Chapter 3704 | Air Pollution Control

Section 3704.01 | Air pollution control definitions.

• Effective: October 17, 2019
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly

As used in this chapter:

(A) "Administrator" means the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency or the chief executive of any successor federal agency responsible for implementation of the federal Clean Air Act.

(B) "Air contaminant" means particulate matter, dust, fumes, gas, mist, radionuclides, smoke, vapor, or odorous substances, or any combination thereof, but does not mean emissions from agricultural production activities, as defined in section 929.01 of the Revised Code, that are consistent with generally accepted agricultural practices, were established prior to adjacent nonagricultural activities, have no substantial, adverse effect on the public health, safety, or welfare, do not result from the negligent or other improper operations of any such agricultural activities, and would not be required to obtain a Title V permit. For the purposes of this chapter, agricultural production activities do not include the installation and operation of off-farm facilities for the storage or processing of agricultural products, including, but not limited to, alfalfa dehydrating facilities, rendering plants, and feed and grain mills, elevators, and terminals.

(C) "Air contaminant source" means each separate operation or activity that results or may result in the emission of any air contaminant.

(D) "Air pollution" means the presence in the ambient air of one or more air contaminants or any combination thereof in sufficient quantity and of such characteristics and duration as is or threatens to be injurious to human health or welfare, plant or animal life, or property, or as unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.

(E) "Ambient air" means that portion of the atmosphere outside of buildings and other enclosures, stacks, or ducts that surrounds human, plant, or animal life or property.

(F) "Best available technology" means any combination of work practices, raw material specifications, throughput limitations, source design characteristics, an evaluation of the annualized cost per ton of pollutant removed, and air pollution control devices that have been previously demonstrated to the director of environmental protection to operate satisfactorily in this state or other states with similar air quality on substantially similar air pollution sources.

(G) "Change within a permitted facility" means, within the context of the Title V permit program established under section 3704.036 of the Revised Code, a change that is limited by a federally enforceable provision of an applicable Title V permit and that does not include physical, production, or other changes that are neither addressed nor limited by the federally enforceable portion of a Title V permit unless the change would result in a violation of a federally enforceable requirement or a modification under Title I of the federal Clean Air Act or would be subject to any requirements under Title IV of that act.

(H) "Emit" or "emission" means the release into the ambient air of an air contaminant.

(I) "Emission limitation" and "emission standard" mean a requirement that limits the quantity, rate, or concentration of emissions of air contaminants, including any requirement relating to the operation or maintenance of an air contaminant source.

(J) "Facility," for the purposes of the Title V permit program established under section 3704.036 of the Revised Code, means all of the emitting activities that are located on contiguous or adjacent properties that are under the control of the same person or persons or are under common control and that are in the same major group as described in the standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987.

(K) "Federal Clean Air Act" means "Air Quality Act of 1967," 81 Stat. 485, 42 U.S.C. 1857, as amended by "Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970," 84 Stat. 1676, 42 U.S.C. 1857, "Act of November 18, 1971," 85 Stat. 464, 42 U.S.C. 1857, "Act of April 9, 1973," 87 Stat. 11, 42 U.S.C. 1857, "Act of June 24, 1974," 88 Stat. 248, 42 U.S.C. 1857, "Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977," 91 Stat. 685, 42 U.S.C. 7401, "Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1977," 91 Stat. 1393, 42 U.S.C. 7401, "Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990," 104 Stat. 2399, 42 U.S.C.A. 7401, and any other amendments that have been or may hereafter be adopted, or any supplements to those acts and laws of the United States that have been or may hereafter be enacted in substitution therefor, together with any regulations that have been or may hereafter be adopted by the administrator by virtue of and in accordance with those acts and laws. Reference to a particular title or section of the federal Clean Air Act includes any amendments that have been or may hereafter be enacted in substitution therefor and any regulations pertaining to the title or section that have been or may hereafter be adopted by the administrator by virtue of and in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act.

(L) "Hazardous air pollutant" means any pollutant listed under section 112(b) of the federal Clean Air Act.

(M) "Implementation plan" means a program for the prevention and abatement of air pollution in the state that has been promulgated or approved by the administrator pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act.

(N) "Local air pollution control authority" includes all of the following unless terminated by the political subdivisions represented thereby:

(1) All of the following agencies representing the following political subdivisions, as those agencies existed on July 1, 1993:

(a) The Akron regional air quality management district representing Medina, Summit, and Portage counties;

(b) The Canton city health department representing Stark county;

(c) The Hamilton county department of environmental services, southwest Ohio air quality agency representing Butler, Warren, Hamilton, and Clermont counties;

(d) The city of Cleveland division of the environment representing Cuyahoga county;

(e) The regional air pollution control agency representing Darke, Preble, Miami, Montgomery, Clark, and Greene counties;

(f) The Lake county general health district representing Lake and Geauga counties;

(g) The Portsmouth city health department representing Brown, Adams, Scioto, and Lawrence counties;

(h) The city of Toledo division of pollution control representing Lucas county and the city of Rossford in Wood county.

(2) Any successor to an existing local air pollution control authority listed in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (i) of this section that results from a change in the political subdivisions comprising the local air pollution control authority through the withdrawal of a political subdivision from membership in the local air pollution control authority or the inclusion of an additional political subdivision in the membership of the local air pollution control authority;

(3) Any new local air pollution control authority established on or after July 1, 1993, by one or more political subdivisions of this state for the purposes of exercising the powers reserved to political subdivisions of this state under division (A) of section 3704.11 of the Revised Code.

(O) "Person" means the federal government or any agency thereof, the state or any agency thereof, any political subdivision or any agency thereof, or any public or private corporation, individual, partnership, or other entity.

(P) "Research and development sources" means sources whose activities are conducted for nonprofit scientific or educational purposes; sources whose activities are conducted to test more efficient production processes or methods for preventing or reducing adverse environmental impacts, provided that the activities do not include the production of an intermediate or final product for sale or exchange for commercial profit, except in a de minimis manner; a research or laboratory source the primary purpose of which is to conduct research and development into new processes and products, that is operated under the close supervision of technically trained personnel, and that is not engaged in the manufacture of products for sale or exchange for commercial profit, except in a de minimis manner; the temporary use of normal production sources in a research and development mode to test the technical or commercial viability of alternative raw materials or production processes, provided that the use does not include the production of an intermediate or final product for sale or exchange for commercial profit, except in a de minimis manner; the experimental firing of any fuel or combination of fuels in a boiler, heater, furnace, or dryer for the purpose of conducting research and development of more efficient combustion or more effective prevention or control of air pollutant emissions, provided that, during those periods of research and development, the heat generated is not used for normal production purposes or for producing a product for sale or exchange for commercial profit, except in a de minimis manner; and such other similar sources as the director may prescribe by rule.

(Q) "Responsible official" means one of the following, as applicable:

(1) For a corporation: a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly authorized representative of any such person if the representative is responsible for the overall operation of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities applying for or subject to a Title V permit and if one of the following applies:

(a) The facilities employ more than two hundred fifty individuals or have gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding twenty-five million dollars, in second quarter 1980 dollars;

(b) The delegation of authority to the representative is approved in advance by the director.

(2) For a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.

(3) For the federal government or any agency thereof, the state or any agency thereof, a political subdivision or any agency thereof, or any other public agency, either a principal executive officer or authorized elected official. For the purposes of this division, a principal executive officer of a federal agency includes the chief executive officer having responsibility for the overall operation of a principal geographic unit of the agency.

(4) For affected sources, both of the following:

(a) The designated representative insofar as actions, standards, requirements, or prohibitions under Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act or regulations adopted under it are concerned;

(b) The designated representative for any other purposes under 40 C.F.R. part 70.

(R) "Small business stationary source" means any building, structure, facility, or installation that emits any federally regulated air pollutant and is owned or operated by a person who employs one hundred or fewer individuals; is a small business concern as defined in the "Small Business Act," 72 Stat. 384 (1958), 15 U.S.C.A. 632, as amended; is not a major stationary source as defined in section 302(j) of the federal Clean Air Act; does not emit fifty tons or more per year of any federally regulated air pollutant or any hazardous air pollutant; and emits less than seventy-five tons per year of all federally regulated air pollutants.

(S) "Title V permit" means an operating permit required to be issued by the state under section 502 of the federal Clean Air Act and issued under section 3704.036 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it.

(T) For the purposes of the Title V permit program established under this chapter and rules adopted under it, all terms defined in 40 C.F.R. part 70 have the same meaning as in that part.

Section 3704.011 | Emission limit exemptions.

• Effective: July 22, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 715 - 120th General Assembly

(A) In addition to any other exemption provided in this chapter or rules adopted under it, an air contaminant source is exempt from this chapter and rules adopted under it if the emissions of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, or any other air contaminant from that source do not exceed ten pounds per day, as verified in accordance with division (C) of this section, provided that the exemption does not apply to any air contaminant source if any of the following applies:

(1) A requirement established under the federal Clean Air Act or regulations adopted under it limits the emissions from the source to less than ten pounds per day of an air contaminant or restricts the operation of the source in a manner equivalent to an emission limit of less than ten pounds per day;

(2) An emission limit adopted by the director of environmental protection to achieve and maintain the national ambient air quality standards or a rule adopted by the director to protect public health and welfare limits the emissions from the source to less than ten pounds per day of an air contaminant or restricts the operation of the source in a manner equivalent to an emission limit of less than ten pounds per day;

(3) The source emits radionuclides;

(4) The source, alone or in combination with similar air contaminant sources at the same facility, would result in potential emissions of any air contaminant in excess of twenty-five tons per year;

(5) The source emits more than one ton per year of hazardous air pollutants.

(B)(1) Nothing in this section prohibits the director from adopting rules establishing emission limits or permit requirements, or requiring the submission of information for the purpose of developing those rules, for source categories described in divisions (A)(1) to (5) of this section.

(2) Nothing in this section affects the determination of whether a stationary source is a major source for purposes of the applicability of the Title V permit program to the source under section 3704.036 of the Revised Code or any requirement to list insignificant activities and emissions levels in a Title V permit application.

(3) Nothing in this section restricts the director's authority to require the submission of information as necessary to comply with the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act.

(C) If the potential to emit of an air contaminant source exceeds ten pounds per day of any type of air contaminant, the exemption provided in this section does not apply unless the owner or operator of the source maintains records that are adequate to demonstrate that actual emissions have not exceeded ten pounds per day. If the source emits hazardous air pollutants, the exemption provided in this section does not apply unless the owner or operator of the source maintains records that are adequate to demonstrate that actual emissions of hazardous air pollutants have not exceeded one ton per year.

Records required under this division shall be maintained on and after October 29, 1993, preserved for a period of two years, and made available upon request to the director. The director may adopt, amend, and rescind rules to provide further specificity with regard to recordkeeping requirements under this division.

Section 3704.02 | Purposes of chapter - construction of provisions.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

(A) The purposes of this chapter are the following:

(1) To protect and enhance the quality of the state's air resources so as to promote the public health, welfare, economic vitality, and productive capacity of the people of the state;

(2) To enable the state, through the director of environmental protection, to adopt and maintain a program for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution that is consistent with the federal Clean Air Act;

(3) To authorize the state to obtain financial assistance and delegation of powers from the federal government for purposes of the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution.

(B) This chapter, all rules adopted under it, and all permits, variances, and orders issued under it shall be construed, to the extent reasonably possible, to be consistent with the federal Clean Air Act and to promote the purposes of this chapter.

