COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4578
(By Delegates Ashley, Martin,
Seacrist and Staton)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 5, l998]
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 generally to establishing a market-based
air emission's banking and trading program; requiring the
director of the division of environmental protection to
propose legislative rules relating to emission's credits,
agency program implementation and fees; and providing
standards and guidelines 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, emission's
credits; director to promulgate rules.
(a) Within one hundred eighty days after the effective date of
this section, the director shall propose for legislative
promulgation, pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, and to the full extent allowed by federal and state
law, one or more legislative 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) Upon meeting the requirements of this section and the
legislative rules promulgated hereunder, any person reducing air
emission from a source shall be entitled to an emission's credit.
The director shall establish a system by rule for quantifying,
verifying, using and registering all emission's reduction
credits, which occur following the effective date of this Act, to
the fullest extent permitted by the state implementation plan or
federal law. Except for voluntary reductions of nitrogen oxides,
ten percent of any emission's 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 proposed by legislative rule as provided herein, at the
time any credits are registered, the fees to be deposited in the
air pollution control fund.
(c) Emission's credits registered by a person in accordance
with subsection (b) of this section may be used where authorized
and creditable in accordance with rules established pursuant to
this section 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's 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.
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