H. B. 4578
(By Delegates Ashley, Martin,
Seacrist and Staton)
[Introduced February 26, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article five, chapter twenty-two of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, relating to requiring the director of the division
of environmental protection to propose legislative rules;
establishing a market-based air emission banking and trading
program; and providing for emission's credits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter twenty-two of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. AIR POLLUTION CONTROL.
§22-5-18. Market-based banking and trading programs, emissions
credits; director to promulgate rules.
(a) Within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
this section, the director shall propose, to the full extent
allowed by federal and state law, one or more rules establishing
a voluntary emissions trading and banking program on a statewide
basis that provides incentives to make progress toward the
attainment or maintenance of the national ambient air quality
standards, the reduction or prevention of hazardous air
contaminants, or the protection of human health, welfare and the
environment from air pollution.
(b) Any person reducing air emission from a source shall be
entitled to an emission's credit as established by rule. The
director shall establish a system by rule for quantifying,
verifying, using and registering all emission's reduction
credits, which are eligible for banking and trading if achieved
since the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one, to the fullest extent permitted by the state
implementation plan or federal law. Credits for permanent
shutdowns shall only be used thereafter at a site owned by that
entity or may be transferred by the depositor to the state office
of economic development or to a public interest group of the
depositor's designation. Except for voluntary reductions of
nitrogen oxides, ten percent of any emission credits registered
with the director shall be credited to an account for the benefit of state and retired from future use, if not used within ten
years. All other emission's reduction credits registered shall
remain in effect until used and debited or retired, if not used
within ten years. The director is authorized to charge a
transaction fee, to be established by rule, at the time any
credits are registered, the fees to be deposited in the air
pollution control fund.
(c) Emission credits registered by a person in accordance with
subsection (b) of this section may be used by that person to
satisfy emission reduction requirements that would otherwise be
required under state or federal law or the credits may be used
for the same purpose at another source, by the person who
registered the credit or by another person to whom the credit was
transferred. Same source use of banked emission credits requires
prior notification to the West Virginia office of air quality.
The rules may not prohibit the transfer of credits among persons,
but shall establish procedures by which transfers are identified,
tracked and accounted for in the program. The use of such
credits shall remain subject to achieving and maintaining ambient
air quality. The division may establish the emissions trading
program as a state, multistate or regional program as long as the
program contributes to the goal of improving the air quality in
West Virginia and in the air quality region where the source is located.
(d) The director may develop rules establishing classes of
volatile organic compounds, and shall allow banking and trading
of different volatile organic compounds within the same class.
In lieu thereof, trading shall be allowed among all volatile
organic compounds where not inconsistent with federal law and
where similar degrees of hazard and qualitative impact are
anticipated with respect to air quality. For any emissions
banking and trading program used for the purpose of making
progress toward attaining or maintaining the national ambient air
quality standard for ozone, the director may allow reductions of
volatile organic compounds to be substituted for required
reductions of oxides of nitrogen, or reductions of oxides of
nitrogen to be substituted for required reductions of volatile
organic compounds, where appropriate, if not inconsistent with
federal law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add provisions to the
air pollution control law to require the establishment of an air
emission's credits banking and trading program to assist sources
in meeting regulatory requirements and to allow for continued
economic growth consistent with helping to achieve and maintain
air quality standards. The bill also required the proposal of
rules.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