Section 3704.03 | Director of environmental protection - powers and duties.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

The director of environmental protection may do any of the following:

(A) Develop programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution;

(B) Advise, consult, contract, and cooperate with any governmental or private agency in the furtherance of the purposes of this chapter;

(C) Encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, and research relating to air pollution, collect and disseminate information, and conduct education and training programs relating to the causes, prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution;

(D) Adopt, modify, and rescind rules prescribing ambient air quality standards for the state as a whole or for various areas of the state that are consistent with and no more stringent than the national ambient air quality standards in effect under the federal Clean Air Act;

(E) Adopt, modify, suspend, and rescind rules for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution, including rules prescribing for the state as a whole or for various areas of the state emission standards for air contaminants, and other necessary rules for the purpose of achieving and maintaining compliance with ambient air quality standards in all areas within the state as expeditiously as practicable, but not later than any deadlines applicable under the federal Clean Air Act; rules for the prevention or control of the emission of hazardous or toxic air contaminants; rules prescribing fugitive dust limitations and standards that are related, on an areawide basis, to attainment and maintenance of ambient air quality standards; rules prescribing shade, density, or opacity limitations and standards for emissions, provided that with regard to air contaminant sources for which there are particulate matter emission standards in addition to a shade, density, or opacity rule, upon demonstration by such a source of compliance with those other standards, the shade, density, or opacity rule shall provide for establishment of a shade, density, or opacity limitation for that source that does not require the source to reduce emissions below the level specified by those other standards; rules for the prevention or control of odors and air pollution nuisances; rules that prevent significant deterioration of air quality to the extent required by the federal Clean Air Act; rules for the protection of visibility as required by the federal Clean Air Act; and rules prescribing open burning limitations and standards. In adopting, modifying, suspending, or rescinding any such rules, the director, to the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, shall hear and give consideration to evidence relating to all of the following:

(1) Conditions calculated to result from compliance with the rules, the overall cost within this state of compliance with the rules, and their relation to benefits to the people of the state to be derived from that compliance;

(2) The quantity and characteristics of air contaminants, the frequency and duration of their presence in the ambient air, and the dispersion and dilution of those contaminants;

(3) Topography, prevailing wind directions and velocities, physical conditions, and other factors that may or may combine to affect air pollution.

Consistent with division (K) of section 3704.036 of the Revised Code, the director shall consider alternative emission limits proposed by the owner or operator of an air contaminant source that is subject to an emission limit established in rules adopted under this division and shall accept those alternative emission limits that the director determines to be equivalent to emission limits established in rules adopted under this division.

(F)(1) Adopt, modify, suspend, and rescind rules consistent with the purposes of this chapter prohibiting the location, installation, construction, or modification of any air contaminant source or any machine, equipment, device, apparatus, or physical facility intended primarily to prevent or control the emission of air contaminants unless an installation permit therefor has been obtained from the director or the director's authorized representative.

(2)(a) Applications for installation permits shall be accompanied by plans, specifications, construction schedules, and such other pertinent information and data, including data on ambient air quality impact and a demonstration of best available technology, as the director may require. Installation permits shall be issued for a period specified by the director and are transferable. The director shall specify in each permit the applicable emission standards and that the permit is conditioned upon payment of the applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter upon the premises of the person to whom the permit has been issued, at any reasonable time and subject to safety requirements of the person in control of the premises, for the purpose of determining compliance with such standards, this chapter, the rules adopted thereunder, and the conditions of any permit, variance, or order issued thereunder. Each proposed new or modified air contaminant source shall provide such notice of its proposed installation or modification to other states as is required under the federal Clean Air Act. Installation permits shall include the authorization to operate sources installed and operated in accordance with terms and conditions of the installation permits for a period not to exceed one year from commencement of operation, which authorization shall constitute an operating permit under division (G) of this section and rules adopted under it.

No installation permit shall be required for activities that are subject to and in compliance with a plant-wide applicability limit issued by the director in accordance with rules adopted under this section.

No installation permit shall be issued except in accordance with all requirements of this chapter and rules adopted thereunder. No application shall be denied or permit revoked or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or permit holder by certified mail.

(b) An air contaminant source that is the subject of an installation permit shall be installed or modified in accordance with the permit not later than eighteen months after the permit's effective date at which point the permit shall terminate unless one of the following applies:

(i) The owner or operator has undertaken a continuing program of installation or modification during the eighteen-month period.

(ii) The owner or operator has entered into a binding contractual obligation to undertake and complete within a reasonable period of time a continuing program of installation or modification of the air contaminant source during the eighteen-month period.

(iii) The director has extended the date by which the air contaminant source that is the subject of the installation permit must be installed or modified.

(iv) The installation permit is the subject of an appeal by a party other than the owner or operator of the air contaminant source that is the subject of the installation permit, in which case the date of termination of the permit is not later than eighteen months after the effective date of the permit plus the number of days between the date in which the permit was appealed and the date on which all appeals concerning the permit have been resolved.

(v) The installation permit has been superseded by a subsequent installation permit, in which case the original installation permit terminates on the effective date of the superseding installation permit.

Division (F)(2)(b) of this section applies to an installation permit that has not terminated as of October 16, 2009.

The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the purpose of establishing additional requirements that are necessary for the implementation of division (F)(2)(b) of this section.

(3) Not later than two years after August 3, 2006, the director shall adopt a rule in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying that a permit to install is required only for new or modified air contaminant sources that emit any of the following air contaminants:

(a) An air contaminant or precursor of an air contaminant for which a national ambient air quality standard has been adopted under the federal Clean Air Act;

(b) An air contaminant for which the air contaminant source is regulated under the federal Clean Air Act;

(c) An air contaminant that presents, or may present, through inhalation or other routes of exposure, a threat of adverse human health effects, including, but not limited to, substances that are known to be, or may reasonably be anticipated to be, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic, that cause reproductive dysfunction, or that are acutely or chronically toxic, or a threat of adverse environmental effects whether through ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, deposition, or otherwise, and that is identified in the rule by chemical name and chemical abstract service number.

The director may modify the rule adopted under division (F)(3)(c) of this section for the purpose of adding or deleting air contaminants. For each air contaminant that is contained in or deleted from the rule adopted under division (F)(3)(c) of this section, the director shall include in a notice accompanying any proposed or final rule an explanation of the director's determination that the air contaminant meets the criteria established in that division and should be added to, or no longer meets the criteria and should be deleted from, the list of air contaminants. The explanation shall include an identification of the scientific evidence on which the director relied in making the determination. Until adoption of the rule under division (F)(3)(c) of this section, nothing shall affect the director's authority to issue, deny, modify, or revoke permits to install under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(4)(a) Applications for permits to install new or modified air contaminant sources shall contain sufficient information regarding air contaminants for which the director may require a permit to install to determine conformity with the environmental protection agency's document entitled "Review of New Sources of Air Toxics Emissions, Option A," dated May 1986, which the director shall use to evaluate toxic emissions from new or modified air contaminant sources. The director shall make copies of the document available to the public upon request at no cost and post the document on the environmental protection agency's web site. Any inconsistency between the document and division (F)(4) of this section shall be resolved in favor of division (F)(4) of this section.

(b) The maximum acceptable ground level concentration of an air contaminant shall be calculated in accordance with the document entitled "Review of New Sources of Air Toxics Emissions, Option A." Modeling shall be conducted to determine the increase in the ground level concentration of an air contaminant beyond the facility's boundary caused by the emissions from a new or modified source that is the subject of an application for a permit to install. Modeling shall be based on the maximum hourly rate of emissions from the source using information including, but not limited to, any emission control devices or methods, operational restrictions, stack parameters, and emission dispersion devices or methods that may affect ground level concentrations, either individually or in combination. The director shall determine whether the activities for which a permit to install is sought will cause an increase in the ground level concentration of one or more relevant air contaminants beyond the facility's boundary by an amount in excess of the maximum acceptable ground level concentration. In making the determination as to whether the maximum acceptable ground level concentration will be exceeded, the director shall give consideration to the modeling conducted under division (F)(4)(b) of this section and other relevant information submitted by the applicant.

(c) If the modeling conducted under division (F)(4)(b) of this section with respect to an application for a permit to install demonstrates that the maximum ground level concentration from a new or modified source will be greater than or equal to eighty per cent, but less than one hundred per cent of the maximum acceptable ground level concentration for an air contaminant, the director may establish terms and conditions in the permit to install for the air contaminant source that will require the owner or operator of the air contaminant source to maintain emissions of that air contaminant commensurate with the modeled level, which shall be expressed as allowable emissions per day. In order to calculate the allowable emissions per day, the director shall multiply the hourly emission rate modeled under division (F)(4)(b) of this section to determine the ground level concentration by the operating schedule that has been identified in the permit to install application. Terms and conditions imposed under division (F)(4)(c) of this section are not federally enforceable requirements and, if included in a Title V permit, shall be placed in the portion of the permit that is only enforceable by the state.

(d) If the modeling conducted under division (F)(4)(b) of this section with respect to an application for a permit to install demonstrates that the maximum ground level concentration from a new or modified source will be less than eighty per cent of the maximum acceptable ground level concentration, the owner or operator of the source annually shall report to the director, on a form prescribed by the director, whether operations of the source are consistent with the information regarding the operations that was used to conduct the modeling with regard to the permit to install application. The annual report to the director shall be in lieu of an emission limit or other permit terms and conditions imposed pursuant to division (F)(4) of this section. The director may consider any significant departure from the operations of the source described in the permit to install application that results in greater emissions than the emissions rate modeled to determine the ground level concentration as a modification and require the owner or operator to submit a permit to install application for the increased emissions. The requirements established in division (F)(4)(d) of this section are not federally enforceable requirements and, if included in a Title V permit, shall be placed in the portion of the permit that is only enforceable by the state.

(e) Division (F)(4) of this section and the document entitled "Review of New Sources of Air Toxics Emissions, Option A" shall not be included in the state implementation plan under section 110 of the federal Clean Air Act and do not apply to an air contaminant source that is subject to a maximum achievable control technology standard or residual risk standard under section 112 of the federal Clean Air Act, to a particular air contaminant identified under 40 C.F.R. 51.166, division (b)(23), for which the director has determined that the owner or operator of the source is required to install best available control technology for that particular air contaminant, or to a particular air contaminant for which the director has determined that the source is required to meet the lowest achievable emission rate, as defined in 40 C.F.R. part 51, Appendix S, for that particular air contaminant.

(f)(i) Division (F)(4) of this section and the document entitled "Review of New Sources of Air Toxics Emissions, Option A" do not apply to parking lots, storage piles, storage tanks, transfer operations, grain silos, grain dryers, emergency generators, gasoline dispensing operations, air contaminant sources that emit air contaminants solely from the combustion of fossil fuels, or the emission of wood dust, sand, glass dust, coal dust, silica, and grain dust.

(ii) Notwithstanding division (F)(4)(f)(i) of this section, the director may require an individual air contaminant source that is within one of the source categories identified in division (F)(4)(f)(i) of this section to submit information in an application for a permit to install a new or modified source in order to determine the source's conformity to the document if the director has information to conclude that the particular new or modified source will potentially cause an increase in ground level concentration beyond the facility's boundary that exceeds the maximum acceptable ground level concentration as set forth in the document.

(iii) The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are consistent with the purposes of this chapter and that add to or delete from the source category exemptions established in division (F)(4)(f)(i) of this section.

