EPA Wants to Remove a Federal Public-Comment Rule for Minor Air Permits

Kentucky’s current air-permit comment process would not change immediately, but EPA’s proposal would give Kentucky and Louisville air agencies more room to narrow public participation later.

Jul 07, 2026

LG&E’s Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, photographed from near Watson Lane. EPA’s proposal would not immediately change Kentucky’s current air-permit comment process, but it could give Kentucky and Louisville air agencies more room to narrow public participation later. Photo by William Alden, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

On July 7, the Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule that would remove the current federal minimum public-participation requirement for state and local minor New Source Review air-permitting programs.

Minor New Source Review, often called minor NSR, covers permits for new, smaller air-pollution sources and smaller changes at existing facilities. Those permits can involve factories, commercial operations, industrial equipment, fuel-burning units, and other sources that release pollutants into the air.

EPA’s proposal would not immediately erase Kentucky’s current 30-day air-permit comment periods. It would, however, change the federal rule that helps guarantee public notice and public comment for these minor air permits in state and local Clean Air Act plans.

In Kentucky, that means the next decision would depend on what the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, and EPA Region 4 do next.

The rule the EPA proposed

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s agency proposed a rule titled “Minor New Source Review Program Air Permitting Public Participation Requirements for State Implementation Plans.” EPA announced the proposal on July 1, 2026, and the Federal Register published it on July 7, 2026. Public comments are due August 21, 2026. EPA says a virtual hearing will be held on July 22 only if someone requests one by July 12.

The proposed rule would revise 40 CFR 51.161, the federal regulation that currently sets public-participation requirements for state and local minor NSR programs approved into State Implementation Plans. EPA says the change would “remove minor NSR public participation as a minimum requirement” for SIP submissions and leave decisions about public participation to state and local air agencies.

EPA’s public statement frames the proposal as streamlining. The agency says decisions about public participation for state and local minor NSR programs would be turned over to state and local air agencies. EPA also says the proposal is intended to reduce administrative burden, speed permitting, support economic development, and advance energy development.

EPA is not proposing to change emissions limits in this rule. It is not proposing to change public-participation requirements for major New Source Review permits, Prevention of Significant Deterioration permits, nonattainment NSR permits, Title V operating permits, or plantwide applicability limits for existing major stationary sources.

The proposed change would be the removal of a federal floor.

If EPA finalizes the rule, state and local air agencies could keep their current public-comment rules. They could also seek EPA approval to reduce or eliminate public participation for minor NSR permits through the State Implementation Plan revision process.

How minor air permits work

The Clean Air Act requires each state to have a State Implementation Plan, or SIP. A SIP explains how the state will meet and maintain federal air-quality standards. For air permitting, a SIP includes rules for reviewing new sources of air pollution and changes at existing sources before construction begins.

New Source Review is the preconstruction permit program. Major NSR covers large pollution sources and major modifications. Minor NSR covers new, smaller sources and smaller modifications that still require review under state or local rules.

EPA’s current federal rule requires air agencies to make key permit materials available for public inspection, provide an opportunity for public comment, and give notice in the affected area. EPA’s proposed rule says public participation for minor NSR should no longer be treated as a federal minimum feature of a SIP.

EPA’s reasoning relies on Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2)(C). The agency argues that the statute requires states to regulate construction and modification of stationary sources as needed to achieve national air-quality standards, but does not require a federal public-comment mandate for minor NSR permits. EPA says state and local agencies should be able to decide whether, when, and for how long to provide public participation for these permits.

If Kentucky wanted to reduce public participation later, it could not simply stop posting notices the day after EPA finalizes the rule. Kentucky would need to revise its EPA-approved SIP. That would require a draft SIP submission, reasonable notice, a public hearing, submission by the Governor’s designee, EPA review, and EPA approval.

That safeguard means there would be another public step before Kentucky or Louisville could change SIP-approved public-participation rules. But the federal standard EPA would apply to that future SIP revision would be lower if this proposal becomes final.

