A State operating permit program (including a State Acid Rain program) shall meet the following criteria. Any aspect of a State operating permits program or any implementation of a State operating permit program that fails to meet these criteria shall be grounds for nonacceptance or withdrawal of all or part of the Acid Rain portion of an approved State operating permit program by the Administrator or for disapproval or withdrawal of approval of the State operating permit program by the Administrator.

(a) Non-Interference with Acid Rain Program. The State operating permit program shall not include or implement any measures that would interfere with the Acid Rain Program. In particular, the State program shall not restrict or interfere with allowance trading and shall not interfere with the Administrator's decision on an offset plan. Aspects and implementation of the State program that would constitute interference with the Acid Rain Program, and are thus prohibited, include but are not limited to:

(1) Prohibitions, inconsistent with the Acid Rain Program, on the acquisition or transfer of allowances by an affected unit or affected source under the jurisdiction of the State permitting authority;

(2) Restrictions, inconsistent with the Acid Rain Program, on an affected unit's or an affected source's ability to sell or otherwise obligate its allowances;

(3) Requirements that an affected unit or affected source maintain a balance of allowances in excess of the level determined to be prudent by any utility regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the owners of the affected unit or affected source;

(4) Failing to notify the Administrator of any State administrative or judicial appeals of, or decisions covering, Acid Rain permit provisions that might affect Acid Rain Program requirements;

(5) Issuing an order, inconsistent with the Acid Rain Program, interpreting Acid Rain Program requirements as not applicable to an affected source or an affected unit in whole or in part or otherwise adjusting the requirements;

(6) Withholding approval of any compliance option that meets the requirements of the Acid Rain Program; or

(7) Any other aspect of implementation that the Administrator determines would hinder the operation of the Acid Rain Program.

(b) The State operating permit program shall require the following provisions, which are adopted to the extent that this paragraph (b) is incorporated by reference or is otherwise included in the State operating permit program.

(1) Acid Rain Permit Issuance. Issuance or denial of Acid Rain permits shall follow the procedures under this part, part 70 of this chapter, and, for combustion or process sources, part 74, including:

(i) Permit application—(A) Requirement to comply.

(1) The owners and operators and the designated representative for each affected source, except for combustion or process sources, under jurisdiction of the State permitting authority shall be required to comply with subparts B, C, and D of this part.

(2) The owners and operators and the designated representative for each combustion or process source under jurisdiction of the State permitting authority shall be required to comply with subpart B of this part and subparts B, C, D, and E of part 74 of this chapter.

(B) Effect of an Acid Rain permit application. A complete Acid Rain permit application, except for a permit application for a combustion or process source, shall be binding on the owners and operators and the designated representative of the affected source, all affected units at the source, and any other unit governed by the permit application and shall be enforceable as an Acid Rain permit, from the date of submission of the permit application until the issuance or denial of the Acid Rain permit under paragraph (b)(1)(vii) of this section.

(ii) Draft Permit.

(A) The State permitting authority shall prepare the draft Acid Rain permit in accordance with subpart E of this part and part 76 of this chapter or, for a combustion or process source, with subpart B of part 74 of this chapter, or deny a draft Acid Rain permit.

(B) Prior to issuance of a draft permit for a combustion or process source, the State permitting authority shall provide the designated representative of a combustion or process source an opportunity to confirm its intention to opt-in, in accordance with §74.14 of this chapter.

(iii) Public Notice and Comment Period. Public notice of the issuance or denial of the draft Acid Rain permit and the opportunity to comment and request a public hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the source is located or in a State publication designed to give general public notice. Notwithstanding the prior sentence, if a draft permit requires the affected units at a source to comply with §72.9(c)(1) and to meet any applicable emission limitation for NOX under §§76.5, 76.6, 76.7, 76.8, or 76.11 of this chapter and does not include for any unit a compliance option under §72.44, part 74 of this chapter, or §76.10 of this chapter, the State permitting authority may, in its discretion, provide notice by serving notice on persons entitled to receive a written notice and may omit notice by newspaper or State publication.

(iv) Proposed permit. The State permitting authority shall incorporate all changes necessary and issue a proposed Acid Rain permit in accordance with subpart E of this part and part 76 of this chapter or, for a combustion or process source, with subpart B of part 74 of this chapter, or deny a proposed Acid Rain permit.

