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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
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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 youJohn J. Stefanko, Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mining Operations