2023 Texas Statutes › Health and Safety Code › Title 5 - Sanitation and Environmental Quality › Subtitle C - Air Quality › Chapter 382 - Clean Air Act › Subchapter C. Permits › Section 382.0621. Operating Permit Fee

Sec. 382.0621.  OPERATING PERMIT FEE.  (a)  The commission shall adopt, charge, and collect an annual fee based on emissions for each source that either:
(1)  is subject to permitting requirements of Title IV or V of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub.L. No. 101-549);  or
(2)  is based on plant operations, and the rate of emissions at the time the fee is due would be subject to the permitting requirements if the requirements were in effect on that date.
(b)  Fees imposed under this section shall be at least sufficient to cover all reasonably necessary direct and indirect costs of developing and administering the permit program under Titles IV and V of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub.L. No. 101-549), including the reasonable costs of:
(1)  reviewing and acting on any application for a Title IV or V permit;
(2)  implementing and enforcing the terms and conditions of a Title IV or V permit, excluding any court costs or other costs associated with any enforcement action;
(3)  emissions and ambient monitoring;
(4)  preparing generally applicable regulations or guidance;
(5)  modeling, analyses, and demonstrations;  and
(6)  preparing inventories and tracking emissions.
(c)  The commission by rule may provide for the automatic annual increase of fees imposed under this section by the percentage, if any, by which the consumer price index for the preceding calendar year exceeds the consumer price index for calendar year 1989.  For purposes of this subsection:
(1)  the consumer price index for any calendar year is the average of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the United States Department of Labor as of the close of the 12-month period ending on August 31 of each calendar year;  and
(2)  the revision of the consumer price index that is most consistent with the consumer price index for calendar year 1989 shall be used.
(d)  Except as provided by this section, the commission may not impose a fee for any amount of emissions of an air contaminant regulated under the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub.L. No. 101-549) in excess of 4,000 tons per year from any source.  On and after September 1, 2001, for a facility that is not subject to the requirement to obtain a permit under Section 382.0518(g) that does not have a permit application pending, the commission shall:
(1)  impose a fee under this section for all emissions, including emissions in excess of 4,000 tons;  and
(2)  treble the amount of the fee imposed for emissions in excess of 4,000 tons each fiscal year.
(e)  This section does not restrict the authority of the commission under Section 382.062 to impose fees on sources not subject to the permitting requirements of Title IV or V of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub.L. No. 101-549).
(f)  The commission may impose fees for emissions of greenhouse gas only to the extent the fees are necessary to cover the commission's additional reasonably necessary direct costs of implementing Section 382.05102.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 3, Sec. 2.19, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 11.173, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 406, Sec. 9, eff. Aug. 30, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 272 (H.B. 788), Sec. 3, eff. June 14, 2013.