(5) Not later than one year after August 3, 2006, the director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying activities that do not, by themselves, constitute beginning actual construction activities related to the installation or modification of an air contaminant source for which a permit to install is required such as the grading and clearing of land, on-site storage of portable parts and equipment, and the construction of foundations or buildings that do not themselves emit air contaminants. The rules also shall allow specified initial activities that are part of the installation or modification of an air contaminant source, such as the installation of electrical and other utilities for the source, prior to issuance of a permit to install, provided that the owner or operator of the source has filed a complete application for a permit to install, the director or the director's designee has determined that the application is complete, and the owner or operator of the source has notified the director that this activity will be undertaken prior to the issuance of a permit to install. Any activity that is undertaken by the source under those rules shall be at the risk of the owner or operator. The rules shall not apply to activities that are precluded prior to permit issuance under section 111, section 112, Part C of Title I, and Part D of Title I of the federal Clean Air Act.

(G) Adopt, modify, suspend, and rescind rules prohibiting the operation or other use of any new, modified, or existing air contaminant source unless an operating permit has been obtained from the director or the director's authorized representative, or the air contaminant source is being operated in compliance with the conditions of a variance issued pursuant to division (H) of this section. Applications for operating permits shall be accompanied by such plans, specifications, and other pertinent information as the director may require. Operating permits may be issued for a period determined by the director not to exceed ten years, are renewable, and are transferable. The director shall specify in each operating permit that the permit is conditioned upon payment of the applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter upon the premises of the person to whom the permit has been issued, at any reasonable time and subject to safety requirements of the person in control of the premises, for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, the rules adopted thereunder, and the conditions of any permit, variance, or order issued thereunder. Operating permits may be denied or revoked for failure to comply with this chapter or the rules adopted thereunder. An operating permit shall be issued only upon a showing satisfactory to the director or the director's representative that the air contaminant source is being operated in compliance with applicable emission standards and other rules or upon submission of a schedule of compliance satisfactory to the director for a source that is not in compliance with all applicable requirements at the time of permit issuance, provided that the compliance schedule shall be consistent with and at least as stringent as that contained in any judicial consent decree or administrative order to which the air contaminant source is subject. The rules shall provide for the issuance of conditional operating permits for such reasonable periods as the director may determine to allow the holder of an installation permit, who has constructed, installed, located, or modified a new air contaminant source in accordance with the provisions of an installation permit, to make adjustments or modifications necessary to enable the new air contaminant source to comply with applicable emission standards and other rules. Terms and conditions of operating permits issued pursuant to this division shall be federally enforceable for the purpose of establishing the potential to emit of a stationary source and shall be expressly designated as federally enforceable. Any such federally enforceable restrictions on a source's potential to emit shall include both an annual limit and a short-term limit of not more than thirty days for each pollutant to be restricted together with adequate methods for establishing compliance with the restrictions. In other respects, operating permits issued pursuant to this division are enforceable as state law only. No application shall be denied or permit revoked or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or permit holder by certified mail.

(H) Adopt, modify, and rescind rules governing the issuance, revocation, modification, or denial of variances that authorize emissions in excess of the applicable emission standards.

No variance shall be issued except pursuant to those rules. The rules shall prescribe conditions and criteria in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and consistent with the federal Clean Air Act governing eligibility for issuance of variances, which shall include all of the following:

(1) Provisions requiring consistency of emissions authorized by a variance with timely attainment and maintenance of ambient air quality standards;

(2) Provisions prescribing the classes and categories of air contaminants and air contaminant sources for which variances may be issued;

(3) Provisions defining the circumstances under which an applicant shall demonstrate that compliance with applicable emission standards is technically infeasible, economically unreasonable, or impossible because of conditions beyond the control of the applicant;

(4) Other provisions prescribed in furtherance of the goals of this chapter.

The rules shall prohibit the issuance of variances from any emission limitation that was applicable to a source pursuant to an installation permit and shall prohibit issuance of variances that conflict with the federal Clean Air Act.

Applications for variances shall be accompanied by such information as the director may require. In issuing variances, the director may order the person to whom a variance is issued to furnish plans and specifications and such other information and data, including interim reports, as the director may require and to proceed to take such action within such time as the director may determine to be appropriate and reasonable to prevent, control, or abate the person's existing emissions of air contaminants. The director shall specify in each variance that the variance is conditioned upon payment of the applicable fees as required by section 3745.11 of the Revised Code and upon the right of the director's authorized representatives to enter upon the premises of the person to whom the variance has been issued, at any reasonable time and subject to safety requirements of the person in control of the premises, for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter, the rules adopted thereunder, and the conditions of any permit, variance, or order issued thereunder.

The director may hold a public hearing on an application for a variance or renewal thereof at a location in the county where the variance is sought. The director shall give not less than twenty days' notice of the hearing to the applicant by certified mail or another type of mail accompanied by a receipt. The director also shall cause at least one publication of notice in a newspaper with general circulation in the county where the variance is sought or may instead provide public notice by publication on the environmental protection agency's web site. The director shall keep available for public inspection at the principal office of the environmental protection agency a current schedule of pending applications for variances and a current schedule of pending variance hearings. The director shall make a complete stenographic record or electronic record of testimony and other evidence submitted at the hearing. The director shall make a written determination to issue, renew, or deny the variance and shall enter the determination and the basis therefor into the record of the hearing. The director shall issue, renew, or deny an application for a variance or renewal thereof, or issue a proposed action upon the application pursuant to section 3745.07 of the Revised Code, within six months of the date upon which the director receives a complete application with all pertinent information and data required by the director.

Any variance granted pursuant to rules adopted under this division shall be for a period specified by the director, not to exceed three years, and may be renewed from time to time on such terms and for such periods, not to exceed three years each, as the director determines to be appropriate. A variance may be revoked, or renewal denied, for failure to comply with conditions specified in the variance. No variance shall be issued, denied, revoked, or modified without a written order stating the findings upon which the issuance, denial, revocation, or modification is based. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant or variance holder by certified mail.

(I) Require the owner or operator of an air contaminant source to install, employ, maintain, and operate such emissions, ambient air quality, meteorological, or other monitoring devices or methods as the director shall prescribe; to sample those emissions at such locations, at such intervals, and in such manner as the director prescribes; to maintain records and file periodic reports with the director containing information as to location, size, and height of emission outlets, rate, duration, and composition of emissions, and any other pertinent information the director prescribes; and to provide such written notice to other states as the director shall prescribe. In requiring monitoring devices, records, and reports, the director, to the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, shall give consideration to technical feasibility and economic reasonableness and allow reasonable time for compliance. For sources where a specific monitoring, record-keeping, or reporting requirement is specified for a particular air contaminant from a particular air contaminant source in an applicable regulation adopted by the United States environmental protection agency under the federal Clean Air Act or in an applicable rule adopted by the director, the director shall not impose an additional requirement in a permit that is a different monitoring, record-keeping, or reporting requirement other than the requirement specified in the applicable regulation or rule for that air contaminant except as otherwise agreed to by the owner or operator of the air contaminant source and the director. If two or more regulations or rules impose different monitoring, record-keeping, or reporting requirements for the same air contaminant from the same air contaminant source, the director may impose permit terms and conditions that consolidate or streamline the monitoring, record-keeping, or reporting requirements in a manner that conforms with each applicable requirement. To the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act and except as otherwise agreed to by the owner or operator of an air contaminant source and the director, the director shall not require an operating restriction that has the practical effect of increasing the stringency of an existing applicable emission limitation or standard.

(J) Establish, operate, and maintain monitoring stations and other devices designed to measure air pollution and enter into contracts with any public or private agency for the establishment, operation, or maintenance of such stations and devices;

(K) By rule adopt procedures for giving reasonable public notice and conducting public hearings on any plans for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution that the director is required to submit to the federal government;

(L) Through any employee, agent, or authorized representative of the director or the environmental protection agency, enter upon private or public property, including improvements thereon, at any reasonable time, to make inspections, take samples, conduct tests, and examine records or reports pertaining to any emission of air contaminants and any monitoring equipment or methods and to determine if there are any actual or potential emissions from such premises and, if so, to determine the sources, amounts, contents, and extent of those emissions, or to ascertain whether there is compliance with this chapter, any orders issued or rules adopted thereunder, or any other determination of the director. The director, at reasonable times, may have access to and copy any such records. If entry or inspection authorized by this division is refused, hindered, or thwarted, the director or the director's authorized representative may by affidavit apply for, and any judge of a court of record may issue, an appropriate inspection warrant necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter within the court's territorial jurisdiction.

(M) Accept and administer gifts or grants from the federal government and from any other source, public or private, for carrying out any of the functions under this chapter;

(N) Obtain necessary scientific, technical, and laboratory services;

(O) Establish advisory boards in accordance with section 121.13 of the Revised Code;

(P) Delegate to any city or general health district or political subdivision of the state any of the director's enforcement and monitoring powers and duties, other than rule-making powers, as the director elects to delegate, and in addition employ, compensate, and prescribe the powers and duties of such officers, employees, and consultants as are necessary to enable the director to exercise the authority and perform duties imposed upon the director by law. Technical and other services shall be performed, insofar as practical, by personnel of the environmental protection agency.

(Q) Certify to the government of the United States or any agency thereof that an industrial air pollution facility is in conformity with the state program or requirements for control of air pollution whenever such certificate is required for a taxpayer pursuant to any federal law or requirements;

(R) Issue, modify, or revoke orders requiring abatement of or prohibiting emissions that violate applicable emission standards or other requirements of this chapter and rules adopted thereunder, or requiring emission control devices or measures in order to comply with applicable emission standards or other requirements of this chapter and rules adopted thereunder. Any such order shall require compliance with applicable emission standards by a specified date and shall not conflict with any requirement of the federal Clean Air Act. In the making of such orders, the director, to the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, shall give consideration to, and base the determination on, evidence relating to the technical feasibility and economic reasonableness of compliance with such orders and their relation to benefits to the people of the state to be derived from such compliance. If, under the federal Clean Air Act, any such order shall provide for the posting of a bond or surety to secure compliance with the order as a condition of issuance of the order, the order shall so provide, but only to the extent required by the federal Clean Air Act.

(S) To the extent provided by the federal Clean Air Act, adopt, modify, and rescind rules providing for the administrative assessment and collection of monetary penalties, not in excess of those required pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act, for failure to comply with any emission limitation or standard, compliance schedule, or other requirement of any rule, order, permit, or variance issued or adopted under this chapter or required under the applicable implementation plan whether or not the source is subject to a federal or state consent decree. The director may require the submission of compliance schedules, calculations of penalties for noncompliance, and related information. Any orders, payments, sanctions, or other requirements imposed pursuant to rules adopted under this division shall be in addition to any other permits, orders, payments, sanctions, or other requirements established under this chapter and shall not affect any civil or criminal enforcement proceedings brought under any provision of this chapter or any other provision of state or local law. This division does not apply to any requirement of this chapter regarding the prevention or abatement of odors.

(T) Require new or modified air contaminant sources to install best available technology, but only in accordance with this division. With respect to permits issued pursuant to division (F) of this section beginning three years after August 3, 2006, best available technology for air contaminant sources and air contaminants emitted by those sources that are subject to standards adopted under section 112, Part C of Title I, and Part D of Title I of the federal Clean Air Act shall be equivalent to and no more stringent than those standards. For an air contaminant or precursor of an air contaminant for which a national ambient air quality standard has been adopted under the federal Clean Air Act, best available technology only shall be required to the extent required by rules adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for permit to install applications filed three or more years after August 3, 2006.

Best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall be expressed only in one of the following ways that is most appropriate for the applicable source or source categories:

(1) Work practices;

(2) Source design characteristics or design efficiency of applicable air contaminant control devices;

(3) Raw material specifications or throughput limitations averaged over a twelve-month rolling period;

(4) Monthly allowable emissions averaged over a twelve-month rolling period.

