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Modoc County board adopts modernized Air Pollution Control District fee schedule
Summary
The board adopted amendments to Rule 3.1, updating the Modoc County Air Pollution Control District fee schedule (first revision since 1989) to add and revise permit categories and raise filing fees by up to 30% where allowed. Staff said the change modernizes the county schedule ahead of potential geothermal and other sources.
The Modoc County Board of Supervisors voted Jan. 27 to adopt amendments to Rule 3.1, the Air Pollution Control District's schedule of fees, closing a public hearing after no members of the public testified.
Heather Kelly, Modoc County agricultural commissioner speaking for air-pollution staff, told the board the district's fee schedule "has not been revised since 1989 when it was adopted, originally," and that staff had to make assumptions about workload because there is limited local data. Kelly proposed a 30% increase in filing fees where state limits allow and a number of new or clarified categories, including per-nozzle vapor-recovery fees, incinerator categories, industrial and commercial surface-coating operations, electric power generation facilities, and a per-megawatt fee for geothermal plants.
Kelly said the county currently permits mainly diesel backup generators and a small set of other sources, and noted the county recently lost a Title V source, which will reduce permitting revenue. She told supervisors the proposed changes would modernize the schedule in anticipation of future permitting needs, including a potential geothermal plant and better alignment with neighboring counties.
Board members asked clarifying questions about insignificant-source tracking fees, asphalt and gravel-plant categories and how the proposed fees compare to neighboring Lassen and Siskiyou counties. Kelly said some differences are driven by how other counties index fees (for example, by consumer price index adjustments) and that some line items, such as an insignificant-source tracking fee, were proposed as optional to avoid repeated revisions.
After staff finished its presentation the board closed the hearing and adopted the amendments by voice vote. No public opposition was recorded at the hearing. The staff presentation noted the district is constrained by state law in how much it may increase certain fees in a given year.
The board's action updates a long-unrevised fee schedule and gives staff a framework to charge and track fees for new categories of sources if and when they come to the county for permits.
