The Air Compliance Section is responsible for conducting inspections of industrial air pollution sources, auditing of annual performance tests, investigating industry related complaints, and other oversight activities related to stationary sources.

Hillsborough County is home to the Port of Tampa, Florida’s largest seaport. Not surprisingly, almost twenty percent of Florida’s industrial air pollution sources are located in Hillsborough County. The Compliance Section routinely inspects all sources of air pollution that are granted a permit to operate.

These sources include major facilities (see a map of major sources in the County), which operate under the Title V program of the Clean Air Act and have the potential to emit criteria pollutants above 100 tons per year or 10 tons of an individual hazardous air pollutant or 25 tons for a group of hazardous air pollutants--one of 188 compounds identified by EPA.  Currently, Hillsborough County has 33 active Title V facilities.  In addition, there are more than 250 synthetic minor and minor polluting sources. Inspections at these facilities involve ensuring that the source is operating according to the restrictions called for in the conditions of the permit.  In addition, all pollution control devices are inspected and evaluated to verify proper operation and maintenance procedures are followed.

New sources are also discovered every year that require some degree of control to protect public health.  Inspectors are constantly on the alert for air pollution sources in the county that may have been previously overlooked.  Some of these are also found as a result of complaints filed by citizens.

Regulations require air pollution source operators to test their stack emissions on an annual basis at their expense, and we try to monitor as many of these tests as possible. Our engineers insure that the proper test procedures are followed and that all test equipment is properly calibrated. Once these tests are complete, the source owner submits a complete test report that is reviewed by the compliance engineering staff.

In addition, the Air Compliance Section is also responsible for quantifying Hillsborough County’s industrial source criteria pollutants on a annual basis.  Criteria pollutants are identified as particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  The results of this compilation are used for air pollution modeling, tracking air pollutants emission trends, and developing effective control strategies.