Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part III - Air › Chapter 2 - Rules and Regulations for the Fee System of the Air Quality Control Programs › Section III-211 - Methodology

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Formula to
				Apportion Fees
Air Toxics Permits Application Fee for major sources
							 of toxic pollutants (based on type of facility and on rated production
							 capacity/throughput)
Surcharge of 10% of the permit application fee to be
							 charged when there is an increase in toxic air pollutant emissions above the
							 Minimum Emission Rates (MER) listed in LAC 33:III.5112, Table 51.1
Air Toxics Annual Emissions Fee for major sources of
							 toxic air pollutants (based on air toxic pollutants
							 emitted)1
Variable
Annual Maintenance Fee (based on type of facility
							 and on rated production capacity/throughput)
Variable
New Application Fee (based on type of facility and
							 on rated production capacity/throughput)
Variable
Major and Minor Modification Modified Permit Fee
							 (based on type of facility and on rated production capacity/throughput)
Variable
PSD Application Fee (based on type of facility and
							 on rated production capacity/throughput)
Surcharge of 50% of the application fee when a PSD
							 permit application is being processed
"NESHAP" Maintenance Fee (based on type of facility
							 and on rated production capacity/throughput)
Surcharge of 25% of the Annual Maintenance Fee for
							 that particular process/plant to be added to the Annual Maintenance Fee
"NSPS" Maintenance Fee (based on type of facility
							 and on rated production capacity/throughput)
Surcharge of 25% of the permit application fee to be
							 charged for any permit application that includes the addition of new equipment
							 subject to NSPS regulation
1  Fees shall be assessed
							 on major sources as defined in LAC 33:III.5103. Sources that have reduced
							 emissions below major source thresholds are not required to submit annual
							 emissions reports in accordance with LAC 33:III.5107.
B.
				Fee Methodology
1. All fees required by this
				Chapter are listed in LAC 33:III.223, Fee Schedule Listing, which shall be
				referred to as the Fee Schedule in the remainder of this Chapter. All persons
				required to obtain a new or modified permit shall be subject to a permit
				application fee (see Fee Schedule) unless otherwise exempted. This fee shall be
				submitted with any application for a new or modified permit. The annual
				maintenance fee for a new or modified source shall be paid during the fiscal
				year (July 1 to June 30) in which the process specified in the permit comes on
				line.
2. The Standard Industrial
				Classification (SIC) codes listed in the Fee Schedule shall be used to assist
				in the determination of the proper fees to assess.
3. The permit fee for sources or facilities
				with multiple processes shall be equal to the total amounts required by the
				individual processes involved, as listed in the Fee Schedule, unless the entire
				facility is covered by a single fee category.
4. All invoices for annual maintenance fees
				for major sources shall be submitted to those sources during the fiscal year.
				The annual maintenance fee shall be applicable to the fiscal year beginning
				July 1 of each year and ending the following June 30. Failure to remit the
				annual maintenance fee in accordance with the above shall be considered grounds
				for revoking an existing permit. Maintenance fees not received for prior fiscal
				years are due upon receipt of new or duplicate invoices. Minor sources may or
				may not receive an annual compliance inspection. In this case the maintenance
				fee must be paid within 30 days after notification by the agency of the amount
				due. Only one such fee shall be charged annually.
5. If a conditional permit is issued in
				accordance with adopted procedures, fees submitted with that application for
				permit shall be retained and be applicable to the regular permit when it is
				acted upon.
6. If a process is not
				listed in the fee schedule and is not a source type exempted from fees by this
				regulation, then the department shall assign a fee using the negotiated fee set
				forth in fee number 1710 or 1712, as applicable. If a process or facility is
				specifically listed in the fee schedule, then fee number 1710 or 1712 cannot be
				utilized.
7. Annually, the
				department shall reevaluate the Fee Schedule based upon the previous fiscal
				year's reasonable costs involved in the operation of the permit system and
				submit such revised schedule to the secretary for approval.
8. When a company withdraws its application
				and claims refund for the permit fee, no refund shall be made if the review of
				the application is essentially completed at the time of withdrawal. However, up
				to 50 percent refund may be made when the review has been initiated, but is not
				essentially completed.
9. Annual
				maintenance fees (AMF) are not prorated. If a facility operates any part of a
				year or at a reduced rate during the year, the full annual maintenance fee is
				still charged. In order for the annual maintenance fee to be cancelled, the
				facility must not operate at all during the year and the permit to operate for
				the facility must be cancelled and/or changes must be made to the process or
				facility in order to make the process or facility not subject to regulation by
				the department. The cancellation of the permit shall require that a new permit
				be issued before the facility could be operated again. Failure to pay the
				annual maintenance fee will cause the permit for the facility covered by the
				fee to be cancelled.
