Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Air Quality Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DEES outlines air-division capacity, monitoring and the consequences of HB2 on emissions testing
Summary
DEES told the committee its air division faces staffing and funding constraints, operates the state monitoring network, and has filed EPA petitions related to ending the OBD/motor-vehicle emissions program under HB2; the department warned of litigation and operational consequences if the vendor withdraws equipment.
A Department of Environmental Services briefing to the House Science, Technology & Energy Committee on Jan. 14 covered the air division's core programs, monitoring network and the practical implications of the motor-vehicle inspection changes ordered by House Bill 2.
DEES officials said the air division currently employs about 65 staff with 10 vacancies and relies heavily on fee revenue (more than half of operating revenue) and federal grants. The state runs 12 to 13 air-quality monitoring sites that feed near-real-time data to the public website and supports an air quality forecasting program tied to public-health action days.
Kathy Beam, DEES SIP administrator, and other DEES staff briefed members on steps taken to comply with HB2's timeline to eliminate the OBD emissions portion of the state inspection program. DEES and the Department of Safety submitted a Clean Air Act 176A petition and proposed State Implementation Plan changes to EPA on Dec. 24. Officials explained the procedural clock: EPA has 60 days for a completeness determination and up to 12 months for a final decision. "The state law is very clear that on January 31, 2026, the program is done," DEES staff said at the hearing, while also noting that the vendor that supplies inspection equipment has filed litigation and a 60-day notice of intent to sue; that litigation is pending.
DEES said the change will have predictable budgetary effects: the air division's OBD-related fee revenue is around $350,000 a year, and the Department of Safety retains other program receipts and contractors' costs. DEES said it will continue to work with the Department of Safety to manage the transition and will deliver the statutorily required reports about the program's termination and impacts.
What members asked
Lawmakers asked whether DEES has the staffing to carry out any emergency environmental reviews tied to weather-modification or geoengineering legislation heard later in the day; DEES said the department has public-health risk staff but not expertise in cloud-seeding or stratospheric aerosol technologies and would need to draw on federal partners, other states, or contractors for in-depth work.
Speakers attributed
- Craig Wright, Air Division Director, Department of Environmental Services - Kathy Beam, SIP Administrator, Department of Environmental Services - Mike Fitzgerald, Assistant Air Division Director, Department of Environmental Services
Provenance: topicintro SEG 1210; topfinish SEG 2096
