Chapter 480
AN ACT
SB 107
Relating to emission fees for major sources; creating new provisions;
amending ORS 468A.315; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1.
ORS 468A.315 is amended to read:
468A.315. [(1)(a)] (1) [Beginning one year after the date of submittal of the federal operating
permit program to the Administrator of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency,] The fee schedule required under ORS 468.065 (2) for a
source subject to the federal operating permit program shall be based on a
schedule established every two years by rule by the Environmental
Quality Commission in accordance with this section. Except for the additional
fee under subsection [(2)(f)] (2)(e)
of this section, this fee schedule shall be in lieu of any other fee for a
permit issued under ORS 468A.040, 468A.045 or 468A.155. The fee schedule shall
cover all reasonable direct and indirect costs of implementing the federal
operating permit program and shall consist of:
[(A)] (a) An emission fee [of $25] per ton of each regulated pollutant emitted during
the prior calendar year as determined under subsection (2) of this section,
subject to annual fee increases as set forth in paragraph (d) of this subsection.
The following emission fees apply:
(A) $27 per ton emitted
during the 2006 calendar year.
(B) $29 per ton emitted
during the 2007 calendar year.
(C) $31 per ton emitted
during the 2008 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter.
[(B)] (b) Fees for the following specific elements of the
federal operating permit program:
[(i)] (A) Reviewing and acting upon applications for
modifications to federal operating permits.
[(ii)] (B) Any activity related to permits required under ORS
468A.040 other than the federal operating permit program.
[(iii)] (C) Department of Environmental Quality activities
for sources not subject to the federal operating permit program.
[(iv)] (D) Department review of ambient monitoring networks
installed by a source.
[(v)] (E) Other distinct department activities created by a
source or a group of sources if the [Environmental
Quality] commission finds that the activities are unique and specific and
that additional rulemaking is necessary and will impose costs upon the department
that are not otherwise covered by federal operating permit program fees.
[(C)] (c) A base fee for a source subject to the federal
operating permit program. This base fee shall be no more than [$2,500,] the fees set forth in
subparagraphs (A) to (D) of this paragraph, subject to increases as set
forth in [subparagraph (D) of this
paragraph] paragraph (d) of this subsection:
(A) $2,700 for the
period of November 15, 2007, through November 14, 2008.
(B) $2,900 for the
period of November 15, 2008, through November 14, 2009.
(C) $3,100 for the
period of November 15, 2009, through November 14, 2010.
(D) $4,100 for the
period of November 15, 2010, through November 14, 2011, and for each annual
period thereafter.
[(D)] (d) An annual increase in the fees set forth in
paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection by the percentage, if any, by
which the Consumer Price Index exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the
calendar year 1989 if the commission determines by rule that the increased [fee is] fees are necessary to
cover all reasonable direct and indirect costs of implementing the federal
operating permit program.
[(b) If the administrator grants interim or partial approval of the
federal operating permit program and the commission determines the interim or partial
approval results in a reduction in the reasonable direct and indirect costs of
developing and administering the program to less than the level supported by
the fee, the commission shall reduce the emission fee established by this
section commensurate with the reduction in the department’s responsibilities
under Title V of the Clean Air Act. The reduced fee shall apply until the
commission determines that the cause for the interim or partial approval has
been eliminated.]
(2)(a) The fee on
emissions of regulated pollutants required under this section shall be based on
the amount of each regulated pollutant emitted during the prior calendar year
as documented by information provided by the source in accordance with criteria
adopted by the commission or, if the source elects to pay the fee based on
permitted emissions, the fee shall be based on the emission limit for the plant
site of the major source.
[(b) If the fee on PM10 emissions is based on the plant site emission
limit for a source that does not have a plant site emission limit for PM10, the
department may assess the fee on the plant site emission limit for total
suspended particulates in lieu of PM10.]
