285.69 Fees.

(1) Rule making. The department may promulgate rules for the payment and collection of reasonable fees for all of the following:

(a) Application for permit. Reviewing and acting upon any application for a construction permit, except that the department may not impose a fee on any of the following persons who apply for a construction permit:

1. An owner or operator of an entire facility for which an operation permit is required under s. 285.60 but not under the federal clean air act if the entire facility is covered by a registration permit under s. 285.60 (2g).

2. An owner or operator of an entire facility for which an operation permit is required under s. 285.60 but not under the federal clean air act if the entire facility is covered by a general permit under s. 285.60 (3).

(c) Request for exemption. Reviewing and acting upon any request for an exemption from the requirement to obtain an air pollution control permit.

(1d) Request for waiver of construction permit requirement. An owner or operator that requests a waiver under s. 285.60 (5m) of the requirement to obtain a construction permit shall pay to the department a fee of $300.

(2) Emission fees for persons required to have federal operation permits.

(a) The department shall promulgate rules for the payment and collection of fees by the owner or operator of a stationary source for which an operation permit is required under the federal clean air act. The rules shall provide all of the following:

5. That fees are not based on emissions by an air contaminant source in excess of 5,000 tons per year of each regulated pollutant.

8. That the fee billed for each stationary source in each year after 2001 is based on the actual emissions of all regulated pollutants, and any other air contaminant specified by the department in the rules, in the preceding year.

12. That the fee billed in 2013 and each year thereafter equals $35.71 per ton of emissions specified under subd. 8.

(c) The fees collected under pars. (a) and (e) shall be credited to the appropriations under s. 20.370 (3) (bg), (4) (co), (8) (mg) and (9) (mh) for the following:

1. The costs of reviewing and acting on applications for operation permits; implementing and enforcing operation permits except for court costs or other costs associated with an enforcement action; monitoring emissions and ambient air quality; preparing rules and materials to assist persons who are subject to the operation permit program; ambient air quality modeling; preparing and maintaining emission inventories; and any other direct and indirect costs of the operation permit program.

2. Costs of any other activities related to stationary sources of air contaminants.

(d) The department may promulgate a rule reducing any operation permit fee required to be paid under par. (a) by small business stationary sources to take into account the financial resources of small business stationary sources.

(e) Beginning in 2001 and ending in 2012, the owner or operator of a stationary source for which an operation permit is required shall pay to the department an annual fee of 86 cents per ton of actual emissions in the preceding year of all air contaminants on which the fee under par. (a) is based.

(2e) Facility fees for persons required to have federal operation permits.

(a) In this subsection:

1. “Electric generating source" means a stationary source the primary purpose of which is to generate electricity.

2. “Federal construction permit source" means a stationary source that was subject to a major source construction permit requirement necessary to implement the requirements of 42 USC 7470 to 7492 or 42 USC 7501 to 7515 for any portion of the preceding year.

3. “Maximum achievable control technology source" means a stationary source that was subject to regulation under 42 USC 7412 for any portion of the preceding year, except for a stationary source that was subject solely to regulation under 42 USC 7412 (d) (5) or (r).

4. “New source performance standards source" means a stationary source that was subject to regulation under 42 USC 7411 or 7429 (a) for any portion of the preceding year.

(b) Annually, beginning in 2014, in addition to the fees under sub. (2), the owner or operator of a stationary source for which an operation permit was required under the federal clean air act for any portion of the preceding year shall pay the sum of the following:

1. A base fee in the following amount:

a. If in the preceding year the stationary source emitted not more than 10 tons of the air contaminants on which the fee under sub. (2) (a) is based, $900.

b. If in the preceding year the stationary source emitted more than 10 tons but not more than 25 tons of the air contaminants on which the fee under sub. (2) (a) is based, $1,300.

c. If in the preceding year the stationary source emitted more than 25 tons but not more than 50 tons of the air contaminants on which the fee under sub. (2) (a) is based, $1,600.

d. If in the preceding year the stationary source emitted more than 50 tons but not more than 80 tons of the air contaminants on which the fee under sub. (2) (a) is based, $2,300.

e. If in the preceding year the stationary source emitted more than 80 tons of the air contaminants on which the fee under sub. (2) (a) is based, $3,000.

2. If the stationary source is a maximum achievable control technology source, a fee of $960.

3. If the stationary source is a new source performance standards source, a fee of $960.

4. If the stationary source is a federal construction permit source, a fee of $1,500.

5. If the stationary source is an electric generating source that is not publicly owned and that included a coal-fired generating unit for any portion of the preceding year, a fee of $46,980.

(c) The fees collected under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation accounts under s. 20.370 (3) (bg), (4) (co), (8) (mg), and (9) (mh) for the purposes in sub. (2) (c) 1. and 2.

(d) The department may promulgate rules for the payment and collection of the fees required under this subsection.

(2m) Fees for state permit sources.

(a) The owner or operator of a stationary source for which an operation permit is required under s. 285.60 but not under the federal clean air act shall pay to the department a fee of $400 per year, except as provided in par. (b).

