EGLE's Air Quality Division releases 2021 Year in Review

Title V permits are issued to companies when their combined processes emit larger amounts of air pollutants. A  Title V permit , also called a Renewable Operating Permit, is a document containing all conditions from all air permits the company has, along with additional conditions specific to these types of permits. These additional conditions are typically additional recordkeeping and reporting.

Like other air permits, Title V permits require a company to submit a complete permit application in timely manner. Unlike other air permits, a Title V permit does not last for the lifetime of the equipment, but must be renewed every five years.

Title V permits may sometimes need to be modified outside of their normal renewal schedule. These modifications are all reviewed and coordinated by one Air Quality Division staff person. In the last year, 50 modification requests were issued.

Title V permit applications can be complex to review. In the past, the majority of these applications were completed by Air Quality Division's field staff, typically the inspector for the facility. In 2021 a new unit was put together, built with experienced staff, whose role will be to streamline review and completion of the Title V permits and to ensure consistency in this type of permitting. Being timely is important and the new unit will also help to improve timeliness.

No Title V applications were denied by the Air Quality Division or withdrawn by the company in 2021 and 56 applications were approved and issued.

Other differences between companies with a Title V permit and other companies, are the semi-annual and annual reporting, the annual emissions reporting, and the  air quality fees  a Title V company must pay on an annual basis. These fees help to fund the important air quality work the Division does.

The State of Michigan has thousands of industrial facilities, with only a small subset having emissions large enough to need a renewable operating permit. Most companies have very low emissions and do not even need an air permit. And some companies have emissions large enough to need an air permit, but are not large enough to need a renewable operating permit.

More information on Title V permits may be found on  Air Quality Division's Facility Specific Information webpage  and on the  Renewable Operating Permit/Title V webpage .

With the pandemic still creating challenges for everyone, 2021 continued to push Air Quality Divisions inspectors into creative solutions to getting inspections done. Social distancing and additional personal protective equipment felt a little more commonplace, but companies were facing staff shortages and supply chain issues. Air inspectors continued to do their work while remaining cognizant of these circumstances.

Inspectors typically work out of one of ten  district offices  located strategically around the state. Working from home was still the norm, some staff conducted portions of inspections virtually, and electronic sharing of information became even more commonplace. Inspections are a vital part of ensuring companies are in compliance. In 2021, a total of 892 inspections were completed with 239 of those being at larger emitting facilities and 653 being at facilities with lower emissions.

When an inspector conducts an inspection of a company they are looking for many things, but ultimately, they are making a determination about whether the company is complying with air quality rules and regulations and meeting all conditions of their air permit(s). An inspector thoroughly examines every permit condition, every applicable rule, and all equipment releasing air contaminants. If an inspector finds an issue, a violation notice may be issued to the company.

More information, including inspection reports, may be found on  Air Quality Division's Facility Specific Information webpage. 

When there are air quality concerns, filing an  air quality complaint  is the best way for residents let Air Quality Division staff know when there may be a problem with air quality in their area. Inspectors are not able to be at all companies all the time, so our Michigan residents are often our eyes and ears. Complaints typically fall into these categories:

• Odors,
• Fallout or dust,
•  Burning  or smoke, and
• Health concerns.

We received over 1,500 complaints in 2021. When a complaint is received, staff investigate to see if further action is necessary. In other instances, a complaint may be submitted, but the Air Quality Division does not handle the issue and will pass it forward to another EGLE staffer or other agency for help. A good example is outdoor wood boilers at residential homes. These are handled by local municipalities, not the Air Quality Division.

Residents are encouraged to use the  new online air quality complaint form , call their local  District Office  or contact the  Environmental Assistance Center  if they would like to file an air quality complaint.

