BOARD MEETING DATE: May 3, 2002
AGENDA NO. 12

Appropriate Funds for Newspaper Publication of Notices for Issuance of Permits Pursuant to Rule 212(g) -Guidelines for Applications Subject to Regulations XXX (Initial and Revised Title V Permits), XIII, and XVII

SYNOPSIS: 

As part of the application permit backlog reduction effort, the number of Initial and Revised Title V permits as well as non-Title V permits issued in FY 2001-02 has been higher than originally estimated. This has steadily depleted the monies originally budgeted to cover the cost of newspaper publication of the required Public Notices of permits issuance. The notification expenditure is recovered from the permit applicants after the newspaper bureau invoices the District. This action would authorize appropriation of the monies from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Engineering and Compliance budget to cover the anticipated cost for the newspaper public notifications for the remainder of the fiscal year.

COMMITTEE: 

Administrative, April 12, 2002, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Appropriate $155,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the FY 2001-02 Budget, Services & Supplies Major Object, Public Notice and Advertising Account in Engineering and Compliance.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

AQMD's Rule 212 requires AQMD to inform the public prior to the issuance of a permit of the intent to grant a permit to certain projects requiring notification and to fully describe the project in the notice. There are two types of public notification that are routinely issued by the AQMD. Depending on the specifics of the project, notice is required to be distributed to the community where the project is located and/or a notice is required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the project is located.

Distribution of notices prepared by the AQMD is carried out for new or modified projects that have emission increases and are located within 1,000 feet of a school property or have emissions that exceed the threshold specified in Rule 212. Newspaper notifications are triggered for projects with emissions that exceed the thresholds specified in Rule 212 and for projects subject to Regulation XVII - Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Regulation XXX for Initial and Revised Title V permits.

The public notices are prepared by AQMD and sent to the Newspaper Bureau to publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the project is located. The Newspaper Bureau provides proof of the publication and also invoices the AQMD. AQMD's Fee Rule 301 allows the AQMD to recover the actual cost of publication for the issuance of Initial and Revised Title V permits. For non-Title V permits, the publication fee is fixed and is based on the equipment type and the associated fee schedule.

For FY 2001-02, $60,000 was budgeted to cover the expense of the newspaper notifications. However, as part of the AQMD's extensive effort to reduce the permit backlog, the number of permits, including Initial and Revised Title V permits as well as non-Title V permits, issued in FY 2001-02 has significantly increased. As a result the cost of newspaper publication of notices required prior to the issuance of permits has exceeded the monies originally budgeted to cover this cost. Although the cost of public notices is recovered from the permit applicants by AQMD after the Newspaper Bureau invoices the AQMD, this money is received as revenue and must be appropriated into the Engineering and Compliance budget for the public notice account to offset the increased cost of pubic notices.

Proposal

In order to cover the cost of public notices, staff requests an appropriation of $155,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance to the Engineering and Compliance budget for FY 2001-02. This will cover the anticipated shortfall in Engineering and Compliance's budget to pay for the invoices received by the AQMD from the Newspaper Bureau for the publication of these public notices in FY 2001-02.

To reduce the associated costs and uncertainties in the newspaper public notifications, the AQMD has proposed amendments to Rule 301 that will:

• Establish the cost of publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the four counties in AQMD's jurisdiction for both Title V and non-Title V permit notices; and
  
   
• Allow an option for permit applicants to directly arrange publication of the public notice in the newspaper of general circulation and provide the AQMD with a copy of the proof of publication.

Resource Impact

This action will allow Engineering and Compliance to cover the current and anticipated costs through the remainder of this fiscal year associated with public notification of permit issuance.

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