Kentucky’s current public-comment process

Kentucky already has a public-review rule for federally enforceable air permits. Under 401 KAR 52:100, the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet must provide at least 30 days for public comment on permit actions that require public review, consider written comments, and prepare a response to comments. The regulation says the comment period begins when the notice is posted on the Cabinet’s website.

The Kentucky Division for Air Quality also tells residents they can sign up for air-permitting email notices, review pending air permits, read draft permits and public notices, and submit comments during the public-comment period. Kentucky’s current public-notice page says the 30-day comment period begins with the website posting, even if a notice also appears in a local newspaper.

The state’s permitting map is split. The Kentucky Division for Air Quality handles air permits in all counties except Jefferson County. The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District handles air permitting in Jefferson County. EPA describes Clean Air Act permitting in Kentucky as a shared responsibility among the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, the Air Pollution Control District of Jefferson County, and EPA Region 4.

That split gives the proposal two Kentucky routes. For most counties, the key state office is the Kentucky Division for Air Quality in Frankfort. In Jefferson County, the key local agency is the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District.

The Louisville connection is especially important because air permitting is already a public-health and public-access issue in West and Southwest Louisville. Rubbertown Emergency ACTion, known as REACT, describes itself as a grassroots organization of residents living near or at the fence lines of 11 chemical plants in Rubbertown. REACT’s stated goals include strong laws to stop toxic air pollution, protection during leaks or fires, and full disclosure with easy access to information about Rubbertown’s impact on nearby residents.

Air Justice Louisville also focuses on access to information. The project says legal, scientific, and technical data about West and Southwest Louisville should be more available and understandable to residents. That local context is important because public notice and comment are often the first official doorway residents have into a permit decision.

For a family living near a facility, a permit notice can be the first chance to learn what equipment is proposed, what pollutants may be emitted, what limits the agency is considering, whether monitoring will be required, and how to object before the permit becomes final.

For a local group, the comment period can create the record needed to ask for stronger permit conditions or challenge a weak permit later.

EPA’s proposal would not take away those Kentucky tools today. The warning sign is the future discretion it creates. A state or local air agency that wants fewer notices, shorter comment periods, or fewer permit actions open to comment would have a clearer path to ask EPA for approval.

What you can do and watch

Submit a public comment to EPA by August 21, 2026. Comments should refer to the proposed rule on minor New Source Review public participation requirements for State Implementation Plans. Readers can explain how permit notices, draft permits, statements of basis, modeling, and public-comment periods help residents understand local air decisions before a permit becomes final.

Request a virtual hearing by July 12, 2026, if you want EPA to hold one. EPA says the hearing will occur on July 22 only if requested by that deadline. A hearing request should focus on why public participation in minor NSR permits remains important for communities near regulated facilities.

Ask the Kentucky Division for Air Quality whether it plans to keep its current public-notice and 30-day comment practices if EPA finalizes the rule. A useful question is: “Will Kentucky commit to preserving public notice and comment for minor NSR permit actions even if EPA removes the federal minimum requirement?”

Ask the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District the same question for Jefferson County. Louisville residents can also ask whether the District would oppose any SIP revision that narrows public participation for minor permits in neighborhoods already affected by industrial air pollution.

Sign up for Kentucky air-permit notices by emailing AIRKentucky@ky.gov, as the Division for Air Quality directs on its air-permitting page. Residents can also check the Cabinet’s Air Quality Public Notices page for draft permits, public notices, statements of basis, applications, modeling, and deadlines.

Track any future Kentucky SIP revision. The key document would be a proposed change to Kentucky’s air-permitting rules or public-participation procedures. For Jefferson County, watch the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District and the Air Pollution Control Board for proposed rule changes, public hearings, and SIP-related submissions.

Ask local officials to maintain public access. County judge-executives, mayors, Metro Council members, state legislators, and members of the public can ask the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and Louisville’s air district to preserve notice, comment, and access to permit documents.

Document how the current process works for your county. If a permit notice affects your area, save the notice, draft permit, statement of basis, application materials, and comment deadline. Compare what residents can see now with any future proposal to narrow public review.

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