REPORT TITLE:
Air Pollution Control


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the director to set and collect fees for the actual
mitigation of greenhouse gases released by the permittee.  Allows
those fees to be spent by creating carbon sinks through carbon-
offset forestry projects, and establishing a system to trade
carbon credits.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1253
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AIR POLLUTION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that current fees for air
 
 2 pollution control only cover the cost of administering the
 
 3 permits and ensuring that sources do not exceed agreed upon
 
 4 amounts.  There is no money dedicated to mitigate the actual
 
 5 release of the dangerous greenhouse gases.  Fees imposed for this
 
 6 purpose can be used by the clean air special fund to improve the
 
 7 air quality in Hawaii, and to establish a system to trade carbon
 
 8 credits, which would attract utilities outside of Hawaii looking
 
 9 for those credits.
 
10      The purpose of this Act is to allow the director to set and
 
11 collect fees for the actual mitigation of greenhouse gases
 
12 released by the permittee, which can be used for the purpose of
 
13 creating carbon sinks through carbon off-set forestry projects
 
14 and establishing a system to trade carbon credits.
 
15      SECTION 2.  Section 342B-29, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended to read as follows:
 
17      "[[]§342B-29[]]  Fees.(a)  The director shall establish
 
18 fees for permits issued pursuant to this chapter to be paid by
 
19 the applicant prior to the issuance of the permit and thereafter
 

 
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 1 on a schedule established by the department.
 
 2      (b)  Fees for covered sources shall adequately cover the
 
 3 direct and indirect costs required to develop, support, and
 
 4 administer the permit program, including the reasonable costs of:
 
 5      (1)  Reviewing and acting upon any application for or
 
 6           renewal of a permit;
 
 7      (2)  Implementing and enforcing the terms and conditions of
 
 8           any permit, including legal support;
 
 9      (3)  Monitoring emissions and ambient air quality, including
 
10           resources to audit and inspect source-operated
 
11           monitoring programs at least once a year;
 
12      (4)  Preparing generally applicable rules or guidance;
 
13      (5)  Performing or reviewing modeling, analyses, and
 
14           demonstrations;
 
15      (6)  Preparing inventories and tracking emissions; 
 
16      (7)  Providing support to the small business assistance
 
17           program; and
 
18      (8)  Administering the fund.
 
19      (c)  Fees for covered sources shall be based on the number
 
20 of tons of regulated air pollutant, excluding carbon monoxide,
 
21 allowed or emitted by the permitted source and shall not be less
 
22 than $25 per ton per year.  A covered source shall not be
 
23 assessed for emissions of a regulated air pollutant in excess of
 

 
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 1 four thousand tons per year.
 
 2      (d)  Fees for covered sources may also be charged to
 
 3 mitigate the impacts of global greenhouse gas emissions released,
 
 4 and to meet state and national requirements pertaining to those
 
 5 emissions, including the reasonable costs of:
 
 6      (1)  Creating, managing, and accounting of carbon sinks
 
 7           established through carbon-offset forestry projects;
 
 8           and
 
 9      (2)  Establishing carbon banks or other financial
 
10           instruments to expedite the trading of carbon credits
 
11           in Hawaii.
 
12      [(d)] (e)  Unless changed by rules, fees for covered sources
 
13 shall be changed in December of each year only by the percentage,
 
14 if any, by which the consumer price index for that calendar year
 
15 exceeds the consumer price index for the prior calendar year.
 
16 The consumer price index for any calendar year is the average of
 
17 the consumer price index for all urban consumers published by the
 
18 United States Department of Labor, as of the close of the twelve-
 
19 month period ending on August 31 of each calendar year.
 
20      [(e)] (f)  Nothing in the [cost-per-ton] fee provisions of
 
21 subsections (c) [and], (d), and (e) shall restrict the director
 
22 from assessing more or less than the amount determined under
 
23 subsections (c) [and], (d), and (e) from any one covered source
 

 
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 1 or any class or category of covered sources, as designated by the
 
 2 director; provided the department collects a total amount of fees
 
 3 sufficient to cover the costs of the permit program."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  Section 342B-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 6      "(a)  There is created in the state treasury a special fund
 
 7 to be designated as the clean air special fund.  The proceeds in
 
 8 the fund shall be used solely to pay for all reasonable direct
 
 9 and indirect costs required to develop, support, and administer
 
10 the permit program requirements of this chapter including
 
11 reasonable costs of:
 
12      (1)  Reviewing and acting upon any application for or
 
13           renewal of a permit;
 
14      (2)  Implementing and enforcing the terms and conditions of
 
15           any permit, including legal support as defined by
 
16           rules;
 
17      (3)  Monitoring emissions and ambient air quality including
 
18           resources to audit and inspect source-operated
 
19           monitoring requirements at least once a year;
 
20      (4)  Preparing generally applicable rules or guidelines;
 
21      (5)  Performing or reviewing modeling, analyses, and
 
22           demonstrations;
 
23      (6)  Preparing emissions inventories and tracking systems;
 

 
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 1      (7)  Providing support to the small business assistance
 
 2           program; [and]
 
 3      (8)  Creating, managing, and accounting of carbon sinks
 
 4           established through carbon-offset forestry projects;
 
 5      (9)  Establishing carbon banks or other financial
 
 6           instruments to expedite the trading of carbon credits
 
 7           in Hawaii; and
 
 8     [(8)] (10)  Administering the fund."
 
 9      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
10 New statutory material is underscored.
 
11      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
12 
 
13                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________