SENATE BILL No. 316

March 13, 2001, Introduced by Senators SMITH, DE BEAUSSAERT and PETERS and

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.

A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled

"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"

by amending section 5522 (MCL 324.5522), as amended by 1998

PA 245.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1 Sec. 5522. (1) For the state fiscal year beginning

2 October 1, 1998 2001, and continuing until September 30, 2001

3 2004, the owner or operator of each fee-subject facility shall

4 pay air quality fees as required and calculated under this

5 section. The department may levy and collect an annual air qual-

6 ity fee from the owner or operator of each fee-subject facility

7 in this state. The legislature intends that the fees required

8 under this section meet the minimum requirements of the clean air

9 act and that this expressly stated fee system serve as a

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1 limitation on the amount of fees imposed under this part on the

2 owners or operators of fee-subject facilities in this state.

3 (2) The annual air quality fee shall be calculated for each

4 fee-subject facility, according to the following procedure:

5 (a) For category I facilities AND CATEGORY II FACILITIES,

6 the annual air quality fee shall be the sum of a facility charge

7 and an emissions charge as specified in subdivision (e). AS

8 FOLLOWS:

9 (i) The facility charge FOR A CATEGORY I FACILITY shall be

10 $3,375.00 $1,687.50. (b) For category II facilities, the

11 annual air quality fee shall be the sum of a facility charge and

12 an emissions charge as specified in subdivision (e). The facil-

13 ity charge FOR A CATEGORY II FACILITY shall be $1,350.00

14 $675.00.

15 (c) For category III facilities, the annual air quality fee

16 shall be $200.00.

17 (d) For municipal electric generating facilities subject to

18 category I which emit less than 18,000 tons, but more than 450

19 tons of fee-subject air pollutants, the annual air quality fee

20 shall be an operating permit facility charge of $18,675.00 only.

21 This annual air quality fee is based upon the category I facility

22 charges of $3,375.00 plus an emissions charge equal to the pro-

23 duct of 450 tons of fee-subject air pollutants and $34.00 per ton

24 of fee-subject air pollutant.

25 (ii) (e) The emissions charge for category I and

26 category II facilities equals the product of the actual tons of

27 fee-subject air pollutants emitted and the emission charge rate.

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1 A pollutant that qualifies as a fee-subject air pollutant under

2 more than 1 class shall be charged only once. The charge shall

3 be calculated as follows: (i) The emissions tonnage shall be

4 calculated for the calendar year 2 years preceding the year of

5 the billing. The actual tons of fee-subject air pollutants

6 emitted is the sum of all fee-subject air pollutants emitted at

7 the fee-subject facility, except that for the purposes of the

8 emissions charge calculation the actual tons charged shall not

9 exceed either of the following:

10 (A) 4,000 tons.

11 (B) 1,000 tons per pollutant, if the sum of all fee-subject

12 air pollutants except carbon monoxide emitted at the fee-subject

13 facility is less than 4,000 tons. (ii) The emission charge rate

14 shall be $34.00 per ton of fee-subject air pollutants

15 CALCULATED BY DIVIDING THE MINIMUM PROGRAM AMOUNT BY THE TOTAL

16 TONS OF FEE-SUBJECT AIR POLLUTANTS EMITTED IN THIS STATE BY

17 CATEGORY I AND CATEGORY II FACILITIES, BASED ON THE DEPARTMENT OF

18 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY'S MOST CURRENT EMISSIONS INVENTORY. AS

19 USED IN THIS SUBPARAGRAPH, "MINIMUM PROGRAM AMOUNT" MEANS THE

20 MINIMUM AMOUNT OF REVENUES REQUIRED TO BE COLLECTED AND RETAINED

21 UNDER THIS SECTION IN ORDER FOR THE FEES UNDER THIS SECTION TO BE

22 PRESUMED TO BE ADEQUATE UNDER 40 C.F.R. 70.9(b)(2). A POLLUTANT

23 THAT QUALIFIES AS A FEE-SUBJECT AIR POLLUTANT UNDER MORE THAN

24 1 CLASS SHALL BE CHARGED ONLY ONCE.

25 (B) FOR CATEGORY III FACILITIES, THE ANNUAL AIR QUALITY FEE

26 SHALL BE $100.00.

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1 (3) The auditor general shall conduct a biennial audit of

2 the federally mandated operating permit program required in title

3 V. The audit shall include the auditor general's recommendation

4 regarding the sufficiency of the fees required under

5 subsection (2) to meet the minimum requirements of the clean air

6 act.

7 (4) After January 1, but before January 15 of each year,

8 beginning in 1995, the department shall notify the owner or

9 operator of each fee-subject facility of its assessed annual air

10 quality fee. Payment is due within 90 calendar days of the mail-

11 ing date of the air quality fee notification. If an assessed fee

12 is challenged as authorized in UNDER subsection (6), payment is

13 due within 90 calendar days of the mailing date of the air qual-

14 ity fee notification or within 30 days of receipt of a revised

15 fee or statement supporting the original fee, whichever is

16 later. The department shall deposit all fees collected under

17 this section to the credit of the fund.

18 (5) If the owner or operator of a fee-subject facility fails

19 to submit the amount due within the time period specified in

20 subsection (4), the department shall assess the owner or operator

21 a penalty of 5% of the amount of the unpaid fee for each month

22 that the payment is overdue up to a maximum penalty of 25% of the

23 total fee owed.