Best available technology requirements shall not apply to an air contaminant source that has the potential to emit, taking into account air pollution controls installed on the source, less than ten tons per year of emissions of an air contaminant or precursor of an air contaminant for which a national ambient air quality standard has been adopted under the federal Clean Air Act. In addition, best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall not apply to any existing, new, or modified air contaminant source that is subject to a plant-wide applicability limit that has been approved by the director. Further, best available technology requirements established in rules adopted under this division shall not apply to general permits issued prior to January 1, 2006, under rules adopted under this chapter.

For permits to install issued three or more years after August 3, 2006, any new or modified air contaminant source that has the potential to emit, taking into account air pollution controls installed on the source, ten or more tons per year of volatile organic compounds or nitrogen oxides shall meet, at a minimum, the requirements of any applicable reasonably available control technology rule in effect as of January 1, 2006, regardless of the location of the source.

(U) Consistent with section 507 of the federal Clean Air Act, adopt, modify, suspend, and rescind rules for the establishment of a small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program as provided in section 3704.18 of the Revised Code;

(V) Provide for emissions trading, marketable permits, auctions of emission rights, and economic incentives that would reduce the cost or increase the efficiency of achieving a specified level of environmental protection;

(W) Provide for the construction of an air contaminant source prior to obtaining a permit to install pursuant to division (F) of this section if the applicant demonstrates that the source will be installed to comply with all applicable emission limits and will not adversely affect public health or safety or the environment and if the director determines that such an action will avoid an unreasonable hardship on the owner or operator of the source. Any such determination shall be consistent with the federal Clean Air Act.

(X) Exercise all incidental powers, including adoption of rules, required to carry out this chapter.

The environmental protection agency shall develop a plan to control air pollution resulting from state-operated facilities and property.

Last updated September 12, 2023 at 12:30 PM

Section 3704.031 | Director may require applicant to install equipment and conduct tests.

• Effective: December 19, 1980
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 258 - 113th General Assembly

Prior to issuance or renewal of a permit or a variance under division (F), (G), or (H) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, the director of environmental protection may require the applicant to install such equipment and conduct such tests and analyses as the director finds reasonable and necessary to determine adequately the amount and content of any emissions from such sources, the ambient air quality at the proposed site and in areas that may be affected by emissions from such sources, and any violation or potential violation of Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code, or the regulations or orders promulgated thereunder.

Section 3704.032 | Emergency action plan - declaration of emergency - emergency orders.

• Effective: October 23, 1972
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 397 - 109th General Assembly

The director of environmental protection may adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, an emergency action plan for the purpose of protecting the public health during air pollution episodes associated with atmospheric temperature inversions, which plan may define various levels of emergency conditions, the criteria on which such levels are based, and the measures to be taken at each level. The plan may include means for cooperating with persons outside this state during interstate air pollution emergencies.

If the director finds that air pollution in any area exceeds any level set in the plan or otherwise presents an imminent and substantial danger to the health of persons in the areas, he shall notify the governor, who may declare that an air pollution emergency exists, identify the area, and pursuant to his declaration order temporary prohibitions and restrictions of the use and operation of motor vehicles, aircraft, incinerators, and air conditioners, the operation of government and private offices, commercial, manufacturing, industrial, and other activities, the use of fuels, and any other activity that contributes or may contribute to the emergency necessary to meet the emergency.

Orders pursuant to the declaration of an air pollution emergency shall take effect upon issuance, and any person to whom an order is directed shall initiate compliance measures immediately upon receiving notice. During an air pollution emergency the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney of the county where a violation of an emergency order occurs may bring action for an immediate injunction to enjoin any emission or other activity violating an emergency order. The court may issue an ex parte temporary restraining order without notice which shall enforce the prohibitions and restrictions which have been determined by the director to be necessary, and shall schedule an immediate hearing on the matter.

Section 3704.033 | Director to establish consultation process - measures for notifying public.

• Effective: December 19, 1980
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 258 - 113th General Assembly

The director of environmental protection shall:

(A) Establish a process of consultation with general purpose local governments, designated organizations or elected officials of local governments, and the secretary of any department having authority over federal land located in the state with respect to requirements of the federal Clean Air Act pertaining to transportation controls, air quality maintenance plan requirements, preconstruction review of indirect sources of air pollution, nonattainment requirements, prevention of significant deterioration, or enforcement orders;

(B) Provide for measures by which to notify the public during any calendar year on a regular basis of instances or areas in which any national primary ambient air quality standard promulgated by the administrator under the federal Clean Air Act is or was exceeded during any portion of the preceding calendar year, to advise the public of the health hazards associated with such pollution, to enhance public awareness of the measures that can be taken to prevent such standards from being exceeded and the ways in which the public can participate in regulatory and other efforts to improve air quality, and to satisfy public notice requirements of the federal Clean Air Act.

Section 3704.034 | Time limits for making completeness determination and taking action on application for permit.

• Effective: September 5, 2001
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 94 - 124th General Assembly

(A) Within sixty days after the director of environmental protection or the director's agent or authorized representative receives an application for the issuance of an initial permit to operate, or for the modification or renewal of such a permit, pursuant to rules adopted under division (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, the director shall determine whether the application is substantially complete or materially deficient and, in writing, shall notify the applicant of the director's determination. If the director fails to make such a completeness determination and provide written notice of the determination to the applicant within sixty days after the application was submitted, the applicant may submit a written request to the director for the making of such a completeness determination.

(B) Within thirty days after receiving a written request for the making of a completeness determination on an application under division (A) of this section, the director shall determine whether the application is substantially complete or materially deficient and, in writing, notify the applicant of the determination. If the director fails to make a completeness determination and provide written notice of the director's determination to the applicant within thirty days after receiving the applicant's written request for the making of the determination, the application shall be deemed to have been complete in all material respects at the time that it was submitted to the director or the director's agent or authorized representative.

(C) If, within the time prescribed in division (A) and, if applicable, division (B) of this section, the director determines that an application is materially deficient, the director shall return the application to the applicant together with the written notice of material deficiency. The running of the time prescribed under division (A) and, if applicable, division (B) of this section ceases at the time that the determination is made. If the applicant subsequently resubmits the application to the director, the time prescribed in division (A) of this section and, if applicable, division (B) of this section shall resume running at the time that the application is resubmitted. The resubmission of the application constitutes a request for the making of a completeness determination on the application. The director shall do one of the following within the time remaining pursuant to division (A) and, if applicable, division (B) of this section at the time that the application is resubmitted:

(1) Make a completeness determination on the application and, in writing, notify the applicant of the determination;

(2) Issue or deny or propose to issue or deny the permit, modification, or renewal.

(D) The director shall include in each written notice of the completeness of an application provided under division (A), (B), or (C)(1) of this section the date on which the application was determined to be complete.

(E) The director shall issue or deny or propose to issue or deny an initial permit to operate, or a modification or renewal of such a permit, pursuant to rules adopted under division (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code within one hundred eighty days after the date that the application for the permit, modification, or renewal was determined to be complete as that date is set forth in the written notice of the determination of the completeness of the application provided under division (A), (B), or (C)(1) of this section or within one hundred eighty days after the application is deemed to be complete under division (B) of this section, as appropriate. If the director fails to issue or deny or propose to issue or deny the permit, modification, or renewal within the appropriate one-hundred-eighty-day period, the applicant may bring a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that orders the director to take a final action on the application.

(F) The director, upon the director's own motion or upon the written request of the applicant and in writing, may extend the time provided under division (E) of this section for issuing or denying or proposing to issue or deny the permit, modification, or renewal for an additional sixty days if a public informational meeting or public hearing was held on the application for the permit, modification, or renewal.

(G) Upon the written request of the applicant, the director, in writing, may extend the time provided under division (E) of this section for issuing or denying or proposing to issue or deny the permit, modification, or renewal for the additional time specified in the applicant's request for the extension.

(H) Upon the written request of the person responsible for a facility, the director may consolidate or group applications for the issuance of permits pursuant to rules adopted under division (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, or modifications or renewals of those permits, for individual air contaminant sources located at the facility in order to reduce the unnecessary paperwork and administrative burden to the applicant and the director in connection with the issuance of those permits, modifications, and renewals. Fees payable to the director under section 3745.11 of the Revised Code shall not be reduced by reason of any such consolidation or grouping of applications for permits, modifications, or renewals.

Section 3704.035 | Title V clean air fund; non-Title V clean air fund.

• Effective: January 1, 2018
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) There is hereby created in the state treasury the Title V clean air fund. Except as otherwise provided in division (K) of section 3745.11 of the Revised Code, all moneys collected under division (B) of that section, and any gifts, grants, or contributions received by the director of environmental protection for the purposes of the fund, shall be credited to the fund.

The director shall expend all moneys credited to the fund solely to administer and enforce the Title V program pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act, this chapter, and rules adopted under it, except as costs relating to enforcement are limited by the federal Clean Air Act. The director shall establish separate and distinct accounting for all such moneys.

(B) There is hereby created in the state treasury the non-Title V clean air fund. All money collected under section 3710.15 and divisions (D), (F), (G), (H), (I), and (J) of section 3745.11 of the Revised Code shall be credited to the fund. In addition, any gifts, grants, or contributions received by the director for the purposes of the fund shall be credited to the fund.

The director shall expend money in the fund exclusively to pay the cost of administering and enforcing the laws of this state pertaining to the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution, the prevention, control, and abatement of asbestos, rules adopted under those laws, and terms and conditions of permits, variances, and orders issued under those laws, and asbestos abatement licensure and certification issued under those laws. However, the director shall not expend money credited to the fund for the administration and enforcement of the Title V permit program established under this chapter and rules adopted under it or motor vehicle inspection and maintenance programs established under sections 3704.14, 3704.141, 3704.16, 3704.161, and 3704.162 of the Revised Code.

(C) The director shall report biennially to the general assembly the amounts of fees and other moneys credited to the funds under this section and the amounts expended from them for each of the various air pollution control programs.

Section 3704.036 | Title V permit program.

• Effective: December 2, 1996
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 670 - 121st General Assembly

(A) The director of environmental protection shall develop and administer a federally approvable Title V permit program and shall take all necessary and appropriate action to implement, through the issuance of Title V permits, applicable requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. Title V permits shall be required only for major sources and affected sources, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 70.2, and solid waste incineration units required to obtain a permit under section 129 (e) of the federal Clean Air Act unless the administrator extends the obligation to obtain a Title V permit to other sources.

The Title V permit program does not apply to research and development sources whose emissions do not exceed the requirements of 40 C.F.R. 70.3 (a)(1) or any facility or air contaminant source authorized by 40 C.F.R. 70.3 (b) to be exempt from the obligation to obtain a Title V permit. A source that obtains a Title V permit shall not be required to obtain any other operating permit under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

Federally enforceable requirements shall be identified separately in Title V permits. The director may include in those permits reasonable and lawful terms and conditions necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it that are not federally enforceable requirements, provided that those terms and conditions are clearly separated from federally enforceable requirements and the Title V permits state that those terms and conditions are not federally enforceable.

(B) The director shall adopt, and may amend, suspend, and rescind, rules to facilitate the implementation, supervision, administration, and operation of the Title V permit program that are consistent with, and no more stringent than, the requirements of Title V of the federal Clean Air Act and 40 C.F.R. part 70. The rules shall establish at least all of the following:

(1) Definitions of the following terms, which shall be consistent with and no more stringent than the definitions in 40 C.F.R. part 70: "administrative permit amendment," "affected source," "applicable requirement," "emergency," "emissions unit," "fugitive emissions," "major source," "major stationary source," "potential to emit," "regulated air pollutant," and "stationary source;"

(2) Provisions for minor modifications and operational flexibility that minimize administrative burdens on a source and ensure maximum operational flexibility consistent with the federal Clean Air Act and regulations adopted under it;

(3) Provisions for administrative Title V permit amendments. The rules shall require the director to approve or disapprove an administrative permit amendment in accordance with all of the following:

(a) The director shall take not more than sixty days from receipt of a request for an administrative permit amendment to issue a final action on the request in accordance with the procedures specified in 40 C.F.R. 70.7 (d).

