Colorado Legislative Council Staff

STATE

FISCAL IMPACT

TITLE:            CONCERNING THE APPLICATION OF STATE AIR QUALITY STANDARDS TO ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE.

Summary of Legislation

            The bill would require that the air quality and emissions controls in the state implementation plan that applies to private entities also apply to public property and facilities. All federal land managers would have to submit land management plans to the Department of Public Health and Environment (DPHE), Air Quality Control Commission for review and to ensure compliance. The Commission would have to conduct hearings on minimizing emissions and make recommendations to federal land managers to make the plans comply with state law.

State Revenues

            The bill allows the state to impose fees and recover costs of reviewing between 50 and 100 federal land management plans. It is estimated that the division would collect approximately $90,000 from plan reviews in FY 1999-00. Approximately $51,576 in emissions fees would also be collected at $14.98 per ton on an annual basis. Historical DPHE data indicates that there would be 3,443 tons of pollutants emitted annually thereafter (1,300 PM + 1,836 VOC + 370 Nox). The total estimated revenue for FY 1999-00 is $141,576 Stationary Sources Control Fund. For FY 2000-01, the estimated revenue is $51,576 in emissions fees.

State Expenditures

            In FY 1999-00, the DPHE would be required to conduct 456 hours of program development and rule making activity. They would also require 3,188 hours to review and correct land management plans submitted, process burn permits, and monitor burns. This would require 1.5 FTE and $99,869 in Stationary Sources Control Funds. DPHE would also require legal services from the Department of Law of approximately $28,800 and 0.3 FTE. In total, this would require 1.8 FTE and $128,669 in Stationary Sources Control Fund in FY 1999-00. For FY 2000-01, the DPHE would require 0.5 FTE and $28,770 Stationary Sources Control Fund for ongoing monitoring of permitted burns.

            The Division of Wildlife (DOW) and the Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR) in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) may also have additional expenditures as a result of this bill. Seventeen parks managed by DPR contain 37,600 acres of federal property. As a part of the DPR management, DPR may request a burn of an area on federal land. In addition, the DOW may request the U.S. Forest Service to burn land for habitat management. Should these state agencies request the federal agencies to conduct burns, it is expected that the federal government would ask the state agency making the request to pay a portion or all of the costs involved. The amount of the additional cost to DNR has been estimated to be $2,500 per plan. The development of the plans would be contracted to private entities.

State Appropriations

            This fiscal note implies that the Department of Public Health and Environment would require 1.5 FTE and $128,669 Stationary Sources Control Funds in FY 1999-00 to implement this bill. Of that amount, the Department of Law would require 0.3 FTE and $28,800 in cash exempt funds.

Departments Contacted

            Public Health and Environment

Omissions, Technical or Mechanical Defects

            The bill does not clearly indicate that the Department of Public Health and Environment can impose fees on all tasks required in this bill.