24 (6) If the owner or operator of a fee-subject facility

25 desires to challenge its assessed fee, the owner or operator

26 shall submit the challenge in writing to the department. The

27 department shall not process the challenge unless it is received

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1 by the department within 45 calendar days of the mailing date of

2 the air quality fee notification described in subsection (4). A

3 challenge shall identify the facility and state the grounds upon

4 which the challenge is based. Within 30 calendar days of receipt

5 of the challenge, the department shall determine the validity of

6 the challenge and provide the owner with notification of a

7 revised fee or a statement setting forth the reason or reasons

8 why the fee was not revised. Payment of the challenged or

9 revised fee is due within the time frame described in

10 subsection (4). If the owner or operator of a facility desires

11 to further challenge its assessed fee, the owner or operator of

12 the facility has an opportunity for a contested case hearing as

13 provided for under the administrative procedures act of 1969,

14 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

15 (7) If requested by the department, by March 15 of each

16 year, beginning in 1995, or within 45 days of a request by the

17 department, whichever is later, the owner or operator of each

18 fee-subject facility shall submit information regarding the

19 facility's previous year's emissions to the department. The

20 information shall be sufficient for the department to calculate

21 the facility's emissions for that year and meet the requirements

22 of subpart Q of 40 C.F.R. part 51.

23 (8) By July 1 of each year, beginning in 1995, the depart-

24 ment shall provide the owner or operator of each fee-subject

25 facility required to pay an emission charge pursuant to this sec-

26 tion with a copy of the department's calculation of the facility

27 emissions for the previous year. Within 60 days of this

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1 notification, the owner or operator of the facility may provide

2 corrections to the department. The department shall make a final

3 determination of the emissions by December 15 of that year. If

4 the owner or operator disagrees with the determination of the

5 department, the owner or operator may request a contested case

6 hearing as provided for under the administrative procedures act

7 of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

8 (9) The department shall prepare and submit to the governor

9 and the legislature by March 1 an annual report that details the

10 activities of the previous fiscal year funded by the fund for the

11 department. This report shall include, at a minimum, all of the

12 following as it relates to the department:

13 (a) The number of full-time equated positions performing air

14 quality enforcement, compliance, or permitting activities and the

15 number of hours worked on title V activities in relation to hours

16 worked on other matters.

17 (b) All of the following information related to the permit

18 to install program authorized under section 5505:

19 (i) The number of permit to install applications received by

20 the department.

21 (ii) The number of permit to install applications for which

22 a final action was taken by the department. The number of final

23 actions should be reported as the number of applications

24 approved, the number of applications denied, and the number of

25 applications withdrawn by the applicant.

26 (iii) The number of permits to install approved that were

27 required to complete public participation under section 5511(3)

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1 before final action and the number of permits to install approved

2 that were not required to complete public participation under

3 section 5511(3) prior to final action.

4 (iv) The average number of final permit actions per permit

5 to install reviewer full-time equivalents EQUIVALENT POSITION.

6 (v) The percentage and number of permit to install applica-

7 tions which were reviewed for administrative completeness within

8 10 days of receipt by the department.

9 (vi) The percentage and number of permit to install applica-

10 tions which were reviewed for technical completeness within 30

11 days of receipt of an administratively complete application by

12 the department.

13 (vii) The percentage and number of permit to install appli-

14 cations submitted to the department that were administratively

15 complete as received.

16 (viii) The percentage and number of permit to install appli-

17 cations for which a final action was taken by the department

18 within 60 days of receipt of a technically complete application

19 for those not required to complete public participation under

20 section 5511(3) prior to final action, or within 120 days of

21 receipt of a technically complete application for those which are

22 required to complete public participation under section 5511(3)

23 prior to final action.

24 (c) All of the following information for the renewable oper-

25 ating permit program authorized under section 5506:

26 (i) The number of renewable operating permit applications

27 received by the department.

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1 (ii) The number of renewable operating permit applications

2 for which a final action was taken by the department. The number

3 of final actions should be reported as the number of applications

4 approved, the number of applications denied, and the number of

5 applications withdrawn by the applicant.

6 (iii) The percentage and number of permit applications ini-

7 tially processed within the required time.

8 (iv) The percentage and number of permit renewals and modi-

9 fications processed within the required time.

10 (v) The number of permit applications reopened by the

11 department.

12 (vi) The number of general permits issued by the

13 department.

14 (d) The number of letters of violation sent.

15 (e) The amount of penalties collected from all consent

16 orders and judgments.

17 (f) For each enforcement action that includes payment of a

18 penalty, a description of what corrective actions were required

19 by the enforcement action.

20 (g) The number of inspections done on sources required to

21 obtain a permit under section 5506 and the number of inspections

22 of other sources.

23 (h) The number of air pollution complaints received, inves-

24 tigated, not resolved, and resolved by the department.

25 (i) The number of contested case hearings and civil actions

26 initiated and completed, and the number of voluntary consent

27 orders, administrative penalty orders, and emergency orders

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1 entered or issued, for sources required to obtain a permit under

2 section 5506.

3 (10) By August 1, 1999 2002, the department shall convene

4 a task force made up of representatives of fee-subject facili-

5 ties, environmental groups, the general public, and any state

6 department to which funds are appropriated from the fund. Not

7 later than August 1, 2000 2003, the task force shall provide to

8 the legislature a final report on the adequacy of the fee reve-

9 nues, the fee structure relative to all sectors of the regulated

10 industry, and the appropriateness of program activities and shall

11 recommend changes to this section, as appropriate, to match fee

12 revenues to program costs.

13 (11) The attorney general may bring an action for the col-

14 lection of the fees imposed under this section.

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