Senate Bill No. 535–Committee on Natural Resources

 

(On Behalf of Air Quality Programs in Clark County (SB 432))

 

March 26, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Natural Resources

 

SUMMARY—Authorizes local air pollution control agency in certain counties to establish program to reduce and control air pollution. (BDR 40‑791)

 

FISCAL NOTE:    Effect on Local Government: No.

                                 Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to air pollution; authorizing the local air pollution control agency in certain counties to establish a program for the receipt and exchange of credits to reduce and control air pollution; requiring such an agency to use the fees collected from such a program for projects to reduce air pollution; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1    Section 1.  NRS 445B.500 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2    445B.500  1.  Except as otherwise provided in this section and in NRS

1-3  445B.310:

1-4    (a) The district board of health, county board of health or board of

1-5  county commissioners in each county whose population is 100,000 or more

1-6  shall establish a program for the control of air pollution and administer the

1-7  program within its jurisdiction unless superseded.

1-8    (b) The program [must:

1-9       (1) Include] :

1-10      (1) Must include, without limitation, standards for the control of

1-11  emissions, emergency procedures and variance procedures established by

1-12  ordinance or local regulation which are equivalent to or stricter than those

1-13  established by statute or state regulation; [and

1-14      (2) Provide]

1-15      (2) May, in a county whose population is 400,000 or more, include

1-16  requirements for the receipt and exchange of credits to reduce and

1-17  control air contaminants in accordance with NRS 445B.508; and

1-18      (3) Must provide for adequate administration, enforcement, financing

1-19  and staff.

2-1    (c) The district board of health, county board of health or board of

2-2  county commissioners is designated as the air pollution control agency of

2-3  the county for the purposes of NRS 445B.100 to 445B.640, inclusive, and

2-4  the federal act insofar as it pertains to local programs, and that agency is

2-5  authorized to take all action necessary to secure for the county the benefits

2-6  of the federal act.

2-7    (d) Powers and responsibilities provided for in NRS 445B.210,

2-8  445B.240 to 445B.450, inclusive, 445B.560, 445B.570, 445B.580 and

2-9  445B.640 are binding upon and inure to the benefit of local air pollution

2-10  control authorities within their jurisdiction.

2-11    2.  The local air pollution control board shall carry out all provisions of

2-12  NRS 445B.215 with the exception that notices of public hearings must be

2-13  given in any newspaper, qualified pursuant to the provisions of chapter 238

2-14  of NRS, once a week for 3 weeks. The notice must specify with

2-15  particularity the reasons for the proposed regulations and provide other

2-16  informative details. NRS 445B.215 does not apply to the adoption of

2-17  existing regulations upon transfer of authority as provided in NRS

2-18  445B.610.

2-19    3.  In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, the local air

2-20  pollution control board may delegate to an independent hearing officer or

2-21  hearing board its authority to determine violations and levy administrative

2-22  penalties for violations of the provisions of NRS 445B.100 to 445B.450,

2-23  inclusive, and 445B.500 to 445B.640, inclusive, or any regulation adopted

2-24  pursuant to those sections. If such a delegation is made, 17.5 percent of any

2-25  penalty collected must be deposited in the county treasury in an account to

2-26  be administered by the local air pollution control board to a maximum of

2-27  $17,500 per year. The money in the account may only be used to defray the

2-28  administrative expenses incurred by the local air pollution control board in

2-29  enforcing the provisions of NRS 445B.100 to 445B.640, inclusive. The

2-30  remainder of the penalty must be deposited in the county school district

2-31  fund of the county where the violation occurred.

2-32    4.  Any county whose population is less than 100,000 or any city may

2-33  meet the requirements of this section for administration and enforcement

2-34  through cooperative or interlocal agreement with one or more other

2-35  counties, or through agreement with the state, or may establish its own

2-36  program for the control of air pollution. If the county establishes such a

2-37  program, it is subject to the approval of the commission.

2-38    5.  No district board of health, county board of health or board of

2-39  county commissioners may adopt any regulation or establish a compliance

2-40  schedule, variance order or other enforcement action relating to the control

2-41  of emissions from plants which generate electricity by using steam

2-42  produced by the burning of fossil fuel.

