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California State Auditor Report Number : 2015-125

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
To Cover Its Costs, It Recently Increased Permit Fees and Continues to Use Supplemental Revenue but Can Improve Consistency and Transparency for Certain Program Requirements


Appendix

FEES CHARGED BY THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

To comply with state and federal law, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (district) has adopted various rules that impose certain requirements on activities that result in stationary source pollution, and it charges fees for issuing permits and conducting related regulatory activities. The table shows a selection of the district’s rules that have associated fees. We present the rules in three groups: permit fees, special program fees, and in lieu of compliance fees. The table also includes the range of fee amounts that the district charges for some permits and the actions associated with the rules, as well as brief descriptions of the fees associated with those rules.

Table
Examples of Fees Charged by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Rule Name Fee Amount Description
Permit Fees*
3010 Evaluation/air quality impact analysis fee Staff hours spent multiplied by the prevailing weighted labor rate of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (district). For 2014, this rate was $106 per hour. Every applicant who files an application for an Authority to Construct permit (construction permit) or a Permit to Operate (annual permit) with the district shall pay an engineering evaluation fee for the processing of the application.
3010 Filing fees $75 per unit. Applicants for some other permits pay a different filing fee per unit, which is capped at $1,468 per facility. Every applicant for a construction permit or an annual permit shall pay a nonrefundable filing fee.
3020 Electric motor horsepower schedule $92 to $1,080 depending on the horsepower of the equipment. Any equipment that may cause the emission of air contaminants where an electric motor is used as the power supply shall be assessed a permit fee based on the total rated motor horsepower of all electric motors included in any source operation.
3020 Electric energy schedule $92 to $1,080 depending on the kilovolt amperes (KVA) of the equipment. Any equipment that may cause the emission of air contaminants and that uses electric energy, with the exception of electric motors in the electric motor horsepower schedule above, shall be assessed a permit fee based on the total KVA rating.
3020 Stationary container schedule For small producers, the fee varies between $34 and $194 depending on the size of the tank. For other producers, the fee varies between $79 and $401 depending on the size of the tank. Any stationary tank, reservoir, or other container—the contents of which may emit an air contaminant—shall be assessed a permit fee based on the container’s capacity in gallons or a cubic equivalent.
3100 California Environmental Quality Act fee (CEQA) Staff hours spent multiplied by the district’s prevailing weighted labor rate. Every applicant who applies for a permit for which the district prepares an environmental impact report or a negative declaration under CEQA shall pay this fee.
Special Program Fees
3030 Hearing board The fee for requesting a regular variance hearing is $917. Other requests, such as hearings for short term variances or appeals, range between $276 and $1,224. The fees are for any action requesting a variance to a rule or any other action that requires the assembly of the hearing board. A variance is an administrative order granting temporary relief from the provisions of a district rule or regulation. In addition, the hearing board hears appeals by permit applicants and interested third parties concerning the issuance or denial of permits.
3040 Agricultural/open burning $36 per burn location. The district issues permits for operations to burn agricultural waste, various field crops, diseased materials, tumbleweeds, and contraband materials, and to burn vegetative material for ditch bank and levee maintenance.
3050 Asbestos removal The district charges fees based on the size of the project where the asbestos is removed, with a minimum fee of $170 and a fee of $1,921 for projects over 10,000 square feet. Fees are for every person filing notification of an asbestos removal project: all demolitions whether or not asbestos is present and some renovations.
3170 Federally mandated ozone nonattainment fee For major sources of nitrogen oxide compounds and volatile organic compounds, an annual fee of $5,000 per ton in 1990 dollars, adjusted by the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, is assessed for emissions over a given threshold. This rule implements the ozone nonattainment penalty requirements of Section 185 of the federal Clean Air Act. The district assesses the fee on major sources of air pollution that have not installed the best available air pollution control technology.
In-Lieu-of-Compliance Fees
4320 Advanced emission reduction options for boilers, steam generators, and process heaters greater than 5.0 MMBTU/HR $9,350 per ton of oxides of nitrogen (expressed as NOx) emissions plus a 4 percent administrative fee. Operators may pay this fee in lieu of complying with emission limits for NOx from boilers, steam generators, and process heaters. According to a deputy air pollution control officer, the district has used the revenue for technology advancement projects and various emissions reduction projects under its grant funding components.
4694 Wine fermentation and storage tanks $11,778 per ton of applicable emissions plus a 4 percent administrative fee. Operators of wineries may pay this fee in lieu of reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds from the fermentation and bulk storage of wine or achieving equivalent reductions from alternative emissions sources. The district stated in its fiscal year 2012–13 financial report that it will use these funds for projects that will mitigate future emissions, although the district did not collect any revenue under this rule between fiscal years 2010–11 and 2014–15.
4702 Internal combustion engines $9,350 per ton of nitrogen oxide emissions plus a 4 percent administrative fee. Operators of nonagricultural operations with spark ignited engines may elect to pay a fee in lieu of complying with the nitrogen oxides emissions limit requirement. According to a deputy air pollution control officer, the district has used the revenue for technology advancement projects and various emissions reduction projects under its grant funding components.
4905 Natural gas fired, fan type central furnaces $290 for a condensing furnace and $225 for a noncondensing furnace. Manufacturers of natural gas fired, fan type central furnaces may pay the fee per unit in lieu of complying with rules limiting nitrogen oxide emissions for the units. As of June 30, 2015, the district had not collected any revenue for this rule.

Sources: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District rules.

Note: The fees in the table reflect those effective between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016 and do not reflect the 4.4 percent fee increase approved in April 2015 and scheduled for implementation in July 2016.

* In addition to the example fees described above showing the range of fees under the district’s permit fee system, the district has annual operating fees under its Rule 3020 for fuel burning equipment, incinerators, resource recovery equipment, electric generating equipment, steam enhanced crude oil production wells, internal combustion engines, fuel dispensing equipment, commercial off site multiuser hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal facilities, and miscellaneous equipment. The district also charges applicable equipment a Title V source permit surcharge.

In addition to the fees described above, the district has what we have classified as special program fees for the following: emission reduction credit banking (Rule 3060), air toxics (Rule 3110), Regulation VIII alternative compliance plan review (Rule 3120), dust control plan review (Rule 3135), certification of air permitting professionals (Rule 3140), certification of gasoline dispensing facility testers (Rule 3147), portable equipment registration (Rule 3150), permit exempt equipment registration (Rule 3155), prescribed burning (Rule 3160), administering indirect source review (Rule 3180), conservation management practices plan review and management (Rule 3190), and the registration of wood burning heaters (Rule 3901).






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