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SPONSOR: |
Heaton |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
192/aHENRC |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Amend Air Quality Control Act |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
Valenzuela |
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REVENUE
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Estimated Revenue |
Subsequent Years Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
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See
Fiscal Impact |
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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Duplicates Senate Bill 205
Legislative Finance Committee files
Responses
Received From
Department
of Environment (NMED)
State
Highway and Transportation Department
SUMMARY
Synopsis of the HENRC amendment
The
House Energy and Natural Resources Committee amendment to House Bill 192 substantially
revises the original bill. The amendment
proposes to amend the Air Quality Control Act by prohibiting the NMED from
denying a construction permit for a cotton gin if the applicant uses “best
system of emission reduction” as specified by the Environmental Improvement
Board. The amendment further defines best system of emission reduction and caps
the emissions at 50 tons per regulated contaminant per year.
NMED
reports this bill could be interpreted by U.S. EPA as “constraining
Synopsis
of Original Bill
House Bill 192 amends the Air Quality Control Act by requiring the Environment Department to not deny an application for an air quality permit to cotton gins or other seasonal agricultural operations based on air quality dispersion modeling provided “best available control technology” is used. "Best available control technology" for cotton gins is defined in the legislation. Air quality dispersion modeling for these operations is only allowed in the case of permitting under the requirements for prevention of significant deterioration.
Significant
Issues
Dispersion modeling is a computer simulation of
emitted pollutants in the area surrounding an emitting facility, i.e., a cotton
gin in this instance. The simulation uses meteorological variables to predict
concentrations in the area over time. Industry has argued against using
computer modeling techniques, such as dispersion modeling, because of the
potential for these models to over predict pollutant concentrations. Therefore,
the Department of Environment would have to use air quality monitors to track
the actual emissions from these types of facilities.
NMED asserts that enactment of this bill could
jeopardize the state’s compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. The
department references an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) letter,
dated January 22, 2003 and attached, which makes the following statement, “For
New Mexico’s new source review state implementation plan to remain approvable,
the State agency must retain its authority to require modeling and test methods
as determined necessary for both permitting and compliance decisions.” The
result of non-compliance could be
NMED reports that there are seven cotton gins
operating in
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
NMED reports that
enactment of the bill could jeopardize the revenue generated in the new construction
permitting program ($1,200.0) and revenue generated from the federal government
($600.0).
After enactment of this bill, the
department states that EPA could issue NMED a notice of deficiency requiring
the state to come into compliance with the Clean Air Act within a specific time
frame.