[(c)] (b) The fee required by [this] subsection (1)(a) of this section [shall] does not apply to any
emissions [of any regulated pollutant or
total suspended particulates, whether permitted or documented,] in excess
of 4,000 tons per year of [that pollutant]
any regulated pollutant through calendar year 2010 and in excess of 7,000
tons per year of all regulated pollutants for each calendar year thereafter.
[There shall be no revision of] The
department may not revise a major source’s plant site emission limit due
solely to payment of the fee on the basis of documented emissions.
[(d)] (c) The commission shall establish by rule criteria for
the acceptability and verifiability of information related to emissions as
documented, including but not limited to the use of:
(A) Emission monitoring;
(B) Material balances;
(C) Emission factors;
(D) Fuel use;
(E) Production data; or
(F) Other calculations.
[(e)] (d) The department shall accept reasonably accurate
information that complies with the criteria established by the commission as
documentation of emissions.
[(f)] (e) The rules adopted under this section shall require
an additional fee for failure to pay, substantial underpayment of or
late payment of emission fees.
(3) The commission
shall establish by rule the size fraction of total particulates subject to
emission fees as particulates under this section.
[(3)] (4) As used in this section:
(a) “Regulated pollutant”
[has the meaning given in section 502(b)
of the Clean Air Act] means particulates, volatile organic compounds,
oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide; and
(b) “Consumer Price Index”
has the meaning given in [section 502(b)
of the Clean Air Act.] 42 U.S.C. 7661a(b), as in effect on the effective
date of this 2007 Act.
SECTION 2. Section 3 of this 2007 Act is added to and
made a part of ORS 468A.300 to 468A.330.
SECTION 3. (1) Prior to the adoption, amendment or
repeal of any rule pursuant to ORS chapter 183 that applies to any facility
required to pay fees under ORS 468A.315, the Environmental Quality Commission
shall include with the notice of intended action required under ORS 183.335 (1)
a statement of whether the intended action imposes requirements in addition to
the applicable federal requirements and, if so, shall include a written
explanation of:
(a) The commission’s
scientific, economic, technological, administrative or other reasons for
exceeding applicable federal requirements; and
(b) Any alternatives the
commission considered and the reasons that the alternatives were not pursued.
(2) The statement
provided by the commission under subsection (1) of this section shall be based
upon information available to the commission at the time the commission
prepares the written explanation.
(3) Notwithstanding ORS
183.335 (3), an opportunity for an oral hearing before the commission regarding
the statement specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be
granted only if:
(a) The request for a
hearing is received, within 14 days after the commission issues the notice of
intended action required under ORS 183.335 (1), from 10 persons or from an
association having no fewer than 10 members; and
(b) The request
describes how the persons or association that made the request will be directly
harmed by the adoption, amendment or repeal of a rule under subsection (1) of
this section.
(4) If an oral hearing
is granted under subsection (3) of this section, the commission shall give
notice of the hearing at least 14 days before the hearing to the persons or
association requesting the hearing, to any persons who have requested notice
pursuant to ORS 183.335 (8) and to the persons specified in ORS 183.335 (15).
(5) Subsection (3) of
this section does not apply if the commission includes with the notice of
intended action required under ORS 183.335 (1) a notice that an oral hearing
will be held before the commission.
(6) The provisions of
this section do not apply to temporary rules adopted by the commission under
ORS 183.335 (5).
SECTION 4. (1)
The amendments to ORS 468A.315 (1)(a) by section 1 of this 2007 Act apply only
to emission fees assessed for calendar years beginning on or after January 1,
2006.
(2) The amendments to
ORS 468A.315 (1)(c) by section 1 of this 2007 Act apply only to base fees
assessed on or after July 1, 2007.
(3) If this 2007 Act
becomes effective after July 1, 2007, the Department of Environmental Quality
shall issue a supplemental billing for the additional fees owing under ORS
468A.315 (1)(a) and (c), as amended by section 1 of this 2007 Act, for fees
assessed between July 1, 2007, and the effective date of this 2007 Act.
SECTION 5. This
2007 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes
effect on its passage.
Approved by the Governor June 20, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 21, 2007
Effective date June 20, 2007
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