New Concrete Batch Plant General Permit Template Available

March 9, 2007

A new generalized permit template for concrete batch plants has been developed through collaboration between the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association (IRMCA), the Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The new permit template is provided to assist industry by streamlining air construction permitting for concrete batch plants.

This new permit template addresses both the interests of the IRMCA, the ICPA and the IDNR by allowing horizontal discharges on the baghouse stacks and also by ensuring that facilities with horizontal discharges meet all applicable air quality standards. Also addressed in the new permit template are best management practices that can be employed by facilities to reduce emissions of fugitive dust.

All existing concrete batch plant permits issued using the previous concrete batch plant generalized permit template need to be replaced by either the updated concrete batch plant permit template or a standard air construction permit. A standard permit application only needs to be submitted if a facility cannot operate within the requirements of the generalized permit template. The deadline to submit either an application for a new permit template or for a standard air construction permit is April 15, 2007. If an application is not received by this date for a company that previously had a concrete batch plant permit template, they will be considered to be operating without a permit. To qualify for the new permit template some facilities may be required to install an enclosure around the truck load out or mixer. If required, the deadline for installing the enclosure is May 15, 2007.

A copy of the new generalized permit template can be found on the IDNR’s website here:

http://aq48.dnraq.state.ia.us:8080/conspermit/templates.htm

If you have questions concerning the requirements of the new permit template of whether or not you need to submit a new permit application, please contact Sarah Piziali, of the DNR by telephone at 515.281.3762.