(b) Chapter 119. and sections 3704.04 and 3745.07 of the Revised Code do not apply to administrative permit amendments under division (B)(3) of this section.

(c) The director's determination under division (B)(3) of this section is a final action appealable to the environmental review appeals commission under section 3745.04 of the Revised Code.

(4) Provisions for exemption of insignificant air contaminant sources from inclusion in the Title V permit program. To the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, the exemptions shall include, at a minimum, all source categories that are excluded from the requirements to obtain installation permits and operating permits pursuant to divisions (F) and (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code and any source categories specifically exempted under 40 C.F.R. part 70 and also shall include, to the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, any air contaminant sources with the potential to emit not more than five tons per year of a federally regulated air pollutant other than hazardous air pollutants and not more than twenty per cent of an applicable major source threshold under the federal Clean Air Act.

(5) Provisions to implement the permit shield permitted by the Federal Clean Air Act to the extent consistent with that act and regulations adopted under it, including at least provisions by which a Title V permit applicant may request the director to make a determination whether a provision or class of requirements of that act is applicable to the applicant's air contaminant source. Any such determination made by the director shall be specified in the applicant's Title V permit.

The director may adopt, amend, suspend, and rescind such other rules as are necessary for a federally approvable Title V permit program, which shall be consistent with, and no more stringent than, the requirements of Title V of the federal Clean Air Act and 40 C.F.R. part 70.

(C) Applications for initial Title V permits shall be submitted not less than one year after the director adopts rules under division (B) of this section for the implementation of the Title V permit program. New facilities that are required to obtain a Title V permit shall submit a complete Title V permit application not later than one year after the date of commencement of operation.

Title V permits shall not become effective prior to approval of the Title V permit program by the administrator pursuant to section 502 of the federal Clean Air Act.

Title V permits, except for permits that contain acid rain provisions pursuant to Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act and permits issued for solid waste incineration units combusting municipal waste that are subject to section 129 (e) of the federal Clean Air Act, may be issued for a period determined by the director not to exceed five years, are renewable, and are transferable. Title V permits that contain acid rain provisions pursuant to Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act shall be issued for a fixed term of five years. Title V permits for solid waste incineration units combusting municipal waste that are subject to section 129 (e) of the federal Clean Air Act may be issued for a period to be determined by the director not to exceed twelve years and are renewable. If such permits are issued for a period longer than five years, they shall be reviewed by the director at least once every five years to determine compliance with the permit requirements and to incorporate any new requirements established during the previous five years.

(D) A complete Title V permit application is one that contains all the information, consistent with 40 C.F.R. 70.5 (c), needed to begin processing the application and a certification by a responsible official of the truth, accuracy, and completeness of the information in the application, based upon information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry by the responsible official. Unless the director determines within sixty days after receipt of the application that the application is not complete, the application shall be deemed to be complete.

If, during the processing of an application before or after it has been determined or deemed to be complete, the director determines that additional information is necessary in order to evaluate or take final action on the application, the director may request that information in writing from the applicant. Any such request by the director shall identify the information requested with reasonable specificity and shall provide a reasonable time, not less than fifteen days, for the applicant's submission of the requested information.

If an applicant fails to make a good faith and timely response to a request for additional information under this division with regard to an application that the director believes to be incomplete, the director shall offer to meet with the applicant within seven days after issuance of a letter for failure to submit the requested information. If the meeting or meeting offer fails to obtain a complete application from the applicant, the director, without prior hearing, shall make a final determination that the application is not complete. Any such determination shall not become effective until twenty days after notice of the determination is sent to the applicant by certified mail. An incompleteness determination by the director may be appealed in accordance with section 3745.04 of the Revised Code, except that if the notice of appeal is timely filed and is accompanied by an application for stay, the stay shall become effective upon filing and shall continue until such time as the environmental review appeals commission rules on the merits of the stay. The commission shall conduct an immediate hearing and determination on the application for stay without interruption by continuances, other than for unavoidable circumstances. If the commission grants the stay, it immediately shall conduct the hearing on the merits and determine the appeal without interruption by continuances, other than for unavoidable circumstances.

(E) The director expressly shall include permit shield provisions for each Title V permit in accordance with the following requirements:

(1) Except as provided in this section, the director shall expressly include in a Title V permit a provision stating that compliance with the conditions of the permit shall be deemed to be compliance with any applicable requirements as of the date of permit issuance, provided that either:

(a) The applicable requirements are included and are specifically identified in the permit;

(b) The director, in acting on the permit application or revision, determines in writing that other requirements specifically identified are not applicable to the facility, and the permit includes the determination or a concise summary of it.

(2) Nothing in division (E) of this section or in any Title V permit shall alter or affect any of the following:

(a) The provisions of section 303 of the federal Clean Air Act, including the authority of the administrator under that section;

(b) The liability of an owner or operator of a facility for any violation of applicable requirements prior to or at the time of permit issuance;

(c) The applicable requirements of the acid rain program, consistent with section 408 (a) of the federal Clean Air Act;

(d) The ability of the administrator to obtain information from a facility pursuant to section 114 of the federal Clean Air Act.

(F)(1) Title V permit applications shall be acted upon by the director in accordance with Chapters 119. and 3745. of the Revised Code and with 40 C.F.R. 70.8. If a Title V permit expires after a complete and timely renewal application has been filed with the director, all provisions and authorizations of the expired permit shall remain in effect until the director's final action on the pending renewal application. The director's failure to take action on a Title V permit application or permit renewal or modification application within the deadlines specified in the federal Clean Air Act or in 40 C.F.R. part 70 shall be a final action appealable to the environmental review appeals commission under section 3745.04 of the Revised Code.

(2) The director shall not issue a Title V permit if the administrator timely objects to its issuance under 40 C.F.R. 70.8 (c) or (d).

(3) The director may modify, revoke, or revoke and reissue a Title V permit for cause. The director shall modify, revoke, or revoke and reissue a Title V permit if requested to do so by the administrator under 40 C.F.R. 70.8 (d).

(G) A Title V permit applicant may request a single permit for a stationary source with multiple Title V emissions units or may request separate permits for any one or more emissions units at the same stationary source required to have a Title V permit. The director shall honor all such requests.

Upon written request of a Title V permit applicant, the director shall make a determination of the applicability or inapplicability of any provision or class of requirements under the federal Clean Air Act to an emissions unit or stationary source and shall include that determination or a concise summary of it in the applicant's Title V permit.

(H) A Title V permit applicant may request a permit that accommodates multiple operating scenarios and anticipated changes in emissions during the term of a permit at a specified facility. The director shall include in a Title V permit all operating scenarios and anticipated changes in emissions for which an application has been made unless the operating scenarios or emissions are prohibited by federally enforceable requirements. The director may include in a Title V permit such monitoring and recordkeeping requirements as may be reasonably necessary to verify that any authorized operating scenario complies with federally enforceable requirements. In imposing any such requirements, the director shall consider and minimize, to the extent practicable, the administrative burdens that the monitoring will impose on the source.

(I) The director, by rule or order on a class of similar permit applications, may issue a general permit covering numerous similar facilities or air contaminant sources. Any such general permit shall comply with all substantive requirements applicable to conventional Title V permits. A general permit shall apply to the owner or operator of a facility or air contaminant source only upon application of the owner or operator to the director.

(J) The director may issue a single Title V permit authorizing emissions from similar operations at multiple temporary locations within the state, provided that the permit ensures compliance with all federally enforceable requirements and with 40 C.F.R. 70.6 (e) at all authorized locations. Any such permit shall require the owner or operator to notify the director in advance of each change in location.

(K) A Title V permit shall address all existing federally enforceable requirements applicable to the permitted facility and shall not impose new substantive requirements beyond the federally enforceable requirements except for terms and conditions that are identified as not federally enforceable as provided in division (A) of this section. A Title V permit shall specify the regulatory citation for federal requirements addressed in the permit and shall identify any difference in form as compared to the federally enforceable requirement on which it is based.

If the applicant for a Title V permit proposes an alternative emission limit as provided under division (E) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, and if the director determines that the alternative emission limit is equivalent to an emission limit adopted under that division, the alternative emission limit shall be included in the Title V permit together with provisions to ensure that any resulting emission limit has been demonstrated to be quantifiable, accountable, enforceable, and based on replicable procedures. Any such alternative emission limit shall not take effect if the administrator timely objects to it in accordance with division (F)(2) of this section.

(L) The director shall take all necessary and appropriate action to do both of the following:

(1) Issue Title V permits for affected sources consistent with the requirements of Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act;

(2) Implement, through Title V permits, applicable requirements of section 112 of the federal Clean Air Act.

(M) The director shall develop procedures for the Title V permit program such that the program shall minimize procedural burdens and maximize source operational flexibility to the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act.

(N) A Title V permit shall not apply to a physical, operational, or other change that is not a change within a permitted facility. A Title V permittee shall provide simultaneous written notice to the director and the administrator of each such off-permit change that is not addressed or prohibited by the federally enforceable portion of the Title V permit, except that no notice is required for off-permit changes that qualify as insignificant under rules adopted under division (B)(4) of this section.

(O) The director shall adopt rules doing both of the following:

(1) Establishing procedures under which any air contaminant source may assume federally enforceable restrictions on its emissions rates, operating rates, hours of operation, or other parameters that are more stringent than those limitations that ordinarily would apply to the source in order to limit the potential of the source to emit;

(2) To the maximum extent possible consistent with federal law, allowing such a source to impose the limitations described in division (O)(1) of this section on its operations unilaterally without further action by the director or approval from the United States environmental protection agency and otherwise minimizing the time required to effectuate such federally enforceable limits.

Until the director adopts rules under division (O) of this section, the owner or operator of an air contaminant source or sources may submit an application for a permit or permit modification pursuant to division (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code with federally enforceable terms and conditions to limit the potential to emit of the source or sources to less than the major source emission thresholds defined in 40 C.F.R. 70.2. The application shall identify both an annual limit and a short-term limit of not more than thirty days for each pollutant to be restricted together with adequate methods for establishing compliance with the limits. Upon submission of the application, the limits shall be federally enforceable against the applicant. The application shall be signed by a responsible official and submitted simultaneously to the director and the administrator. The director shall act on the application in accordance with Chapters 119. and 3745. of the Revised Code.

Section 3704.037 | Tiered permitting system for air contaminant sources - petition for exemption.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

(A) The director of environmental protection shall formulate and implement a tiered permitting system for air contaminant sources that categorizes, prioritizes, and expedites review of, and final action on, applications for installation permits and operating permits issued pursuant to divisions (F) and (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, respectively. The tiered permitting system shall include at least exemptions, registration status, permits-by-rule, and general permits. The director may issue general permits to install and permits to operate, and permits-by-rule, containing terms and conditions that apply to types of air contaminant sources specified by the director that have sufficiently similar characteristics to warrant substantially identical installation permits and operating permits.

(B) Any person may petition the director to exempt a certain source category from obtaining an installation permit or operating permit pursuant to division (F) or (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code, respectively, or both. The petition shall contain all of the technical support necessary to justify the exemption, including the estimated emissions levels, the impact on air quality including the impact of any hazardous or toxic emission, and the effect that granting the exemption would have on ambient air quality standards. Sources regulated by the United States environmental protection agency under the new source performance standards or the hazardous air pollutant standards established pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act are not eligible for exemption through petition.

