State Refunds $1.6 Million in Air Quality Permit Fees
RALEIGH -- Some 350 companies that hold major air quality permits in North Carolina soon will receive rebates totaling more than $1.6 million from unspent permit fees collected by the state in recent years.
The state Division of Air Quality is refunding 21 percent of the 1997 annual permit fees collected from Title V facilities, which are generally the largest sources of air emissions in the state. Rebates will range from about $1,100 to $49,000, depending on the size of the facility.
Title V permits are required under the federal Clean Air Act for most major air pollution sources. Under the act, the companies’ permit fees are supposed to cover the cost of running the Title V permit program in each state and cannot be used to support other programs.
“We are able to issue these rebates this year because we ran an efficient program that cost less to operate than the total amount we collected in permit fees,” said Alan Klimek, director of the Division of Air Quality. “Even so, our permit fees are among the lowest among the Southeastern states.”
In North Carolina, facilities pay on average about $25.43 per ton of air pollution in Title V permit fees. This rate is about 78 percent of the level ($32.65) recommended under the Clean Air Act. Title V permits are required for plants that emit at least:
100 tons per year of most regulated pollutants; or
10 tons per year of any hazardous air pollutant; or
25 tons per year of any combination of hazardous air pollutants.
The Division of Air Quality collected about $7.7 million in Title V permit fees in 1997, while expenditures totaled about $6.6 million for the year. Currently, the division is spending about what it collects in fees. The division uses the funds to do such things as review and issue new permits, inspect facilities for compliance with air quality regulations, and investigate complaints.
Companies should start receiving their refund checks in late April or early May. Such refunds are not likely to occur every year.
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Date posted: April 29
Contact: Tom Mather (919) 715-7408
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