Violation notices may be issued for a variety of reasons; something found during a complaint investigation, like excess odors, or instances when a company does not do everything their permit requires, or even for not applying for a permit when one is required. Some specific examples may be:

• Not keeping appropriate records.
• Using materials not allowed in the permit.
• Exceeding air emission limits.
• Not testing for air emissions.
• Having poor maintenance practices which may lead to equipment breaking down.
• Allowing dust, paint spray, or offensive odors to leave the property and impact neighbors.

In 2021, the Air Quality Division issued 348 violation notices to companies in Michigan. A violation notice allows the company an opportunity to provide a written response in a timely manner. The response must include a plan to make necessary corrections. In some cases violation notices are not resolved in a cooperative or timely manner or the violation is bad enough to lead to escalated enforcement.

An  escalated enforcement action  typically results in a legal agreement between the Air Quality Division and a company. The agreement will include a monetary fine and an enforceable plan to return to compliance. Enforcement actions can take time to resolve and come to agreement and it is common for resolution to take a year or more.

In addition to a fine, a plan to come back into compliance, an enforcement action may include one or more  Supplemental Environmental Projects or SEPs . A SEP offsets some of the monetary fine the company would pay and puts it toward a project benefiting the impacted community. SEPs are strongly encouraged when a company is undergoing an escalated enforcement action. An approvable SEP is inclusive of the community and is designed to meet specific requirements. Some examples of quality SEPS are:

• Air filtration equipment at schools,
• Removal of blighted property,
• Updating community lighting, and
• Tree planting.

More information on SEPs can be discovered on the  interactive SEP map.  This map shows completed and in-process SEPs. Stakeholders can use the map to see specific information about approved SEPs, like type, location and cost.

Some escalated enforcement agreements are open for public comment prior to being finalized. These provide the public an opportunity to learn about the enforcement case, the details of the draft agreement, and to make comments, if appropriate. Public comment is an important part of this process and is encouraged and welcomed. When enforcement actions are put out for comment, they will be included on  AQD's public notice webpage .

More information, including violation notices and enforcement notices may be found on  Air Quality Division's Facility Specific Information webpage. 

Asbestos removal activities are a part of many demolitions. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, so ensuring it is removed and disposed of properly remains a high priority. Air Quality Division's asbestos inspectors continue to work on inspecting as many sites as possible. Over 8,400 initial notifications indicating an intent to remove asbestos containing material were submitted in 2021. An additional 31,000 plus revisions to original notifications were also submitted.

Asbestos inspectors ensure asbestos has been removed, whether it was removed properly, and what disposal methods were used.

When an asbestos inspector determines asbestos has not been taken care of properly, a violation notice may be written and, if not resolved in a timely manner, the company may have to go through escalated enforcement.

More information about the asbestos program may be found on the Air Quality Division's  Asbestos webpage. 

Over 1700 companies are required to report their air emissions to the Air Quality Division every year. This reporting happens every March and is focused on larger emitters of air pollution. Outside of the reporting season, Air Quality Staff in this area do quality checks on the last years data, developing training and outreach plans, and preparing fee invoices based on the previous years emissions information.

The online platform used to collect this data from companies is called the  Michigan Air Emissions Reporting System . The system helps the Air Quality Division assess what and where emissions are coming from. All data is available to the public and is sent to the United States Environmental Protection Agency for use in some of their nationwide data sets.

Companies submit emissions information on criteria pollutants, which includes volatile organic compounds,  oxides of nitrogen ,  oxides of sulfur ,  carbon monoxide ,  particulate matter  and  lead . Although companies are not required to report other pollutants, the system is designed to calculate emissions of some other pollutants as well, like hazardous air pollutants and some toxics air contaminants.

The US Environmental Protection Agency posts  trend data  and other information, which includes emissions reported through Michigan's reporting system. More information on what emissions were reported from a specific company can be found by using the  MAERS Annual Pollutant Totals Query. 

Not every state has a program to regulate toxic air contaminants (TACs). In Michigan, four toxicologists help permit engineers with the review of some permit applications. They also work to assess and review health and impact data associated with a subset of TACs, including  existing screening levels . Each TAC may have one or more screening level. There are currently 1,269 TACs on the list. In 2021, 26 screening levels were created or updated due to better and more recent information becoming available.