Not later than one hundred eighty days after receiving a petition, the director shall notify the petitioner in writing if the petition has been accepted or rejected and, if rejected, the basis of the rejection. At least once every two years, the director shall propose rules containing the exemptions that have been accepted through the petition process.

Section 3704.038 | Information to be provided to public - training course.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

(A) The director of environmental protection shall maintain and make readily available to the public a best available technology information clearinghouse.

(B) The director shall make readily available to the public interpretive guidelines and technical guidance in order to effect technically sound, consistent, and efficient permit processing under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(C) The director shall develop a training course on the requirements for the completion of applications for installation permits and the determination of best available technology pursuant to division (F) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code. The training course shall be available to employees of the environmental protection agency, personnel from local air pollution control agencies, regulated industry, small businesses, environmental advocacy organizations, and other interested persons. The director may charge a fee for the training course in an amount necessary to cover only the actual cost of the training.

Section 3704.039 | Annual report.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

Not later than the first day of March each year, the director of environmental protection shall prepare and submit to the governor and the general assembly a report on the timeliness of the issuance of installation permits pursuant to division (F) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code for the immediately preceding year. The report shall include indicators to monitor the processing of installation permits by the environmental protection agency and a comparison of the performance of the two previous years. The report also shall identify the measures that have been taken during the immediately preceding year to improve the efficiency and timeliness of the issuance of installation permits and what acitivities are planned in the year in which the report is issued to improve that issuance.

Section 3704.04 | Adoption of rules.

• Effective: May 6, 1986
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 500 - 116th General Assembly

The adoption, modification, and repeal of rules and the issuance, revocation, modification, and denial of permits and variances under this chapter shall be in accordance with Chapter 119., Chapter 3745., and division (H) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code.

Section 3704.05 | Prohibited acts.

• Effective: September 29, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

(A) No person shall cause, permit, or allow emission of an air contaminant in violation of any rule adopted by the director of environmental protection under division (E) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code unless the person is the holder of a variance that is issued under division (H) of that section and consistent with the federal Clean Air Act permitting the emission of the contaminant in excess of that permitted by the rule or the person is the holder of an operating permit that includes a compliance schedule issued pursuant to rules adopted under division (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person who is the holder of a variance issued under division (H) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code shall cause, permit, or allow emission of an air contaminant or contaminants listed therein in violation of the conditions of the variance or fail to obey an order of the director issued under authority of that division.

(C) No person who is the holder of a permit issued under division (F) or (G) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code shall violate any of its terms or conditions.

(D) No person shall fail to install and maintain monitoring devices or to submit reports or other information as may be required under division (I) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code.

(E) No person to whom a permit or variance has been issued shall refuse entry to an authorized representative of the director or the environmental protection agency as provided in division (L) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code or hinder or thwart the person in making an investigation.

(F) No person shall fail to submit plans and specifications as required by section 3704.03 of the Revised Code.

(G) No person shall violate any order, rule, or determination of the director issued, adopted, or made under this chapter.

(H) No person shall do any of the following:

(1) Falsify any plans, specifications, data, reports, records, or other information required to be kept or submitted to the director by this chapter or rules adopted under it;

(2) Make any false material statement, representation, or certification in any form, notice, or report required by the Title V permit program;

(3) Render inaccurate any monitoring device required by a Title V permit.

Violation of division (H)(1), (2), or (3) of this section is not also falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

(I) No person shall knowingly falsify an inspection certificate submitted to another under section 3704.14 or Chapter 4503. of Revised Code. Violation of this division is not also falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

(J) No person shall do either of the following:

(1) With regard to the Title V permit program, fail to pay any administrative penalty assessed in accordance with rules adopted under division (S) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code or any fee assessed under section 3745.11 of the Revised Code;

(2) Violate any applicable requirement of a Title V permit or any permit condition, except for an emergency as defined in 40 C.F.R. 70.6 (g), or filing requirement of the Title V permit program, any duty to allow or carry out inspection, entry, or monitoring activities, or any rule adopted or order issued by the director pursuant to the Title V permit program.

(K) On and after the three hundred sixty-sixth day following the administrator's final approval of the Title V permit program, or on and after the three hundred sixty-sixth day following the commencement of operation of a new major source required to comply with section 112(g) or part C or D of Title I of the federal Clean Air Act, whichever is later, no person shall operate any such source that is required to obtain a Title V permit under section 3704.036 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under it unless such a permit has been issued authorizing operation of the source or unless a complete and timely application for the issuance, renewal, or modification of a Title V permit for the source has been submitted to the director under that section.

Section 3704.06 | Prosecution by attorney general - injunction - civil penalties.

• Effective: June 30, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

(A) The attorney general, upon the request of the director of environmental protection, shall prosecute any person who violates section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code.

(B) The attorney general, upon request of the director, shall bring an action for an injunction, a civil penalty, or any other appropriate proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person violating or threatening to violate section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code. The court shall have jurisdiction to grant prohibitory and mandatory injunctive relief and to require payment of a civil penalty upon the showing that the person has violated this chapter or rules adopted thereunder.

(C) A person who violates section 3704.05 or 3704.16 of the Revised Code shall pay a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day of each violation. This division does not apply to any requirement of this chapter regarding the prevention or abatement of odors.

(D) One-half of the moneys collected as civil penalties under division (C) of this section shall be credited to the environmental education fund created in section 3745.22 of the Revised Code. The remainder of the moneys so collected shall be credited to the air pollution control administration fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The air pollution control administration fund shall be administered by the director. Moneys in the air pollution control administration fund shall be used to supplement other moneys available for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and the rules adopted and terms and conditions of orders and permits issued under it, including, without limitation, the issuance of permits under it, and shall not be used to satisfy any state matching fund requirements for the receipt of any federal grant funds.

The director may expend not more than one million five hundred thousand dollars of the moneys credited to the air pollution control administration fund under this division in any fiscal year for the purposes specified in this division. The director may request authority from the controlling board to expend any moneys credited to that fund in any fiscal year in excess of that amount.

(E) Upon written complaint by any person, the director shall conduct such investigations and make such inquiries as are necessary to secure compliance with this chapter. The director, upon complaint or upon the director's own initiative, may investigate or make inquiries into any alleged violation or act of air pollution.

Section 3704.07 | Industrial health, safety, or sanitation within the boundaries of industrial property supersedes environmental regulation.

• Effective: October 23, 1972
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 397 - 109th General Assembly

Nothing contained in sections 3704.01 to 3704.11 of the Revised Code, shall be construed as authorizing the director of environmental protection to make any rule, regulation, determination, or order which supersedes or limits the applicability of any law or ordinance relating to industrial health, safety, or sanitation within the boundaries of the industrial property.

Section 3704.08 | Information to be available for public inspection - exceptions.

• Effective: July 22, 1994
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 715 - 120th General Assembly

(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, any records, reports, or information obtained under this chapter shall be available for public inspection, except that upon a showing satisfactory to the director of environmental protection by any person that such records, reports, or information, or any particular part thereof, other than emission data, to which the director has access under this chapter, if made public, would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of that person, the director shall consider the record, report, or information or particular portion thereof confidential, except that the record, report, or information may be disclosed when necessary to sustain an action brought pursuant to section 3704.06 of the Revised Code or during an adjudication hearing conducted by the director on the denial, modification, or revocation of a variance or permit.

(B) To the extent consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, any records, reports, or information, other than emissions data, obtained by those public officials acting under section 3704.18, 3704.19, or 3706.19 of the Revised Code pursuant to the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program created under section 3704.18 of the Revised Code shall be held confidential by those public officials. Any records, reports, or information obtained by the director or his agents who are not acting under section 3704.18, 3704.19, or 3706.19 of the Revised Code shall not be held confidential unless they have been granted confidentiality under division (A) of this section.

(C) Nothing in division (A) or (B) of this section shall be construed to prevent the director from compiling or publishing analyses or summaries relating to the general condition of the atmosphere, provided that the reports do not reveal any information otherwise confidential under this section.

Section 3704.09 | Evidence - presumptions.

• Effective: June 13, 1975
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 111th General Assembly

Determinations made by the director of environmental protection or other persons acting under sections 3704.03 and 3704.04 of the Revised Code shall not be used as evidence in civil actions nor create any presumption of law or finding of fact which shall inure to or be for the benefit of any person other than the state, and sections 3704.01 to 3704.07 of the Revised Code do not create, enlarge, or abrogate existing private rights. Nothing in Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code shall be construed to abridge, limit, or otherwise impair the right of any person to damages or other relief on account of injury to persons or property and to maintain any action or other appropriate proceedings therefor.

Section 3704.11 | Authority of political subdivision not limited - exceptions.

• Effective: October 26, 1979
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 101 - 113th General Assembly

(A) Sections 3704.01 to 3704.11 of the Revised Code do not limit the authority a political subdivision of the state has to adopt and enforce ordinances or regulations relative to the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution, except that every such local ordinance or regulation shall be consistent with Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code, and shall include emission standards and other regulations which are not less stringent than the emission standards and other regulations adopted pursuant to division (E) of section 3704.03 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any such local law from controlling any air contaminant or source of air contamination which is not subject to control under regulations of the director of environmental protection.

(B) No local air pollution control authority shall issue any enforcement order, grant any permit or variance, or institute any system or program that conflicts with, or is in any way inconsistent with any general plan, orders, or regulations of the director.

(C)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 3704. of the Revised Code or any rule adopted pursuant thereto, any municipal corporation or township may issue permits to contractors engaged in the construction of buildings for the open burning of construction debris only on the construction site, lot, or recorded plat referred to in the permit application, if such burning is supervised by an employee at all times. Construction debris which may be burned under this section shall be limited to natural wood, lumber, paper, cardboard, and wooden boxes but not including any product having a rubber or petroleum base. A municipal corporation or township may make rules applicable to issuance and use of permits as are reasonably necessary to guarantee the public health and safety and necessary to ensure the efficient operation of the permit system, and such rules may contain a schedule of fees for the permits. A municipal corporation or township may revoke a permit for violation of any provision of this section or any rule adopted by the municipal corporation or township pursuant thereto. Annually, in accordance with a schedule specified by the director of environmental protection, all municipal corporations and townships shall report to the director the number of permits issued, renewed, and revoked for the preceding calendar year.

(2) No contractor shall burn construction debris under a permit issued pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section during an air pollution alert, warning, or emergency for the area of the construction site.

Section 3704.111 | Delegation agreement with local authority; periodic performance evaluation; contracts for payments.

• Effective: October 17, 2019
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) Not later than October 1, 1993, the director of environmental protection shall enter into a delegation agreement with each local air pollution control authority listed in divisions (N)(1)(a) to (h) of section 3704.01 of the Revised Code under which the local air pollution control authority agrees to perform on behalf of the environmental protection agency air pollution control regulatory services within the political subdivision represented by the local air pollution control authority. The director may enter into such a delegation agreement with a local air pollution control authority established on or after the effective date of this section, subject to the condition established in division (B) of this section. Each delegation agreement shall be self-renewing on an annual basis on the first day of October of each year. The terms of each such delegation agreement shall remain unchanged from year to year unless they are amended by mutual agreement of the director and the local air pollution control authority.

(B) The director may conduct a periodic performance evaluation of the air pollution control program operated by each local air pollution control authority. Based upon the findings of such a performance evaluation, the director may terminate or refuse to renew the delegation agreement with a local air pollution control authority if the director determines that the local air pollution control authority is not adequately performing its obligations under the agreement.

