Transcript CoalFee.ppt

Coal Mining Program Fees
Environmental Quality Board Meeting
July 17, 2012
John J. Stefanko, Deputy Secretary for
Active and Abandoned Mining Operations
Coal Mining Program Background
• Permits
– ~1600 Coal Mining Permits
• Operators
– ~500 Permittees
• Program Cost
– Total ~$21,000,000
– up to 50% Federal Funding
Regulation Development Timeline
• Fee Proposal-October 2009 Mining and
Reclamation Advisory Board (MRAB) Meeting
– Opposition was expressed
– Relegated to committee for discussion
• MRAB Committee Meetings
– November 2009-January 2010
• January 2010 MRAB Recommendations
• April 2010 MRAB Recommendation
Regulation Development Timeline
• EQB adopted proposed regulations at
October 12, 2010 Meeting
• Proposed regulations published for comment
March 10, 2012
• No Comments were received
IRRC
May 9, 2012 IRRC letter:
• They had no comments
• If the final-form regulation is delivered
without changes and the committees take no
action then the regulations will be deemed
approved.
January 2010 MRAB Recommendationss
• Because permit fees have not gone up since
1982, a permit fee increase is reasonable.
• Any increase in permit fees should be
dedicated to finance the permitting process.
• DEP should not discourage remining activities.
• It is reasonable to ask industry to contribute
to funding some part of the program.
• MRAB will continue to advise DEP on permit
fee assessment and allocations.
April 2010 MRAB Recommendation
• Fee package should include permit application
fees
• Fees should generate about $400,000 per year
No Changes
No changes were made to the rulemaking from
proposed to final version
Definitions Added
• Permit Application Fee
• Major Permit Revisions
Fee Basis
• Workload Analysis
– Review time for each application type
• Personnel costs
• Overhead
• Proportion needed to generate $400,000
– ~37% of state share of cost for application review
Example Fee Amounts
New Bituminous Underground Permit $5,750
Surface Mine Permit Major revision $300
Permit Renewal
$250
Periodic Fee Review
Every three years the Department will compare
the fees collected with program costs and
prepare a report for the EQB.
Summary and Recommendation
• Final-form regulations are in line with MRAB
Recommendations
• Estimated to generate about $400,000 per
year
• The Department is requesting approval of the
final-form regulations.
Thank you
John J. Stefanko, Deputy Secretary
for Active and Abandoned Mining
Operations