Air Quality Permit Cost Calculator

Estimate air quality permit application costs for minor source, Title V, and PSD/NSR permits including modeling, BACT analysis, and compliance.

Inputs

Permit type

Emission units

Regulated pollutants

Modeling required (0-2)

BACT/LAER analysis (0-2)

Total emissions (tons/year)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Total permit cost ($)

$20,650.00

≈ 10 gaming PCs

Base consulting fee ($)$5,000.00

Air dispersion modeling ($)$0.00

BACT/LAER analysis ($)$0.00

State application fee ($)$750.00

Annual compliance cost ($)$4,500.00

Estimated timeline (months)3

Emissions inventory cost ($)$4,400.00

How to Use This Calculator

Select the Permit Type (minor, major, Title V, etc.) for the project.
Enter Emission Units count and Number of Regulated Pollutants.
Set Modeling Required level (0 = none, 1 = screening, 2 = refined) and BACT/LAER Analysis level.
Enter Total Emissions (tons/year) — this affects permit class and fee schedule.
Review Total Permit Cost ($) to budget for the air quality permitting phase of the project.

How the result changes with Total emissions (tons/year)

Total emissions (tons/year)	Total permit cost ($)
10,000	$70,400.00
35,000	$195,400.00
65,000	$345,400.00
90,000	$470,400.00

What each input means

Permit type: 0 = Minor source, 1 = Synthetic minor, 2 = Title V operating, 3 = PSD/NSR major source.
Emission units: Number of emission sources (boilers, engines, process vents, etc.).
Regulated pollutants: Number of criteria pollutants and HAPs to evaluate.
Modeling required (0-2): 0 = None, 1 = Screening (AERSCREEN), 2 = Refined (AERMOD).
BACT/LAER analysis (0-2): 0 = Not needed, 1 = BACT (PSD areas), 2 = LAER (nonattainment).
Total emissions (tons/year): Total potential to emit across all pollutants in tons per year.

What each result means

Total permit cost ($): One-time cost to prepare and submit the permit application.
Base consulting fee ($): Core consulting effort for permit preparation.
Air dispersion modeling ($): Cost of AERSCREEN or AERMOD modeling if required.
BACT/LAER analysis ($): Best Available Control Technology or Lowest Achievable Emission Rate analysis.
State application fee ($): Agency filing fee (varies by state and emissions).
Annual compliance cost ($): Ongoing monitoring, recordkeeping, and annual reporting.
Estimated timeline (months): Expected time from application prep start to permit issuance.
Emissions inventory cost ($): Cost to prepare detailed emissions calculations and inventory.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Permit type = 0, Emission units = 3, Regulated pollutants = 4, Modeling required (0-2) = 0 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Total permit cost
Total permit cost = baseFee + emissionUnitCost + pollutantCost +
20650 = $20,650
Calculate Base consulting fee
5000 = $5,000
Calculate Air dispersion modeling
0 = $0

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