The Small Business Environmental Assistance Program has developed a series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to help small businesses:
- figure out if they need an air permit
- keep track of air emissions for compliance with an air permit or rule; find compliance information for registration air permits in the “Facts about your option A, B, C, or D permit” document and for conditionally exempt sources in their specific “Technical standards” documents.
Calculation guidance
These spreadsheets may require customization to accurately reflect a business’ specific products and processes. If no specific calculator is available for your activity, further guidance is provided for calculating emissions.
Permit applications. A business submitting an air permit application, excluding registration permit types, is required to use the MPCA’s air permitting emission spreadsheets for certain activities.
Air toxics. Air-permitted facilities located in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington (except those with Option B registration permits) now must report air toxics emissions annually. The MPCA strongly encourages all facilities to submit air toxics emissions data, even when it's not required.
Resources by permit or rule
This section lists calculators and resources designed to help facilities determine their eligibility or keep records for specific air permit types or rules.
| Permit or rule | Air emission calculators |
|---|---|
| Insignificant facility | |
| Conditionally exempt sources | |
| Registration Option C air permit | |
| Registration Option D air permit |
Resources by industry or process
These calculators are specific to common industrial processes and equipment, helping facilities determine potential and actual emissions.
Abrasive blasting. Get information on dust control and abrasive blasting, specifically whether blasting is considered an insignificant activity, conditionally insignificant activity: mechanical finishing, or as an emission unit that uses sand, grit, shot, or other blast media.
Aggregate, non-metallic mineral processing. For sand and gravel operations, understand federal and state air rules, check your qualifications for the general air permit, and calculate emissions from common aggregate equipment and processes. Use the compliance calendar to maintain records for the non-metallic mineral processing general air permit, non-metallic mining and associated activities wastewater general permit, or industrial stormwater multi-sector general permit.
Asphalt. Get an overview of federal and state rules for hot mix asphalt, including control and performance testing requirements, and calculate air emissions from common hot mix asphalt equipment and processes. Use the compliance calendar to maintain records for the Registration Option D air permit and the non-metallic mining and associated activities wastewater general permit.
Boilers and furnaces. Check if your heating equipment — like boilers, furnaces, or space heaters — that burns natural gas, propane, fuel oil, waste oil, or wood is considered an insignificant activity or if it's large enough to be subject to federal environmental regulations.
Engines (generators). See if your stationary engine or turbine (generator) — which could be running on diesel, gasoline, propane, or natural gas — is subject to federal rules. You'll need to calculate its emissions regardless of whether you're using it for emergency power (like a backup generator), non-emergency, everyday power for equipment or processes, or peak demand response (running only when the local power grid is stressed).
- Air permits guidance for stationary engines
- Stationary engine or generator industry and process resources
Grain elevators and feed mills. Get an overview of federal and state rules and guidance on calculating air emissions from common equipment and processes. Calculations cover processes like receiving/shipping, handling, and storage, as well as drying, cleaning, and milling grains.
Painting, coating, and solvent. Review your coating activities (e.g., paints, powder, stains, solvents, and cleaning materials) to see if the resulting emissions enable the activity to qualify as a conditionally insignificant activity, conditionally exempt source, or if it must be treated as an emission unit. Also, find out if the material contents or the activity itself trigger federal rules.
Printing. A printing operation is categorized by its process type — such as non-heatset web, heatset web, flexographic, sheetfed lithographic, gravure, or screen — which determine specific retention factors used to calculate those pollutant releases.
Storage tanks. Some storage tanks may be an insignificant activity, while others will need to calculate air emissions. Calculations rely on various details like the tank's contents, its location (above or below ground), and design features such as its position, roof type, and surface color.
- Floating roof tanks and additional details for storage tank emission calculations
- EPA TANKS emissions estimation software, version 5
Vapor recovery, gasoline. Estimate emission reductions from installing stage 1 vapor recovery on underground gasoline storage tanks.