(b) An owner or operator to whom the department has issued an operation permit for one or more points of emission from an existing source in order to limit the source's potential to emit so that the existing source is not a major source shall pay to the department a fee of $4,100 per year if the operation permit includes federally enforceable conditions that allow the amount of emissions to be at least 80 percent of the amount that results in a stationary source being classified as a major source.

(bm) The fees collected under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.370 (4) (cm) for the following purposes as they relate to stationary sources for which an operation permit is required under s. 285.60 but not under the federal clean air act:

1. The costs of reviewing and acting on applications for operation permits; implementing and enforcing operation permits except for court costs or other costs associated with an enforcement action; monitoring emissions and ambient air quality; preparing rules and materials to assist persons who are subject to the operation permit program; ambient air quality modeling; preparing and maintaining emission inventories; and any other direct and indirect costs of the operation permit program.

2. Costs of any other activities related to stationary sources of air contaminants.

(3) Asbestos inspection fees.

(a) The department may promulgate rules for the payment and collection of fees for inspecting nonresidential asbestos demolition and renovation projects regulated by the department. The fees under this subsection for an inspection plus the fee under sub. (1) (c) may not exceed $700 if the combined square and linear footage of friable asbestos-containing material involved in the project is less than 5,000. The fees under this subsection for an inspection plus the fee under sub. (1) (c) may not exceed $1,325 if the combined square and linear footage of friable asbestos-containing material involved in the project is 5,000 or more. The fees collected under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation under s. 20.370 (4) (cn) for the direct and indirect costs of conducting inspections of nonresidential asbestos demolition and renovation projects regulated by the department and for inspecting property proposed to be used for a community fire safety training project.

(b) In addition to the fees under par. (a), the department may charge all of the following:

1. The costs it incurs for laboratory testing for a nonresidential asbestos demolition and renovation project.

2. A fee in the amount of $100 for the department to inspect property proposed to be used for a community fire safety training project for which the department requires inspection.

3. A fee in the amount of $100 for the department to review a revised notice of an asbestos renovation or demolition activity, submitted by a person required by the department to provide such notice.

4. An amount equal to the inspection fee under par. (a) to inspect property for a project for which a notice of an asbestos renovation or demolition activity was not provided, as required by the department, before the project was initiated.

(c) For the purpose of par. (a), combined square and linear footage shall be determined by adding the number of square feet of friable asbestos-containing material on areas other than pipes to the number of linear feet of friable asbestos-containing material on pipes.

(4) Information on fees. In promulgating rules under subs. (1) and (2), the department shall provide information on the costs upon which the proposed fees are based.

(5) Growth accommodation use fee.

(a) A one-time growth accommodation use fee shall be imposed at the time of application upon any person who obtains a certified growth accommodation credit under s. 285.63 (7). If the amount of credit per calendar year varies between calendar years, the amount of the fee shall be based upon the largest annual credit for any calendar year. If the person submits more than one application in any calendar year, the fee for the application shall be based upon the largest cumulative credit obtained for any calendar year. A fee is nonrefundable, except that in determining a fee for an application in any calendar year, the department shall credit once to the person an amount equal to any fee previously paid in the same calendar year. All fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the general fund.

(b) Except as provided in par. (d), if the amount of the growth accommodation credit obtained by the person in a calendar year is less than 40 tons, the amount of the fee shall be determined by multiplying the amount of the growth accommodation credit certified to the person, expressed in tons per year, by $100 per ton.

(c) Except as provided in par. (d), if the amount of the growth accommodation credit obtained by the person in a calendar year is 40 tons or more, the amount of the fee shall be determined by multiplying the amount of the growth accommodation credit certified to the person, expressed in tons per year, by $200 per ton.

(d) A stationary source which is operating without an air pollution control permit required under s. 285.60 but which can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department the ability to comply with this chapter and s. 299.15 after obtaining a growth accommodation credit under s. 285.63 (7) shall be required to pay an amount from $200 to $1,000 times the amount of the growth accommodation credit certified to the person, expressed in tons per year.

(6) Use of certain fees. The department shall use moneys collected under subs. (1) and (5) for the purposes in subs. (1) and (5). If moneys collected under subs. (1) and (5) exceed the amounts necessary for the purposes specified in subs. (1) and (5), the department may use the excess for other activities to control air pollution in this state.

(7) Emission reduction credit fees. The department may promulgate rules for the payment of fees by persons who hold emission reduction credits that may be used to satisfy the offset requirements in s. 285.63 (2) (a) and that have been certified by the department. The rules may waive the payment of fees under this subsection for categories of emission reduction credits. The fees collected under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation under s. 20.370 (4) (co).

History: 1979 c. 34, 221; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 56; 1991 a. 39, 269; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27; 1995 a. 227 ss. 495 to 499; Stats. 1995 s. 285.69; 1997 a. 27, 35; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 28, 276; 2011 a. 257; 2013 a. 20; 2017 a. 59.