The District permits stationary sources of air pollution, including commercial aerospace operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VFSB). Typical commercial aerospace permitted activities and equipment include rocket and payload fueling and fuel storage, surface coating, solvent cleaning, abrasive blasting, and support engines. In addition, Rule 102 states that emissions from all marine vessels servicing or associated with a stationary source shall be considered emissions from the stationary source. Therefore, the District also permits marine vessels used in commercial aerospace operations. We do not regulate or permit emissions from the rockets themselves, as rockets are considered mobile and therefore subject to regulation at the state and federal level.
All commercial aerospace operations at VSFB are permitted under the District’s New Source Review (NSR) permitting program. The requirements of NSR permitting include Best Available Control Technology (BACT), Air Quality Impact Analysis (AQIP), Health Risk Assessment (HRA), and Emission Offsets, which are each triggered at different emissions-based thresholds. NSR is an important tool to help the District attain and maintain all State and Federal ambient air quality standards, while still allowing for new business to open and existing business to expand.
Additional information on the District’s commercial aerospace permitting program can be found here:
