The NDEP Air Program is proposing a regulatory change to amend its fee schedule. The change seeks to update the Program’s approach to how fees are assessed, and to redistribute the fees across the regulated industry to reflect workload and resources required to implement NDEP’s Air Program.
Ultimately, the change will allow the Air Program to respond to present and future challenges in the regulated industry, to continue preserving and promoting air quality, and to maintain a vibrant economy in Nevada.
More information about the changes, along with the proposed fee schedules for major sources, minor sources, and SADs can be seen in PDF the files and link below.
Overview of Proposed Fee Schedule Changes
Major Sources Proposed Fee Schedule Changes
Minor Sources Proposed Fee Schedule Changes
SAD Proposed Fee Schedule Changes
Overview
The Air Program fee schedule has been organized around three main categories of fees for the last 15 years:
- Application Fees – based on the type of application;
- Emission Fees – only for major sources and based on the actual tonnage of
criterial pollutants emitted by the stationary source; - Maintenance Fees – generally based on the total amount of allowed
emissions of criteria pollutants.
Over the years, adjustments to the fee structure and schedule have been adopted to keep up with the changes occurring in the regulated industry driven by technological factors, but also by new more restrictive environmental standards and regulations. The last amendment to fees was in 2006; since then fees have not been significantly amended.
In 2017, permitting requirements for Class III and Class IV stationary sources were eliminated, reducing the regulatory burden and associated resources of the Air Program, for 300 small business.
If approved by the State Environmental Commission and Legislative Commission, the new fee schedule would be effective on January 1, 2020.
Major Changes
The Air Program is proposing to:
- Eliminate emission fees. This approach has become outdated because of
the large improvement in air quality and reduction in emissions due to
tighter air quality standards and better control technologies. - Structure application fees for both major and minor sources proportionally
to the number of emission units that are included in the application. This
provides for an equitable distribution of costs associated with operating
permit application processing. - Modify maintenance fees to closer reflect the costs associated with the
maintenance of the operating permit, which include administration,
compliance, planning and rule development, data information services,
and ambient air monitoring. - In particular, the Air Program seeks a redistribution of maintenance fees
that is not solely based on the allowable emissions, as in the current
regulation. But, is also on the number of emission units regulated by the
operating permit and the size of any disturbed area.