(v) Direct proposed procedures. The State permitting authority may, in its discretion, issue, as a single document, a draft Acid Rain permit in accordance with paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section and a proposed Acid Rain permit and may provide public notice of the opportunity for public comment on the draft Acid Rain permit in accordance with paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section. The State permitting authority may provide that, if no significant, adverse comment on the draft Acid Rain permit is timely submitted, the proposed Acid Rain permit will be deemed to be issued on a specified date without further notice and, if such significant, adverse comment is timely submitted, a proposed Acid Rain permit or denial of a proposed Acid Rain permit will be issued in accordance with paragraph (b)(1)(iv) of this section. Any notice provided under this paragraph (b)(1)(v) shall include a description of the procedure in the prior sentence.

(vi) Acid Rain Permit Issuance. Following the Administrator's review of the proposed Acid Rain permit, the State permitting authority shall or, under part 70 of this chapter, the Administrator will, incorporate any required changes and issue or deny the Acid Rain permit in accordance with subpart E of this part and part 76 of this chapter or, for a combustion or process source, with subpart B of part 74 of this chapter.

(vii) New Owners. An Acid Rain permit shall be binding on any new owner or operator or designated representative of any source or unit governed by the permit.

(viii) Each Acid Rain permit (including a draft or proposed permit) shall contain all applicable Acid Rain requirements, shall be a complete and segregable portion of the operating permit, and shall not incorporate information contained in any other documents, other than documents that are readily available.

(ix) No Acid Rain permit (including a draft or proposed permit) shall be issued unless the Administrator has received a certificate of representation for the designated representative of the source in accordance with subpart B of this part.

(x) Except as provided in §72.73(b) and, with regard to combustion or process sources, in §74.14(c)(6) of this chapter, the State permitting authority shall issue or deny an Acid Rain permit within 18 months of receiving a complete Acid Rain permit application submitted in accordance with §72.21 or such lesser time approved under part 70 of this chapter.

(2) Permit Revisions. In acting on any Acid Rain permit revision, the State permitting authority shall follow the provisions and procedures set forth at subpart H of this part.

(3) Permit Renewal. The renewal of an Acid Rain permit for an affected source shall be subject to all the requirements of this subpart pertaining to the issuance of permits.

(4) Acid Rain Program Forms. In developing the Acid Rain portion of the operating permit, the permitting authority shall use the applicable forms or other formats prescribed by the Administrator under the Acid Rain Program; provided that the Administrator may waive this requirement in whole or in part.

(5) Acid Rain Appeal Procedures.

(i) Appeals of the Acid Rain portion of an operating permit issued by the State permitting authority that do not challenge or involve decisions or actions of the Administrator under this part or part 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, or 78 of this chapter shall be conducted according to procedures established by the State in accordance with part 70 of this chapter. Appeals of the Acid Rain portion of such a permit that challenge or involve such decisions or actions of the Administrator shall follow the procedures under part 78 of this chapter and section 307 of the Act. Such decisions or actions include, but are not limited to, allowance allocations, determinations concerning alternative monitoring systems, and determinations of whether a technology is a qualifying repowering technology.

(ii) [Reserved]

(iii) The State permitting authority shall serve written notice on the Administrator of any State administrative or judicial appeal concerning as Acid Rain provision of any operating permit or denial of an Acid Rain portion of any operating permit within 30 days of the filing of the appeal.

(iv) Any State administrative permit appeals procedures shall ensure that the Administrator may intervene as a matter of right in any permit appeal involving an Acid Rain permit provision or denial of an Acid Rain permit.

(v) The State permitting authority shall serve written notice on the Administrator of any determination or order in a State administrative or judicial proceeding that interprets, modifies, voids, or otherwise relates to any portion of an Acid Rain permit.

(vi) A failure of the State permitting authority to issue an Acid Rain permit in accordance with §72.73(b)(1) or, with regard to combustion or process sources, §74.14(b)(6) of this chapter shall be ground for filing an appeal.

[58 FR 3650, Jan. 11, 1993, as amended at 60 FR 17113, Apr. 4, 1995; 62 FR 55482, Oct. 24, 1997; 66 FR 12978, Mar. 1, 2001; 70 FR 25334, May 12, 2005]