2-43    6.  For the purposes of this section, “plants which generate electricity

2-44  by using steam produced by the burning of fossil fuel” means plants that

2-45  burn fossil fuels in a boiler to produce steam for the production of

2-46  electricity. The term does not include any plant which uses technology for

2-47  a simple or combined cycle combustion turbine, regardless of whether the

2-48  plant includes duct burners.

 

3-1    Sec. 2.  NRS 445B.508 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-2    445B.508  1.  In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, a

3-3  district board of health, county board of health or board of county

3-4  commissioners may, as a part of its program for the control of air

3-5  pollution established pursuant to NRS 445B.500:

3-6    (a) Require each person operating or responsible for the existence of

3-7  a source within its jurisdiction to obtain credits issued by the board for

3-8  air contaminants the source emits or will emit. The board shall establish

3-9  the number of credits required to be obtained by each person, but in no

3-10  case may a person who is operating or responsible for the existence of a

3-11  new source be required to obtain less than one or more than two credits

3-12  for each ton of air contaminants the source will emit.

3-13    (b) Award credits to a person operating or responsible for the

3-14  existence of a source within its jurisdiction who successfully carries out

3-15  projects that reduce the air contaminants emitted by the source. The

3-16  board shall establish guidelines to determine which projects qualify for

3-17  credits and the number of credits that will be awarded for those projects.

3-18    (c) Authorize a person operating or responsible for the existence of a

3-19  source who has been awarded credits pursuant to paragraph (b) to sell,

3-20  exchange or otherwise transfer those credits to another person operating

3-21  or responsible for the existence of a source within the jurisdiction of the

3-22  board that awarded the credits.

3-23    2.  If a person operating or responsible for the existence of a source is

3-24  required to obtain credits pursuant to subsection 1, the person may:

3-25    (a) Obtain the number of credits needed from another person who has

3-26  been awarded credits pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1;

3-27    (b) Purchase the number of credits needed from the appropriate board

3-28  for a fee established by the board; or

3-29    (c) Obtain credits from another person and purchase any additional

3-30  credits needed from the appropriate board.

3-31    3.  If a county operates a program [in which] for the control of air

3-32  pollution that allows a person operating or responsible for the existence of

3-33  a source [of air contaminant may] to earn credits for maintaining or

3-34  reducing the level of air contaminant emitted from the source, [such a] the

3-35  program:

3-36    (a) Must allow the person to earn credits for reducing the level of air

3-37  contaminant emitted from that source through the use of solar energy; and

3-38    (b) Must not allow the person to earn credits for reducing the level of air

3-39  contaminant emitted from that source if such a reduction is required as a

3-40  component of a penalty imposed against the person.

3-41    [2.] 4.  If the district board of health, county board of health or board

3-42  of county commissioners establishes a program for the receipt and

3-43  exchange of credits pursuant to subsection 1, it shall establish the

3-44  following fees:

3-45    (a) The fee for a credit purchased by a person operating or

3-46  responsible for the existence of a new source must be established in an

3-47  amount which reasonably reflects the cost of reducing air pollution, but

3-48  in no case may the fee exceed $650 per ton of air contaminants that will

3-49  be emitted by the source.

4-1    (b) The fee for a credit purchased by a person operating or

4-2  responsible for the existence of an existing source must be established in

4-3  an amount not to exceed $80 per ton of air contaminants emitted by the

4-4  source.

4-5    5.  Money received from fees assessed pursuant to this section must

4-6  be:

4-7    (a) Accounted for separately;

4-8    (b) Expended, pursuant to a cooperative or interlocal agreement, on

4-9  projects to reduce air contaminants within the jurisdiction of the district

4-10  board of health, county board of health or board of county

4-11  commissioners, including, without limitation, on projects to pave

4-12  unpaved roads; and

4-13    (c) Expended within the hydrographic basin from which the fees are

4-14  collected.

4-15    6. As used in this section, “credit” means an administratively created

4-16  right that:

4-17    (a) Entitles a person operating or responsible for the existence of a

4-18  source [of air contaminant] to allow the source to emit a certain level of air

4-19  contaminant; and

4-20    (b) May be traded or sold to another person.

4-21    Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.

 

4-22  H