7d6dfccd1d9d6f8ddc8d996dfd7ce">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On November 20, 2025 (90 FR 52305), the EPA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the District of Columbia. In the NPRM,
the EPA proposed the approval of a revision to the DC SIP to create a
synthetic minor permit program and to address regulatory differences
between DC's current regulations and those approved previously in
Chapters 1 and 2 of the Air Quality Regulations. The formal SIP
revision was submitted by DOEE on August 11, 2023.
A SIP-approved minor source permitting program can include
provisions for issuing permits that establish federally enforceable
emissions limits to restrict the Potential to Emit (PTE) of certain
pollutants below major stationary source and major modification
applicability thresholds. ``Synthetic minor'' permits establish these
federally enforceable emission limits for sources obtaining
construction permits and also establish these emission limits in the
corresponding operating permits.
This DC SIP revision is intended to create a synthetic minor permit
program through provisions in title 20 of the District of Columbia
Municipal Regulations (20 DCMR), specifically 20 DCMR Chapter 2
sections 200.6 and 200.7 as amended, in conjunction with other
provisions that already existed in 20 DCMR Chapters 1 and 2, that were
previously approved into the DC SIP. These provisions enable a new
source or modification of an existing source to limit its PTE below
major source thresholds in order to qualify as a minor source or minor
modification and to avoid applicability of major new source review
(NSR) requirements, including the requirements of the prevention of
significant deterioration (PSD) program in attainment areas and of the
nonattainment NSR (NNSR) program in nonattainment areas. These
provisions also allow new sources or modifications of existing sources
to avoid Title V major source status by limiting their PTE. The SIP
approved synthetic minor program will provide sources a mechanism to
avoid Title V and new source review major source applicability and make
those synthetic minor permit conditions both enforceable by DC and at
the Federal level.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
The District of Columbia submitted a SIP revision to create a
synthetic minor permitting program. Section 200
[[Page 38527]]
(General Permit Requirements) of 20 DCMR Chapter 2 (General and Non-
attainment Area Permits) establishes synthetic minor program
provisions. Section 200.6 allows DOEE to establish a condition in a
permit issued pursuant to this chapter that limits, in a manner that is
enforceable as a practical matter, emissions from a source so as to
avoid applicability of the permitting requirements of section 300.1
(i.e., Title V). Essentially, this provision creates a synthetic minor
operating permit program, along with other provisions in 20 DCMR
Chapter 2. Similarly, section 200.7 effectively creates a synthetic
minor preconstruction permit program. Through provisions in sections
200.6, 200.7, and other sections in 20 DCMR Chapter 2, DOEE establishes
a synthetic minor program to issue synthetic minor operating permits
and synthetic minor preconstruction permits in DC.
In a June 28, 1989 Final Rule, the EPA established five criteria
for an approvable state operating permit program. See 54 FR 27274.
While that action is not directly applicable to the current DC SIP
revision, as discussed in the NPRM, those criteria are useful for
purposes of evaluating a State's synthetic minor program. The NPRM of
this action described in detail how DOEE's SIP submittal satisfies each
of these five criteria. See 90 FR 52305, November 20, 2025. In short,
DC's synthetic minor program is consistent with the five criteria for
approving a state operating permit program into a SIP. Permits issued
under an approved program are federally enforceable and may be used to
limit the PTE for sources of criteria air pollutants. In meeting those
five criteria in the 1989 Final Rule, DC's synthetic minor program also
meets the requirements of 40 CFR 51.160 through 51.165 on legally
enforceable procedures, public availability of information,
identification of responsible agency, administrative procedures, stack
height procedures, and permit requirements. The DC SIP submission also
meets the public notice and public hearing requirements of CAA section
110(l). The EPA finds that these revisions in the DC SIP will not
interfere with any applicable requirements concerning attainment and
reasonable further progress, or any other applicable CAA requirement.
Therefore, the DC SIP revision meets the requirements of section 110 of
the CAA.
Additional rationale for the EPA's now final action is explained in
the NPRM and will not be restated here.
III. EPA's Response to Comments Received
The EPA received three sets of comments on its November 20, 2025
proposed action to approve revisions to the DC SIP. These comments,
provided by Earthjustice, Citizens Rulemaking Alliance, and an
anonymous concerned citizen, raised concerns with regard to the EPA's
November 20, 2025 proposed action. A full set of these comments is
provided in the docket for this final action. A summary of the comments
and the EPA's responses are provided below.
Earthjustice comment 1: The commenter raised concerns on the public
participation requirements in the proposed permitting program. The DC's
proposed SIP revision expressly waives public participation
requirements for individual applications for coverage by source
category permits (the DC's version of ``general'' permits or permits by
rule). The commenter asserts that the DC's submission also fails to
ensure effective public notice of proposed permits. The commenter
further asserts that provisions in section 210.4 arbitrarily assume
that providing notice by just one of these means will ``ensure
appropriate means of notification.''
EPA response: The EPA disagrees with the commenter. A ``General
Permit'' (or ``source category permit'' in DC) refers to a pre-approved
permit which applies to a specific class of significant sources. By
issuing a General Permit, DOEE indicates that it approves the
activities authorized by the General Permit, provided that the owner or
operator of the source registers with DOEE and meets the requirements
of the General Permit. The purpose of a General Permit is to improve
efficiency and consistency, i.e., to reduce the burden of individual
permits for minor sources, and to ensure all sources in a category meet
the same standards. General Permits or source category permits also
improve efficiency and reduce the administrative burden on air
permitting authorities; thus, it is a commonly adopted practice among
many State and local air permitting authorities to issue General
Permits. Public participation is typically conducted prior to the
issuance of a General Permit; public participation is not required when
an individua
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