Section 250-RICR-120-05-29.20 - Appendix A: List of Insignificant ActivitiesA. The activities in §§ 29.20(A)(1) and (2) of this Part are those that the Office of Air Resources has designated as insignificant and therefore are exempt from having to be fully described and included in the operating permit application. 1. Operating permit applications are not required to contain any information on any activity listed in §§ 29.20(A)(1)(a) through (aa) of this Part. a. Air conditioning or ventilating systems not designed to remove air pollutants generated by or released from specific processes or equipment;b. Equipment used for the preparation of food for human consumption in cafeterias or dining rooms at the stationary source;c. Plant maintenance activities such as brazing, soldering, or welding operations, pipefitting and caulking;d. Groundkeeping activities such as the use of lawnmowers, trimmers, snow blowers, etc., the use of pesticides, fumigants and herbicides, weeding and sweeping.e. Smoking rooms and areas;f. Restroom ventilation including stacks or vents to prevent escape of sewer gases through plumbing traps;g. Blueprint copiers and photographic processes;h. Woodworking shops activities that are vented indoors such as sawing, sanding, drilling and planing;i. Pharmacies, excluding any synthesized pharmaceutical manufacturing as defined in Part 26 of this Subchapter (Control of Organic Solvent Emissions from Manufacturers of Synthesized Pharmaceutical Products);j. Janitorial activities and other indoor maintenance activities such as vacuum cleaning and cleaning of rugs, floors or furniture, but not solvent clean-up of any sort subject to a work practice standard under any applicable requirement;k. Office activities, including typing, copying and printing;l. Equipment used exclusively for portable steam cleaning.m. Emissions from any laboratory activities, excluding research and development operations. Laboratory means a place or activity devoted to experimental study or teaching in any science, or to the testing and analysis of drugs, chemicals, chemical compounds, or other substances, or similar activities, provided that the activities described in this sentence are conducted on a laboratory scale. Activities are conducted on a laboratory scale if the containers used for reactions, transfers, and other handling of substances are designed to be easily and safely manipulated by one person by hand. If a facility manufactures or produces products for profit in any quantity, it may not be considered to be a laboratory under this item. Support activities necessary to the operation of the laboratory are considered to be part of the laboratory. Support activities do not include the provision of power to the laboratory from stationary sources that provide power to multiple projects or from stationary sources which would provide power to multiple projects or from stationary sources which would otherwise require permitting, such as boilers that provide power to an entire facility.n. Architectural maintenance activities for the buildings and structures at a stationary source such as painting, caulking, reroofing, etc.;o. The engine of any vehicle, such as forklifts, tractors, construction equipment, motor vehicle, etc.;p. Fuel burning equipment and/or fuel oil tanks in 1, 2, 3 or 4 family residential housing units where the fuel burning equipment is used solely for heating the building for personal comfort or for producing hot water for personal use.q. Dryers and distribution systems for instrument air.r. Locker room ventilation and maintenance.s. Air contaminant detectors.t. Electrically powered air compressors and pumps.w. Sampling connections and systems used exclusively to withdraw materials for testing and analysis including air contaminant detectors and vent lines.x. Grinding or abrasive blasting for nondestructive testing of metals.y. Steam vents and steam leaks from boilers and steam distribution systems.z. Rupture discs for gas handling systems.aa. Purging of natural gas lines.2. Activities listed in §§ 29.20(A)(2)(a) through (e) of this Part that are exempted because of size, emission levels or production rate, must be listed in an operating permit application. This list must contain enough information to show that the activity qualifies for the exemption. a. A fuel burning device designed to burn: (1) Residual oil or solid fossil fuels having a heat input capacity less than one million (1,000,000) Btu per hour,(2) All other liquid fuels having a heat input capacity of less than five million (5,000,000) Btu per hour,(3) Gaseous fuel having a heat input capacity of less than ten million (10,000,000) Btu per hour,(4) Alternative fuels, including but not limited to, wood chips, hazardous wastes or waste oil having a heat input capacity of less than one million (1,000,000) Btu per hour.b. A storage tank, reservoir or containers with a capacity of ten thousand (10,000) gallons or less used for the storage of liquids having a vapor pressure less than 0.1 mm of mercury at two hundred degrees Celsius (200°C).c. A storage tank, reservoir or containers with a capacity of two thousand (2,000) gallons or less used for the storage of liquids having a vapor pressure greater than 0.1 mm of mercury at two hundred degrees Celsius 200°C.d. Any emissions unit that has the potential to emit less than twenty percent (20%) of the minimum quantities of the air contaminants listed in Part 22 of the Subchapter (Air Toxics).e. Any emissions unit that has the potential to emit less than the following quantity of the listed air contaminant: Air Contaminant | De Minimis Level |
VOC | 2000 |
TSP | 2000 |
PM-10 | 2000 |
NOx§ | 2000 |
CO | 5000 |
SO2 | 2000 |
Any other air contaminant, excluding those in Part 22 of this Subchapter (Air Toxics) | 1000 |
B. Any activity that is subject to any state or federal air pollution control regulation or is regulated by the terms or conditions of any preconstruction permit issued to the stationary source pursuant to Part 9 of this Subchapter (Air Pollution Control Permits) shall not be considered an insignificant activity, regardless of whether the activity meets the criteria listed in §§ 29.20(A)(1) or (2) of this Part.250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-120-05-29.20
Adopted effective 1/10/2019
Amended effective 4/9/2024