(C) The director may enter into contracts for payments to local air pollution control authorities from moneys credited to the clean air fund created in section 3704.035 of the Revised Code, subject to the limitation specified in that section, and any other moneys appropriated by the general assembly for that purpose. The director shall distribute the moneys available for making payments to the local air pollution control authorities pursuant to such contracts equitably among the local air pollution control authorities based upon the amount of local funding and the workload of each local air pollution control authority, including, without limitation, population served, number of air permits issued for both new and existing sources, land area, and number of air contaminant sources. The director biennially shall review the workload of each local air pollution control authority and shall determine the percentage of the moneys available for the purpose of making payments under the contracts. In determining the percentage of those moneys that is to be so distributed, the director shall consider the recommendations of the local air pollution control authorities.

(D) The director may modify a contract between the director and a local air pollution control authority to authorize the local air pollution control authority to perform air pollution control activities outside the geographic boundaries of that local air pollution control authority.

Section 3704.112 | Local air pollution control authority - powers and duties.

• Effective: July 1, 1993
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 152 - 120th General Assembly

For the purpose of fulfilling the duties and obligations imposed pursuant to a delegation agreement entered into under section 3704.111 of the Revised Code, a local air pollution control authority, in the name of the environmental protection agency, may do all of the following within the political subdivisions that it represents:

(A) Establish, maintain, and operate air quality monitoring stations and other devices designed to measure air pollution or ambient air quality;

(B) Enter upon public or private property, real or personal, at any reasonable time to make inspections, conduct tests, examine or copy records or reports, determine actual or potential emissions of air contaminants from a premises, and ascertain compliance with this chapter and any rules, orders, terms or conditions of permits or variances, or other determinations made or issued under it. If the entry or inspection authorized under this division is refused, hindered, or thwarted, an authorized representative of the local air pollution control authority may apply for, and any judge of a court of record may issue, an administrative inspection warrant under division (F) of section 2933.21 of the Revised Code, or other appropriate search warrant, to achieve the purposes of this chapter within the court's territorial jurisdiction.

(C) Investigate or make inquiries into any alleged violation of this chapter or a rule, order, term or condition of a permit or variance, or other determination made or issued under it, or act of air pollution, upon the complaint of any person, the local air pollution control authority's own initiative, or the request of the environmental protection agency;

(D) In accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under section 3704.03 of the Revised Code governing open burning, grant or deny permission to conduct open burning to persons making application for permission to do so;

(E) Encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, research, and education and training programs, and collect and disseminate information, relating to air pollution;

(F) Accept and administer grants from the federal government and any other source, public or private, for the purpose of carrying out any function under this chapter.

Section 3704.12 | Prohibition concerning motor vehicle fuel containing MTBE.

• Effective: August 28, 2002
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 425 - 124th General Assembly

(A) Subject to division (C) of this section, on or after July 1, 2005, no person shall sell or deliver to any distributor within this state, or import into this state for sale in this state, any motor vehicle fuel containing methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in quantities greater than one-half of one per cent by volume.

(B) The attorney general, upon the request of the director of environmental protection, shall commence an action for injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person violating or threatening to violate division (A) of this section. The court may grant temporary as well as permanent injunctive relief.

(C) The prohibitions of this section shall not operate unless the United States environmental protection agency grants a waiver allowing this state to control or prohibit the use of MTBE in motor vehicle fuels. The director of environmental protection shall apply for this waiver in a timely manner in order to obtain it before July 1, 2005.

Section 3704.13 | Clean Air Act - powers of governor.

• Effective: December 19, 1980
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 258 - 113th General Assembly

The governor may do all things necessary on behalf of the state to secure the full benefits available to the state under the federal Clean Air Act. The governor may, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, exercise all powers permitted by the federal Clean Air Act to be exercised by a governor, including, but not limited to, powers pertaining to the issuance of orders; adoption of rules; designation of officials; emergency suspension of any part of an implementation plan adopted by the state; and redesignation of air quality control regions.

Section 3704.14 | Enhanced motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program.

• Effective: December 29, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A)(1) If the director of environmental protection determines that implementation of a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program is necessary for the state to effectively comply with the federal Clean Air Act after June 30, 2023, the director may provide for the implementation of the program in those counties in this state in which such a program is federally mandated. Upon making such a determination, the director of environmental protection may request the director of administrative services to extend the terms of the contract that was entered into under the authority of Am. Sub. H.B. 64 of the 131st general assembly. Upon receiving the request, the director of administrative services shall extend the contract, beginning on July 1, 2023, in accordance with this section. The contract shall be extended for a period of up to twenty-four months with the contractor who conducted the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program under that contract.

(2) Prior to the expiration of the contract extension that is authorized by division (A)(1) of this section, the director of environmental protection shall request the director of administrative services to enter into a contract with a vendor to operate a decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program in each county in this state in which such a program is federally mandated through June 30, 2027, with an option for the state to renew the contract for a period of up to twenty-four months through June 30, 2029. The contract shall ensure that the decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program achieves at least the same emission reductions as achieved by the program operated under the authority of the contract that was extended under division (A)(1) of this section. The director of administrative services shall select a vendor through a competitive selection process in compliance with Chapter 125. of the Revised Code.

(3) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the director of administrative services shall ensure that a competitive selection process regarding a contract to operate a decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program in this state incorporates the following, which shall be included in the contract:

(a) For purposes of expanding the number of testing locations for consumer convenience, a requirement that the vendor utilize established local businesses, auto repair facilities, or leased properties to operate state-approved inspection and maintenance testing facilities;

(b) A requirement that the vendor selected to operate the program provide notification of the program's requirements to each owner of a motor vehicle that is required to be inspected under the program. The contract shall require the notification to be provided not later than sixty days prior to the date by which the owner of the motor vehicle is required to have the motor vehicle inspected. The director of environmental protection and the vendor shall jointly agree on the content of the notice. However, the notice shall include at a minimum the locations of all inspection facilities within a specified distance of the address that is listed on the owner's motor vehicle registration;

(c) A requirement that the vendor comply with testing methodology and supply the required equipment approved by the director of environmental protection as specified in the competitive selection process in compliance with Chapter 125. of the Revised Code.

(4) A decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program operated under this section shall comply with division (B) of this section. The director of environmental protection shall administer the decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program operated under this section.

(B) The decentralized motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program authorized by this section, at a minimum, shall do all of the following:

(1) Comply with the federal Clean Air Act;

(2) Provide for the issuance of inspection certificates;

(3) Provide for a new car exemption for motor vehicles four years old or newer and provide that a new motor vehicle is exempt for four years regardless of whether legal title to the motor vehicle is transferred during that period;

(4) Provide for an exemption for battery electric motor vehicles.

(C)(1) The director of environmental protection shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that the director determines are necessary to implement this section. The director may continue to implement and enforce rules pertaining to the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program previously implemented under former section 3704.14 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior to its repeal and reenactment by Am. Sub. H.B. 66 of the 126th general assembly, provided that the rules do not conflict with this section.

(2) The director of environmental protection shall issue an inspection certificate provided for under division (B)(2) of this section in accordance with Chapter 4796. of the Revised Code to an applicant if either of the following applies:

(a) The individual holds a certificate or license in another state.

(b) The individual has satisfactory work experience, a government certification, or a private certification as described in that chapter as a vehicle inspector in a state that does not issue that certificate.

(D) There is hereby created in the state treasury the auto emissions test fund, which shall consist of money received by the director from any cash transfers, state and local grants, and other contributions that are received for the purpose of funding the program established under this section. The director of environmental protection shall use money in the fund solely for the implementation, supervision, administration, operation, and enforcement of the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program established under this section. Money in the fund shall not be used for either of the following:

(1) To pay for the inspection costs incurred by a motor vehicle dealer so that the dealer may provide inspection certificates to an individual purchasing a motor vehicle from the dealer when that individual resides in a county that is subject to the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program;

(2) To provide payment for more than one free passing emissions inspection or a total of three emissions inspections for a motor vehicle in any three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. The owner or lessee of a motor vehicle is responsible for inspection fees that are related to emissions inspections beyond one free passing emissions inspection or three total emissions inspections in any three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. Inspection fees that are charged by a contractor conducting emissions inspections under a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program shall be approved by the director of environmental protection.

(E) The motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program established under this section expires upon the termination of all contracts entered into under this section and shall not be implemented beyond the final date on which termination occurs.

(F) As used in this section "battery electric motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

Last updated December 29, 2023 at 4:55 AM

Section 3704.141 | Emission standards for buses.

• Effective: September 27, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 18 - 120th General Assembly

(A) Each motor bus, as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, that is owned or operated by a transit system, authority, or commission organized under Chapter 306. or 747. of the Revised Code or under a municipal or county charter or ordinance and within a county that is subject to section 3704.14 of the Revised Code shall meet emission standards for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and, in the case of diesel fueled motor buses, particulate opacity established by the director of environmental protection under rules adopted under division (B) of this section.

(B) In accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the director shall adopt, and may amend and rescind, rules necessary for the implementation, administration, operation, and enforcement of this section.

Section 3704.15 | Prohibiting sale of fluorocarbon aerosol products.

• Effective: April 15, 1979
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 232 - 112th General Assembly

(A) No person shall sell, expose for sale, or offer to sell any aerosol spray can which contains as a propellant trichloromonofluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane, or any other saturated chlorofluorocarbon compound that does not contain hydrogen, except an aerosol spray can designed for administering any drug for the treatment of asthma or another respiratory disease through a device that measures the dosage, administering a prescription drug, or use in a surgical procedure, or an aerosol spray can the use of which is designated an essential use by the director of environmental protection in accordance with division (B) of this section. However, a particular product may be sold, exposed for sale, or offered for sale, in such a can at retail from a retailer's inventory that remains at the end of the day on April 14, 1979, if his inventory of the product during April, 1979 does not exceed his average monthly inventory of the product during the previous twenty-four calendar months.

(B) The director of environmental protection shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code prescribing the essential uses of aerosol spray cans containing as a propellant trichloromonofluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane, or any other saturated chlorofluorocarbon that does not contain hydrogen. The director shall designate as being an essential use of such aerosol spray cans only those uses so designated under the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040, 21 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, the "Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976," 90 Stat. 2003, 15 U.S.C.A. 2601, as amended, or the "Consumer Product Safety Act," 86 Stat. 1207, 15 U.S.C.A. 2051, as amended.

Section 3704.16 | Prohibiting tampering with motor vehicle emission control systems.

• Effective: September 27, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 18 - 120th General Assembly

(A) As used in sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Tamper with" means to remove permanently, bypass, defeat, or render inoperative, in whole or part, any emission control system that is installed on or in a motor vehicle.

(2) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Emission control system" means any system designated by the United States environmental protection agency as an emission control system under Title II of the "Clean Air Act Amendments." "Emission control system" includes any device or element of design of the system.

(4) "Clean Air Act Amendments" has the same meaning as in section 3704.14 of the Revised Code.

(5) Notwithstanding section 3704.01 of the Revised Code, "person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person shall do any of the following:

(1) Sell, offer for sale, possess for sale, advertise, manufacture, install, or use any part or component intended for use with or as part of any motor vehicle when the primary effect is to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative, in whole or part, the emission control system;

(2) Introduce a leaded fuel into a motor vehicle that is designed, manufactured, or certified by the United States environmental protection agency to use only unleaded fuels;

(3) Tamper with any emission control system installed on or in a motor vehicle prior to its sale and delivery to the ultimate purchaser;

(4) Violate any rule or order the director of environmental protection adopts or issues under section 3704.161 of the Revised Code;

(5) Refuse to permit the director or his designee to inspect any motor vehicle or documents as provided in division (A) of section 3704.161 of the Revised Code.

