NOTE:  As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended only for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used for other purposes.

 

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F I S C A L   I M P A C T   R E P O R T

 

 

 

SPONSOR:

Lopez

 

DATE TYPED:

02/24/03

 

HB

 

 

SHORT TITLE:

Air Quality Control Regulations

 

SB

515

 

 

ANALYST:

Valenzuela

 

APPROPRIATION

 

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY03

FY04

FY03

FY04

 

 

 

NFI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

 

Duplicates House Bill 782

Relates to House Bill 371 and Conflicts with House Bill 372

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

-         Report of the Legislative Finance Committee to the Forty-sixth Legislature, First Session, January 2003 for Fiscal Year 2003 – 2004, pp. 591 – 592.

-         Emerging Issues in Air Quality and Regional Haze State Implementation Plans, Staff Brief for LFC Hearing, June 2002.

 

Office of the Attorney General

Department of Environment

 

SUMMARY

 

     Synopsis of Bill

 

Senate Bill 515 would amend the Air Quality Control Act by deleting the requirement that state regulations be no more stringent than federal regulations.

 

     Significant Issues

 

The federal Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended in 1990, directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify and set national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for pollutants that cause adverse effects to public health and the environment. The law allows individual state to have stronger pollution controls, but states are not allowed to have weaker pollution controls. The New Mexico Air Quality Control Act, however, contains stringency language, eliminated in this bill, that prohibits state ambient air quality standards from being more restrictive than federal standards.

 

Senate Bill 515 requires that regulations adopted by the state with respect to visibility protection in Class I areas, prevention of significant deterioration, non-attainment areas, and standards of performance be at least as stringent as federal requirements. Class I areas are designated by Congress and include national parks and wilderness areas.  Prevention of significant deterioration applies to sources that emit more than 250 tons per year of any one criteria pollutant.  A non-attainment area is an area in which the concentration of pollutants exceeds the federal health based standard for that pollutant.  Standards of performance are technology-based standards that apply to certain new facilities.  

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Senate Bill 515 does not contain an appropriation. Its enactment would have an administrative and fiscal impact on NMED, however, the department would be able to absorb the impact with existing resources.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

 

The Environmental Improvement Board, staff by NMED, may need to revise its rules.

 

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

 

Senate Bill 515 duplicates House Bill 782. Senate Bill 515 also conflicts with HB 372 which would add stringency language for Title V regulations that could not be more stringent than federal regulations.

 

MFV/njw