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Title V Fee Calculator - Air Permit Fee Estimation & Major Source Threshold Check

Estimate annual Title V operating permit fees and check 10/25/100 ton major source thresholds

Estimate annual Title V air permit fees based on your facility's actual or potential emissions. Enter emissions by pollutant to check the base major source thresholds (100 tpy criteria, 10 tpy single HAP, 25 tpy combined HAP) and estimate an annual fee from a user-entered $/ton rate and optional fee cap. You supply your state or local program rate (the EPA presumptive minimum is a CPI-adjusted $/ton; schedules vary widely), and a threshold proximity warning flags pollutants within 80% of a base threshold. Nonattainment-area thresholds and the presumptive program's 4,000 tpy per-pollutant billable cap are not modeled; the in-app source boundary spells out both.

Pro Tip: Treat threshold proximity as a review trigger, not a decision. If entered emissions approach a base threshold, verify potential-to-emit basis, enforceable limits, nonattainment status, HAP aggregation, and the current fee schedule with your permitting authority before budgeting or making control decisions.

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Title V Permit Fee Calculator
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How It Works

  1. Enter Emissions by Pollutant

    Input actual or potential emissions in tons per year for each criteria pollutant (NOx, SOx, PM, CO, VOC) and any hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Use results from the fuel combustion or VOC calculators if available.

  2. Enter Your Fee Rate

    Enter your state or local program $/ton rate and any annual fee cap. Some programs charge per ton of actual emissions, others use potential emissions, and some have flat fees plus per-ton charges - the entered rate and cap drive the estimate.

  3. Check Major Source Thresholds

    The calculator automatically flags any pollutant that exceeds or approaches the 100 tpy criteria pollutant threshold, 10 tpy single HAP threshold, or 25 tpy combined HAP threshold.

  4. Account for Attainment Status Separately

    This calculator uses base attainment-area thresholds only. If your facility is in a nonattainment area, the major source thresholds drop to 10-50 tpy for the affected pollutants - apply those lower thresholds with your permitting authority before relying on the calculator result.

  5. Review Fee Estimate

    See the estimated annual fee at your entered rate, per-pollutant fee breakdown, threshold proximity warnings, and a multi-year escalation projection. Note that some states exempt certain pollutants or cap maximum fees, and the presumptive program need not bill emissions above 4,000 tpy per pollutant.

Built For

  • Environmental managers estimating annual air permit budget obligations
  • Facility planners evaluating the cost impact of exceeding major source thresholds
  • Consultants organizing early Title V threshold and fee questions before formal applicability review
  • Plant engineers screening possible fee impacts from emission reduction projects
  • Corporate environmental directors benchmarking permit costs across facilities
  • Small business owners checking whether expansion needs qualified major-source review
  • Permit teams preparing preliminary fee worksheets before agency confirmation

Assumptions

  • The fee rate and optional cap are user-entered; reconcile them against your state fee schedule and the current EPA presumptive minimum notice.
  • Emission values entered represent actual or potential emissions as defined by the user.
  • No state fee schedule is embedded in the tool; flat-fee components and per-pollutant exemptions are not modeled.
  • Major source threshold prompts use base attainment-area defaults; nonattainment thresholds are not modeled.
  • Fee calculations do not include one-time application fees or permit modification fees.

Limitations

  • State fee schedules change annually - always verify current rates with your state agency.
  • Does not calculate potential to emit (PTE) - user must enter pre-calculated emission values.
  • Some states exempt specific pollutants or apply fee caps, flat components, or billable-emissions definitions not modeled here.
  • Nonattainment area classifications and their specific thresholds may vary by pollutant.
  • Does not estimate indirect costs such as monitoring, testing, recordkeeping, reporting, consulting, or staff time.

References

  • Clean Air Act Title V (42 USC 7661-7661f) - operating permit program requirements.
  • EPA 40 CFR Part 70 - State Operating Permit Programs, minimum fee provisions.
  • EPA Title V fee guidance memoranda and annual fee rate adjustments.
  • State-specific air quality fee schedules (varies by jurisdiction).

Frequently Asked Questions

Title V is the federal operating permit program under the Clean Air Act. Any facility that is a major source of air pollution must obtain a Title V operating permit. The permit consolidates all applicable air quality requirements into a single document and requires annual compliance certifications, regular monitoring, and record-keeping. Title V permits are renewed every 5 years and funded by annual fees paid by permit holders.
The EPA publishes a presumptive minimum fee in dollars per ton of actual emissions, adjusted annually for inflation (check the current-year EPA fee notice for the exact rate). States can charge more than the federal minimum. Some states charge per ton of emissions, others use a combination of flat fees and per-ton charges. Most states cap the total fee per facility or exclude certain pollutants like CO2. The fee typically applies to all regulated pollutants emitted above a de minimis threshold.
In attainment areas: 100 tpy of any single criteria pollutant (NOx, SOx, CO, PM10, VOC). For HAPs: 10 tpy of any single HAP or 25 tpy of all HAPs combined. In nonattainment areas, thresholds are lower: 100 tpy (marginal), 50 tpy (moderate ozone), 25 tpy (serious ozone), and as low as 10 tpy for extreme nonattainment. These thresholds apply to potential to emit, not just actual emissions, unless you take federally enforceable limits.
Actual emissions are what your facility really emits based on operating hours, fuel use, and controls. Potential to emit (PTE) is the maximum your facility could emit running 24/7/365 at maximum capacity without controls. Major source determination uses PTE unless you accept federally enforceable permit limits (like hours of operation or fuel use caps) to keep PTE below thresholds. This is called a synthetic minor or permit-by-rule approach.
Possibly, but only through properly drafted and enforceable limits accepted by the permitting authority. Synthetic-minor, permit-by-rule, and other limits require source-specific review, monitoring, record-keeping, and agency approval. This fee screen does not evaluate those limits.
Annual fees are only one cost category. Monitoring, testing, recordkeeping, deviation reports, annual certifications, consultant support, and staff time can also matter, but they are site-specific and not estimated by this app.
Disclaimer: This calculator is a planning-arithmetic screen using user-entered emissions, rate, and optional cap. It is not a state fee-schedule lookup, Title V applicability determination, potential-to-emit calculation, synthetic-minor review, nonattainment analysis, agency filing, or regulatory advice. Verify rates, billable-emissions definitions, thresholds, the 4,000 tpy presumptive billable cap, state rules, permits, and qualified environmental/legal review before reliance.

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