States Letting Air Polluters Off the Hook

Eighteen or more states are failing to collect a total of $52.8 million in fees from power plants, refineries, chemical plants, and other major sources than called for by the minimum standard set by the federal Clean Air Act, according to a new report.

The study, by the Environmental Integrity Project, warns that the fees are needed to ensure that states are adequately monitoring pollution, developing air quality plans, and enforcing permits for major sources of air pollution.

The report identified the shortfall in pollution fees over individual years from 2002 to 2005 for the following states:

–Louisiana ($9.8 million/68 percent below minimum level);

–Texas ($5.6 million/22 percent below minimum level);

–North Carolina ($5.4 million/56 percent below minimum level);

–Florida ($4.8 million/37 percent below minimum level);

–Michigan ($3.9 million/44 percent below minimum level);

–Alabama ($3.6 million/40 percent below minimum level);

–Indiana ($3.6 million/29 percent below minimum level);

–West Virginia ($3.5 million/45 percent below minimum level);

–Colorado ($2.8 million/66 percent below minimum level);

–Oklahoma ($2.7 million/39 percent below minimum level);

–Kansas ($2.1 million/37 percent below minimum level);

–North Dakota ($1.7 million/70 percent below minimum level);

–Kentucky ($1.7 million/19 percent below minimum level);

–Wyoming ($1.7 million/37 percent below minimum level);

–Arizona ($1.4 million/66 percent below minimum level);

–Mississippi ($1.2 million/24 percent below minimum level);

–Delaware ($762,000/50 percent below minimum level); and

–South Dakota ($374,000/61 percent below minimum level).

The problem may be even bigger, the report concluded, since there is evidence that 14 other states have fee structures that do not meet federal minimum standards.

The report calls on EPA to take a more comprehensive evaluation to ensure that low emission fees are not weakening the Clean Air Act permit program or its enforcement.

It recommends the federal agency determine whether states with low emission fees have adequate resources to issue permits in a timely manner, regularly measure emissions and review compliance data on a regular basis, monitor pollution levels, and develop and implement the plans needed to meet federal deadlines for achieving air quality standards for ozone and fine particles.