More information on TACs, can be found on the Air Quality Division's  Overview of Michigan's Air Toxic Rules  webpage.

Ambient or outdoor air monitoring in Michigan is always of particular interest to the public. Air monitoring stations provide information about a general area or region and measure air where people are likely to be breathing it outside. Air monitoring stations like these are not meant to give emissions information about a particular company.

There are 43 locations around the state which hold over 100 monitors in total measuring for 13 different parameters or pollutants and 8 meteorological parameters, like wind direction. When we talk about all of the monitors in Michigan, we refer to it as the "Air Monitoring Network". The network is designed to gather data in areas around the state representative of regional data. Locations are chosen for various reasons, but in order to have an adequate monitoring program, the network must meet specific requirements mandated by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Every year, the network is reviewed and is opened for the public to examine and comment on, if desired. When the network review is opened for comment, information will be posted on the  public notice webpage .

Overall information about air monitoring, the ability to  subscribe for clean air action day alerts , and the current air quality in your area can be found on the Air Quality Division's  air monitoring website . More information on what pollutants each station is measuring can be found by interacting with the air monitoring map embedded here. Click on any of the points on this map for more information about that site. You can also view the data by visiting our  Air Monitoring Sites web app . For example, the photo below shows the monitoring station at Salina Elementary School in Dearborn which measures a variety of pollutants.

The Year in Review contains highlights of the work Air Quality staff does, but there are some important activities you will not see in the infographic.

Air Quality Division Staff spent 390 days in 2021 attending stack tests. The requirement to do stack testing is included in air permits. These tests are used as another way to verify a company's compliance with some emission limits in an air permit or regulation.

Stack testing measures things like the quantity or type of pollutants exiting the stack or how well equipment is working.  Stack testing  is an important part of determining compliance for many companies.

Air Quality Division meteorologists kept their eyes on the skies and continued to evaluate future air quality and call for  Clean Air Action days  when necessary. These are days happen when weather conditions may cause air to be unhealthy for some individuals. On these days, residents are encouraged to change their activities in order to minimize their exposure.

Clean Air Action days are called when levels of  ozone  or particulate matter put people at risk. Two of the Air Quality Divisions meteorologists talk about Clean Air Action days and why they are important in the video linked at left. Residents may sign up to receive air quality alerts at  MIair.enviroflash.info/ .

The Air Quality Division has two staff persons who inspect approximately 450 dry cleaning facilities across Michigan. The  dry cleaning program  has a long history in the state and has gone through changes as most cleaners has moved away from using perchloroethylene to other cleaning agents.

State Implementation Plans or SIPs are created by the state and then approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency to make them federally enforceable and to allow the State of Michigan to run their own air quality regulatory program.

The Air Quality Division staff who work on rule making and development of SIPs, have a varied job which includes evaluation of when Air Pollution Control Rules need to be added or updated. Occasionally, these rule changes need to go out for public comment. Rules out for comment are available on the  air quality public comment website .

Listing of state SIPs and other information of the state's approved plans is on the federal SIP site for Michigan.

One thing often overlooked, is the work we do to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. These requests are submitted for a lot of reasons and are to help stakeholders get information which may not be readily available online. In 2021, our FOIA coordinator, along with the help of other staff, helped to fill over 4,000 FOIA requests.

The FOIA process has been greatly improved in recent years and now easily allows for  online requests  to be submitted. More information on FOIA is available  online .

The Air Quality Division is a great group of people working to meet EGLE's mission to protect public health and the environment. The variety of skills needed to implement the state's air quality program is purposefully diverse. This diverse skillset is seen in everyone from the super supportive administrative staff, to those who keep all our technology and equipment running, to the staff out in the field, the toxicologists, air modelers, meteorologists, stack testers, permit engineers, rule writers, and the management staff.