The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced new guidance on New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting requirements “to provide much needed clarity for the buildout of essential power generation and reshoring of manufacturing.”
The action, according to the agency, “provides flexibility to begin certain building activities that are not related to air emissions, such as installing cement pads, before obtaining a Clean Air Act (CAA) construction permit.”
The CAA’s NSR program is a preconstruction permitting program that requires certain stationary sources of air pollution to obtain permits prior to beginning construction. The NSR permitting program applies to both new construction and to modifications of existing sources.
NSR permits specify what construction is allowed, emission limits, and often how the source must be operated. Most NSR permits are issued by state or local air pollution control agencies with EPA issuing permits in some cases. EPA establishes the basic requirements for an NSR program in its federal regulations. States may develop unique NSR requirements and procedures tailored for their air quality needs as long as the program is at least as stringent as EPA’s requirements.
EPA must approve these programs in the State Implementation Plan (SIP). Other states may be delegated the authority to issue permits on behalf of EPA and are often referred to as “delegated states.”
EPA’s press release states that this new action is addressing “America’s energy needs and promoting the development of data centers critical to making the U.S. the Artificial Intelligence (AI) capital of the world, all while taking necessary steps to protect human health and safeguard our environment.”
EPA intends to initiate a rulemaking to revise the definition of “Begin Actual Construction” in EPA’s NSR regulations and codify how permitting authorities may distinguish between emissions units and other parts of a stationary source facility that are not an emissions unit or part of an emissions unit. According to EPA, “By doing so it will be easy to understand what parts of construction need an NSR permit and what construction activities can proceed without an NSR permit. This will also allow cut down on construction deadlines.”
EPA intends to finalize a rule in 2026.
For more information on New Source Review Permitting see EPA’s website here.
