In Ohio, most permitting actions are done by the State. The State publishes a booklet each week, called the Weekly Review, which lists all Ohio EPA actions by county. This includes the receipt of applications. The cost of a subscription is $70 per year.
The information is also available at the Ohio EPA website, though with a disclaimer saying that some actions may be missing.
The Weekly Review leaves out a great deal of useful information, but is at least a starting point for community activists. I believe some other states have similar publications.
Until more complete sources of information become available, I think it makes sense to check and see it your state has such a publication. If it does and there is a cost, I'd try to get a fee waiver for community groups (I've been unsuccessful in Ohio). I'd also ask if the State can provide a subscription to libraries for free. Even if the State won't provide it for free, I'd ask the local library to subscribe and to publicized to the community that it available.
I should also mention that, for some programs, the state is obligated to provide notice to a mailing list of persons who have requested notice. Title V permits are an example. You should be able to write to the permitting authority that issues Title V permits and request to be notified of the issuance of draft permits out for public comment.
Unfortunately, there is some argument about what the states' responsibilities are exactly. I believe some states have denied they have to comply with a request for notice (this was the initial response I got from Ohio). Or, you might be required to send a seperate letter for each facility in the area you are interested in.
I did some haggling with Ohio about this issue because I wanted notice for all Title permitting actions in the State. They didn't like that at all, but I had no budget to subscribe to the Weekly Review, (also the notice in the Weekly Review is incomplete for Title V purposes). In the end, the Ohio EPA said they would maintian a mailing list for requests about individual facilities. For those who want state-wide information, the Ohio EPA will either email or regular mail a spreadsheet that they produce for Region 5, which lists all the recent Title V permitting actions. This comes out approximately twice a month.
My position is that this is public information that we all have right to, at no cost. I think we're doing the government a big favor by double checking agency actions and providing input. My experience is, at least with programs delegated to the States, a lot more citizen oversight is needed. I find major errors in permits all the time. They are getting a lot out of our participation, and we should not have to pay for notice.
Unfortunately, most state agencies don't see it that way. But, my advice is to keep coming back and asking. Check the rules that govern the program you are interested in. See what the state is required to do, don't take the word of an agency type who says "we don't have to". That usually just means "no one has managed to call us on it yet."
Also, if there public notice provisions in the federal rules governing a state delegated program, don't just complain to the State. Copy correpondence to the U.S. EPA, with a cover letter asking why the federal rules are not being enforced.
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