The sale, offering for sale, possession for sale, advertisement, manufacture, installation, and use of a part or component in violation of division (B)(1) of this section all constitute separate offenses.

(C) No person shall knowingly do any of the following:

(1) Operate a motor vehicle that has been tampered with if the motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine has been certified by the United States environmental protection agency as meeting federal or California emission control standards;

(2) Sell, lease, rent, or offer to sell, lease, or rent, or transfer or offer to transfer title or a right to possession of a motor vehicle that has been tampered with;

(3) Tamper with any emission control system installed on or in a motor vehicle after sale, lease, or rental and delivery of the vehicle to the ultimate purchaser, lessee, or renter.

The sale, lease, rental, and offer to sell, lease, or rent, and other transfer or offer to transfer of title or a right to possession of a motor vehicle in violation of division (C)(2) of this section all constitute separate offenses.

(D) Division (C)(2) of this section does not apply to either of the following:

(1) Any person who sells, leases, rents, or offers to sell, lease, or rent, or transfers or offers to transfer title or a right to possession of a motor vehicle that has been tampered with if the person is acting as a motor vehicle auction owner, a special auctioneer, or a salvage motor vehicle auction and if the person holds a current and appropriate license to engage in those activities issued under Chapter 4517., 4707., or 4738. of the Revised Code;

(2) The sale, lease, rental, or offer to sell, lease, or rent, or transfer or offer to transfer title or right to possession of a motor vehicle that has been tampered with if the vehicle is titled with a salvage certificate of title issued under section 4505.11 of the Revised Code.

(E) Notwithstanding divisions (B)(1) and (3) and (C)(3) of this section, it is not a violation of those divisions if either of the following conditions is met:

(1) The action is taken for the purpose of repair or replacement of the emission control system or is a necessary and temporary procedure to repair or replace any other item on the motor vehicle and the action results in the system's compliance with the "Clean Air Act Amendments";

(2) The action is for the purpose of converting a motor vehicle to use a clean alternative fuel, as defined in Title II of the "Clean Air Act Amendments," the motor vehicle complies with the applicable standard adopted under Section 202 of that act when operating on the fuel, an emission control system is installed or replaced upon completion of the conversion, and the action results in the system's compliance with that act when the motor vehicle operates on the fuel for which it originally was designed.

Section 3704.161 | Enforcement.

• Effective: December 2, 1996
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 670 - 121st General Assembly

(A) The director of environmental protection shall enforce sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under them. In doing so, the director or the director's authorized representative may do either or both of the following:

(1) Inspect, during normal business hours, any motor vehicle or documents located at premises owned, operated, rented, leased, or otherwise used by any owner or operator of a motor vehicle if that motor vehicle is operated for commercial purposes, or by any person engaged in the sale, lease, or rental of motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts, in order to determine compliance with sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under them;

(2) Issue a notice of violation to any person who violates any provision of sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code or the rules adopted under them and who the director or the director's authorized representative finds has committed such a violation. The notice of violation shall set forth the specific violation allegedly committed by the person and be accompanied by an order requiring the person to comply with the relevant provision. The person may appeal the order to the environmental review appeals commission in accordance with section 3745.04 of the Revised Code.

(B) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code. The rules shall include all of the following:

(1) Requirements and procedures for inspection of motor vehicles and documents under division (A)(1) of this section;

(2) A method by which any person may report violations or suspected violations of sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code to the director for enforcement;

(3) Any other rule the director determines necessary for the administration and enforcement of sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) Notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code relating to the distribution or crediting of fines for violations of the Revised Code, all fines imposed under divisions (D) and (E) of section 3704.99 of the Revised Code resulting from an arrest made by the law enforcement agency of a political subdivision shall be paid to the treasury of the political subdivision.

(2) All civil penalties collected pursuant to section 3704.06 of the Revised Code for violations of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under this section shall be deposited in the anti-tampering settlement fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The director shall use the moneys in the fund solely for public education concerning and administration and enforcement of sections 3704.16 to 3704.162 of the Revised Code.

Section 3704.162 | Rescinding transaction for violation.

• Effective: September 27, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 18 - 120th General Assembly

(A) For a violation of division (C)(2) or (3) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code, a purchaser, renter, or lessee of a motor vehicle or a person who rents or leases a motor vehicle to a renter or lessee has a cause of action and is entitled to rescission of the transaction, recovery of actual damages, or both. In any action for rescission of the transaction, rescission shall occur within a reasonable amount of time after the purchaser, renter, or lessee or person who rents or leases a motor vehicle to a renter or lessee discovers or should have discovered the grounds for rescission.

(B) For a violation of division (C)(3) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code, a purchaser, renter, or lessee of a motor vehicle or a person who rents or leases a motor vehicle to a renter or lessee may seek a declaratory judgment, an injunction, or other appropriate relief.

(C) In any action brought under division (A) or (B) of this section, the court may award to the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees limited to the work reasonably performed if either of the following applies:

(1) The purchaser, renter, or lessee or person who rents or leases a motor vehicle to a renter or lessee has brought or maintained a groundless action and has filed the action in bad faith;

(2) The purchaser, renter, or lessee or person who rents or leases a motor vehicle to a renter or lessee has knowingly violated division (C)(3) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code in regard to the violation on which the action is based.

Section 3704.18 | Technical and environmental compliance assistance program for small business stationary sources.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

(A) The director of environmental protection, with the advice of the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance council created in section 3704.19 of the Revised Code, shall establish a technical and environmental compliance assistance program for small business stationary sources. The program shall include all of the following:

(1) Adequate mechanisms for developing, collecting, and coordinating information concerning compliance methods and technologies for small business stationary sources and programs to encourage cooperation among such sources and other persons to further compliance with the federal Clean Air Act;

(2) Adequate mechanisms for assisting small business stationary sources with pollution prevention and accidental release detection and prevention, including providing information concerning alternative technologies, process changes, products, and methods of operation that help reduce air pollution;

(3) A compliance assistance program for small business stationary sources that assists such sources in determining applicable requirements and in receiving permits under the federal Clean Air Act, this chapter, and rules adopted under it in a timely and efficient manner;

(4) Adequate mechanisms to ensure that small business stationary sources receive notice of their rights under the federal Clean Air Act, this chapter, rules adopted under it, and section 3706.19 of the Revised Code in such a manner and form as to ensure reasonable and adequate time for them to evaluate compliance methods and any relevant or applicable proposed or final regulation or standard adopted or issued under the federal Clean Air Act or this chapter. The director shall adopt rules establishing a notice procedure for the purposes of this division.

(5) Adequate mechanisms for informing small business stationary sources of their obligations under the federal Clean Air Act, this chapter, and rules adopted under it, including mechanisms for referring such sources to qualified environmental auditors or, at the director's option, for providing audits of the operations of such sources to determine compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it;

(6) Procedures for consideration of requests from a small business stationary source for modification of either of the following:

(a) Any work practice or technological method of compliance;

(b) The schedule of milestones for implementing such a work practice or method of compliance preceding any applicable compliance date, based on the technological and financial capability of the source.

No such modification shall be granted unless it is in compliance with the applicable requirements of the federal Clean Air Act, this chapter, and rules adopted under it. When such applicable requirements are established in federal regulations, only modifications authorized in those regulations shall be allowed.

(7) Adequate mechanisms for ensuring, upon request, the confidentiality of all communications and information from or on behalf of small businesses that seek assistance under the program.

(B) The director shall designate an employee of the environmental protection agency with suitable technical qualifications to supervise the program and may employ such other persons as are necessary for the purposes of the program. The program office in the agency also shall serve as the staff of the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance council created in section 3704.19 of the Revised Code and shall assist in any review conducted by the council and in the development and dissemination of the reports of the council required under that section.

(C) No information submitted to, acquired by, or exchanged with public officials acting pursuant to the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program shall be used in any manner for purposes of enforcement of any requirement of this chapter or used as evidence in any judicial or administrative enforcement proceeding. Nothing in this section confers immunity from enforcement based on information obtained by the director or his agents who are not acting pursuant to this section or section 3704.19 or 3706.19 of the Revised Code.

Section 3704.19 | Small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance council.

• Effective: October 29, 1993
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 153 - 120th General Assembly

(A) There is hereby created within the environmental protection agency the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance council. The council shall consist of the following seven members:

(1) Two members who are not owners or representatives of owners of small business stationary sources to represent the general public, to be appointed by the governor;

(2) Four members who are owners or representatives of owners of small business stationary sources, one each to be appointed by the president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the minority leader of the house of representatives;

(3) One member to represent the agency, to be appointed by the director of environmental protection.

Initial members of the council shall be appointed not later than one year after the effective date of this section. One of the initial members appointed by the governor, the initial member appointed by the minority leader of the senate, and the initial member appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives shall serve for a term of two years. One of the initial members appointed by the governor, the initial member appointed by the president of the senate, and the initial member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives shall serve for a term of four years. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for four years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of his appointment until the end of the term for which he was appointed. Members may be reappointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration of his term or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

Members of the council shall serve without compensation. Members appointed under divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the council.

(B) The council shall do all of the following:

(1) Review the effectiveness of the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program established under section 3704.18 of the Revised Code, difficulties encountered with regard to the program, and the degree and severity of enforcement pursuant to it;

(2) Make periodic reports to the administrator concerning the compliance of the small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program with the "Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 2812, 44 U.S.C.A. 3501, as amended, the "Regulatory Flexibility Act," 94 Stat. 1164 (1980), 5 U.S.C.A. 601, and the "Equal Access to Justice Act," 94 Stat. 2325 (1980), 5 U.S.C.A. 504, as amended;

(3) Review information prepared for small business stationary sources under sections 3704.18 and 3706.19 of the Revised Code to ensure that the information is understandable to the layperson;

(4) Request the program office in the agency that is established in division (B) of section 3704.18 of the Revised Code to provide technical and clerical support for the council.

Section 3704.20 | Prohibition against the sale of a motor vehicle based on its energy source.

• Effective: March 28, 2024
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 201 - 135th General Assembly

(A) No state agency, township, or county shall restrict the use or sale of a motor vehicle based on the energy source used to power the motor vehicle, including an energy source used for propulsion or used for powering other functions of the motor vehicle.

(B) The environmental protection agency or any other state agency shall not adopt any motor vehicle emissions standards that are established by California as a result of California having received a waiver pursuant to section 209(b) of the federal Clean Air Act.

Last updated January 16, 2024 at 5:20 PM

Section 3704.99 | Penalty.

• Effective: July 1, 2005
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 66 - 126th General Assembly

(A) Whoever recklessly violates division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), or (I) of section 3704.05 or division (B)(5) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, for each violation. Each day the violation continues after a conviction for a violation is a separate offense.

(B) Whoever knowingly violates division (H), (J), or (K) of section 3704.05 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars for each day of each such violation.

(C) Whoever violates section 3704.15 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(D) Whoever violates division (B)(2) or knowingly violates division (C)(1) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(E) Whoever violates division (B)(1) or (3) or knowingly violates division (C)(2) or (3) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than twenty-five hundred dollars for each day of each violation.

(F) Whoever recklessly violates division (B)(4) of section 3704.16 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, for each violation. Each day the violation continues after a conviction for a violation is a separate offense.

(G) The sentencing court, in addition to the penalty provided in divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section, shall order the offender to restore within thirty days any emission control system that was tampered with in connection with the violation or to provide proof that the motor vehicle whose emission control system was tampered with has been dismantled or destroyed. The court may extend that deadline for good cause shown. If the offender does not take the corrective action ordered under this division, each day that the violation continues is a separate offense. Violation of a court order entered under this division is punishable as contempt under Chapter 2705. of the Revised Code.