Ohio EPA seeks fee changes, program funds in HB96; Consumers Council requests larger budget increase

Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, told the House Natural Resources Committee on 2025-02-01 that Ohio EPA's biennial budget request would total $277,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $285,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, and she outlined several fee and program changes the agency says are necessary to sustain core services.

"Our mission is to protect human health and the environment in Ohio, and we've been at it for 52 years," Vogel told the committee. She described the agency's reliance on fee revenue — "more than 70% of our budget is revenue based" — and presented proposals intended to stabilize revenues for air permitting, water and wastewater assistance, and solid-waste oversight.

Vogel asked the committee to authorize a set of air-permitting fee changes to address a reported shortfall in the Division of Air Pollution Control. Her proposals included establishing a $5,000 base fee for Title V permits (where none currently exists), a $5,000 base fee for mid-size (minor) emitters, and a 50% increase in per-ton emission fees. Vogel said those changes would raise about $4,000,000 annually; she also proposed a 50% increase to the permit-to-install fee to yield approximately $400,000 annually.

On water infrastructure, Vogel described the H2Ohio program as a proven tool for small, targeted projects…