You own and operate a company known as Victor's Organic Coatings Inc. (VOC Inc.). Your company coats metal parts with a variety of organic coatings and paints. Your company is located in an ozone nonattainment area, as designated by the U.S. EPA.Business has been good for your company, and you decide to expand your facility in order to increase production. You hire a Clean Air Act (CAA) consultant and an environmental attorney to help you wade through the CCA's Part D Preconstruction PermitProgram. Your current production capacity requires you to emit 240 tons per year of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the amount allowed by your air permit. Your desire is to add capacity that would require an additional 100 tons per year of VOCemissions. Using your current control technology, coating materials, and operating techniques, you will emit 340 tons per year of VOCs. You explain your desire to your environmental consultant and your environmental attorney. Your consultant and attorneyexplain that they will do everything they can to meet your desire; however, increasing your facility's VOC emissions will not be as easy as filling out some forms and sending them to the appropriate state agency to obtain a preconstruction permit followed by an air permit modification allowing your increased emissions. Because your facility is located in a nonattainment area, you are told that obtaining your preconstruction permit will be much more difficult.
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