49-410. Arizona emissions bank; program
termination
A. The department of environmental quality shall establish and administer an
Arizona emissions bank. The department shall make information on credits deposited in
the Arizona emissions bank easily accessible to the department of commerce and the
public.
B. After the effective date of rules adopted pursuant to subsection D of this
section, a permitted source that reduces emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, or volatile organic compounds by an amount greater
than that required by applicable law, rule, permit or order shall be granted credit in an
amount to be determined by the department of environmental quality. The credit shall be
deposited into the Arizona emissions bank. To be creditable for deposit in the Arizona
emissions bank, the reduction in emissions shall be permanent, quantifiable and otherwise
enforceable and shall occur after August 6, 1999. This section does not prohibit a
source from receiving credit by means other than the Arizona emissions bank for emissions
reductions that occurred before August 6, 1999.
C. The department of environmental quality shall register, certify or otherwise
approve the amount of the credit before the credit is banked and used to offset future
increases in the emissions of air pollutants. The credit may be used, traded, sold or
otherwise expended within the same nonattainment area, maintenance area or modeling
domain in which the emissions reduction occurred, only if there will be no adverse impact
on air quality. Pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 8, the department may delegate
certification of emissions credits to a county or multi-county air quality control
region, but shall retain authority to register credits and administer the Arizona
emissions bank.
D. On or before January 1, 2002, the department of environmental quality shall
adopt rules for the implementation and administration of the Arizona emissions bank, and
establish the criteria the department will use to determine the amount of the emissions
credit. The department shall establish by rule a fee system to administer the Arizona
emissions bank. A county that has been delegated authority to certify emissions credits
pursuant to subsection C of this section shall establish a fee system to cover the
reasonable costs of certification in accordance with section 49-112, subsection B. In
setting the fee, the director and a county shall consider the likely economic value of
the credits and shall set a fee that does not discourage the banking of emissions credit.
E. The program established by this section ends on July 1, 2019.
|