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Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment <br />Air Pollution Control Division <br />Air Quality Requirements <br />for Surface Mining <br />Operations <br />if you own or operate a surface mining operation, <br />including a sand and gravel pit, borrow pit, or quarry, you <br />may need to report air missions to, or obtain an air <br />permit from, the Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) at <br />the Colorado Department of Public Health and <br />Environment (CDPHE). This document provides an <br />overview of the air pollution reporting and permitting <br />require? that apply to Colorado surface mining <br />operations. <br />What Must Be Reported? <br />The APCD regulates air pollutants released from surface <br />mining operations and from the equipment used at <br />mining sites. Surface mining activities and mining <br />equipment (such as crushers and screens) release <br />fugitive dust that can be carried from the site by the <br />wind. In addition, many surface mining operations use <br />generators fueled with natural gas, oil, propane, or diesel <br />that release byproducts of combustion such as volatile <br />organic compounds (VOCs} carbon monoxide (CO), <br />nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2 - if sulfur <br />is present in the fuel). Emissions of fugifive dust and <br />fuel combustion that exceed certain thresholds must be <br />reported to the APCD through the submission of an Air <br />Pollutant Emission Notice (APEN). Amt all surface <br />mining operations and associated equipment require the <br />filing of an APEN. The APEN forms are available <br />through the APCD and downloadable at: <br />www cdvhe state co i s/op/downioadfbffns ash <br />Reporting Emissions for Surface Mining <br />Sites <br />The APEN form fitted Aching Operations - APEN and <br />Application for Construction Permit and Fugitive <br />Particulate Emissions Con#rct Plan is used to report <br />emissions from the mining site. This forth requests <br />information on the location and ownership of the site and <br />detailed information an the nature of site emissions, <br />production, and associated equipment. The APEN also <br />requests information on the site-sped Fugitive Dust <br />Control Plan. <br /> <br />> Reporting Emissions for Process <br />Equipment <br />The General APEN form is used to repot air emissions <br />from process equipment such as generators, crushers, <br />screen decks, and conveyor systems. This form <br />requires information about the equipment such as the <br />type of equipment, make, model, and serial number, <br />hours of operation, and quantity of material processed <br />through the equuipment. This form also requires <br />information regarding whether the process equipment is <br />portable or stationary: <br />Portable equipment c be moved from site to site, <br />homer, a "Notice of Retocation° must be submitted <br />to the Division at least 10 days prior to relocation of <br />permits equipment. At your home base. maintain <br />an up4o-date list of your equipment 10c8110ns. <br />• To be considered `stationary or 'fixed,* equipment <br />must remain at the location indicated on the APEN <br />for at WW two years. If you decide to move <br />permitted stationary equipment, you must submit an <br />APEN to modify the permit for that equipment to a <br />portable source prior to the move. <br />Each individual piece of process equipment is typically <br />reported on a separate General APEN form. However, <br />multiple pieces of equipment may be grouped and <br />reputed on a single General APEN form if the <br />equipment will always remain together (i.e., pieces of <br />equipment can not be added or removed from the <br />group). For example, if a portable group of equipment <br />is moved to a new site, each piece of equipment in that <br />group must move to the new site, no piece of equipment <br />can be left behind. Grouping equipment onto a single <br />General APEN can help you avoid extra APF..N filing <br />fees. <br />What Must Be Permitted? <br />Based on the information provided on the APEN, the <br />APCD will determine whether an air permit is required <br />for your surface mining operation and/or equipment. As <br />a rule of thumb: <br />Surface misting operations that mine over 70.000 <br />tons of product material per year (i.e., raw material <br />removal or processing for sale, which could include <br />top soli, overburden, and raw material) almost <br />always require an air permit. Surface mining <br />actives that mine less than 70,000 tons of product <br />material per year are spmiF.ally exempt from <br />permitting requirements (although they still require <br />an APEN). <br />Air Quality Requirements for Surface Mining Operations Msy 2006