10. When a
				permanent shutdown occurs and a company properly notifies the Office of
				Environmental Services by official change in the Emission Inventory
				Questionnaire (EIQ) and permit, then the maintenance fee would be dropped for
				that shutdown portion of the process/plant. This fee reduction or cancellation
				shall apply only in the fiscal years in which the shutdown portion of the plant
				or process did not operate at all. The EIQ and permit shall also need to be
				changed to delete the emissions from the shutdown portion of the plant or
				process before the start of the fiscal year in which the fee would have been
				charged.
11. Reserved.
12. NSPS fees may be waived when a PSD
				application fee is imposed.
13. The
				department shall determine the type of fee. This determination shall be based
				on the work load created by the permit application and shall be determined
				based on the factors described as follows.
a.
				New Application Fee. The new application fee shall be based on the new capacity
				when a new process or operation is added or the incremental increase in
				capacity when the capacity is increased by more than 80 percent. It applies
				when:
i. a new facility is added;
ii. a new operation in an existing facility
				is added; or
iii. an existing
				operation is expanded by more than 80 percent in capacity.
b. Major Modification Fee. The major
				modification fee shall be based on the existing capacity when the capacity is
				increased by more than 40 percent and less than 80 percent. The applicant has
				the option to choose to base the major modification fee on the incremental
				capacity increase and using the new permit application rate in cases where the
				incremental increase is small compared to the existing capacity. In that case,
				the applicant can choose the smaller fee as long as it is larger than the
				minimum major modification fee listed for the category. In all cases, the
				minimum amount of the fee would be equal to or greater than the minimum major
				modification fee for the category. The major modification fee applies when:
i. the modification will trigger PSD
				review;
ii. the modification would
				have triggered PSD review without the use of contemporaneous emission
				reductions or banked emissions;
iii. the modification will increase emissions
				by 25 tons/year or more of nonattainment pollutant;
iv. the modification will change emissions
				over 100 tons/year of a criteria pollutant for which the standard has been
				attained; or
v. the modification
				will increase capacity of an existing operation at least by 40 percent and less
				than 80 percent.
c.
				Minor Modification Fee. The minor modification fee (based on existing capacity)
				applies when a modification is not qualified under new application fee or major
				modification fee. The minor modification fee shall be based on the existing
				capacity when the capacity is increased by less than 40 percent. The applicant
				has the option to choose to base the minor modification fee on the incremental
				capacity increase and using the new permit application rate in cases where the
				incremental increase is small compared to the existing capacity. In that case,
				the applicant can choose the smaller fee as long as it is larger than the
				minimum minor modification fee listed for the category. In all cases, the
				minimum amount of the fee would be equal to or greater than the minimum minor
				modification fee for the category.
d. If a permit modification is such that it
				does not increase capacity and changes emissions by less than 25 tons/year of
				all nonattainment pollutants, by less than 10 tons/year of an individual toxic
				air pollutant, by less than 25 tons/year of total toxic air pollutants, and by
				less than 100 tons/year of all other criteria (attainment) pollutants, then the
				permit fee shall be charged equal to the minimum minor modification permit fee
				for each fee process category involved. If no minimum minor modification permit
				fee is listed in LAC 33:III.223, then the minimum minor modification fee is
				calculated as follows:
i. if the minor
				modification fee is greater than $2,000, then the minimum minor modification
				fee is equal to 25 percent of the minor modification fee; and
ii. if the minor modification fee is $500 to
				$2,000, then the minimum minor modification fee is $500.
e. Small Source Permit. The small source
				permit, as defined by LAC 33:III.503.B.2, applies when a permitted source is
				not a
Part 70 source
as defined in LAC 33:III.502. The
				permitted source must also emit or have the potential to emit less than 25
				tons/year of any criteria pollutant, and less than 10 tons per year of any
				toxic air pollutant. For permit applications with processes specifically listed
				in the fee schedule that would also qualify for the small source permit fee,
				the permit fee shall be the lesser of these listed fees.
14. Air Toxics Annual Emissions Fees based on
				actual annual emissions that occurred during the previous calendar year shall
				be assessed on
major sources
as defined in LAC
				33:III.5103.
15. For permits issued
				under LAC 33:III.507 (title V permits), the following applies:
a. no application fee shall be charged for
				the initial permit provided no modifications are being made at the facility;
				and
b. the application fee for
				renewals of permits where no modifications are being made at the facility shall
				be the minimum minor modification fee as listed in LAC 33:III.223, or where no
				such fee is listed in the fee schedule, as calculated in accordance with
				Subparagraph B.13.d of this Section.