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Health department proposes Title‑5 fee increases to keep air permitting program funded
Summary
Shelby County Health Department proposed a tiered increase to Title 5 air permitting fees required under the Clean Air Act, citing lower emissions but a need to fully fund local permit program; committee forwarded the proposal after staff explained tiering and small‑business protections.
Shelby County Health Department officials told commissioners they must update Title‑5 permitting fees to comply with federal requirements that the permitting program be fully fee‑funded and to avoid a federal corrective action. Deputy director Casey Smith Alexander presented a tiered fee schedule designed to align fees with regulatory complexity and staff workload.
"Under the Clean Air Act, Title 5 is the permitting authority whether state, local, bridal, or federal must collect fees that fully fund the air permitting program," Smith Alexander said, explaining that the program must be locally self‑sustaining or EPA could require corrective action. She provided projected revenues for major sources of roughly $810,321 in 2026 and said total county emissions have fallen dramatically since 2004.
Smith Alexander told the committee the increase focuses on major regulated sources and attempts to protect small businesses such as dry cleaners and gas stations from disproportionate impacts. She said the proposed tiered approach adjusts minimum emission fees and annual fees to reflect regulatory complexity and staff time; the proposal passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation after staff confirmed the Air Pollution Control Board had unanimously supported the fees in March.
Commissioners asked for the count of all entities that pay fees (major and minor sources) and for details on the collection process; staff said they would provide those numbers by Monday.
