Air Quality Permitting

The Permitting Section assists businesses and industry in complying with the Clean Air Act and with Health Department Article XXI - Air Pollution Regulations(PDF, 2MB).

All sources of air pollution must obtain permits to operate, in addition to permits to install new units or modify existing equipment.

For more detailed information, check out our Air Toxics Guidelines(PDF, 92KB) and our Air Toxic Guidelines Workshop(PDF, 6MB).

If you have any questions, please call the Permitting office at 412-578-8191.

The Title V Operating Permit application is included in the Compliance Certification section below. If you are looking for detailed information about current Title V Operating Permits, please check out our Enforcement, Regulations, and Compliance page.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) periodically conducts an audit of the Health Department’s Air Quality program. View the most recent audit, the plan to address the existing permit backlog, and more in the EPA Air Quality Program Audit.

Air Quality Permits

Air Quality Program Fee Schedule

Compliance Certification

Please note: The new Title V Annual Compliance Certification Form listed below is the only form that will be accepted after April 1, 2017.

EPA Air Quality Program Audit

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) periodically conducts an audit of the Health Department’s Air Quality program. The most recent was an audit of its Title V operating permit process(PDF, 2MB) in August of 2017, and in May of 2018, the EPA provided the Health Department with a set of requirements for improving its Title V permit process.

One area of concern has been the Title V permit backlog. From January of 2017 through June of 2017, the permit backlog dropped from 47% to 34%. Building on that progress, the corrective action plan proposed by the ACHD provides for the Title V permit backlog to be rectified within three years. The submitted plan(PDF, 158KB) provides for a drop in the backlog of Title V permits to roughly 10% by the end of 2019.

With the support of a grant from the Public Health Improvement Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Health Department has hired a consultant to evaluate staffing and IT needs, and to provide an overall assessment of the process and flow of permitting within the Air Quality program. By the end of August 2018, the department will have completed its workload assessment and provided an implementation plan to the EPA which will also address any staffing needs.

For more information on the Title V program, including future improvements, bookmark and revisit our Title V Operating Permits page.

Emission Inventory Information

Open Burning Permits

For more information about open burning in Allegheny County, see: Open Burning in Allegheny County.

Asbestos and Abrasive Blasting Permits

For information about asbestos and abrasive blasting permits, please see our Asbestos and Abrasive Blasting page.

Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule

In September 2021, the "Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule" was added to Article XXI - Air Pollution Control Regulations(PDF, 2MB). These new regulations were added to respond to weather-related inversions in the Mon Valley, which can result in episodes of high levels of particulate matter pollution (PM2.5). For more information, see the Mon Valley Air Pollution Episode Rule page. Following are documents being distributed to municipalities and sources affected by the regulation:

Permit Archives

All ACHD air quality permits are available for review by the public. Copies can be requested by contacting Carl Dettlinger at 412-578-8191.

Hardcopies are available for viewing at 836 Fulton Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Please call 412-578-8191 to schedule a viewing.

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