Coal Mining Program Fees

Environmental Quality Board MeetingJuly 17, 2012

John J. Stefanko, Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mining Operations

• Permits – ~1600 Coal Mining Permits

• Operators– ~500 Permittees

• Program Cost– Total ~$21,000,000– up to 50% Federal Funding

Coal Mining Program Background

• Fee Proposal-October 2009 Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board (MRAB) Meeting– Opposition was expressed– Relegated to committee for discussion

• MRAB Committee Meetings– November 2009-January 2010

• January 2010 MRAB Recommendations• April 2010 MRAB Recommendation

Regulation Development Timeline

• EQB adopted proposed regulations at October 12, 2010 Meeting

• Proposed regulations published for comment March 10, 2012

• No Comments were received

Regulation Development Timeline

May 9, 2012 IRRC letter:•They had no comments•If the final-form regulation is delivered without changes and the committees take no action then the regulations will be deemed approved.

IRRC

• Because permit fees have not gone up since 1982, a permit fee increase is reasonable.

• Any increase in permit fees should be dedicated to finance the permitting process.

• DEP should not discourage remining activities.• It is reasonable to ask industry to contribute

to funding some part of the program.• MRAB will continue to advise DEP on permit

fee assessment and allocations.

January 2010 MRAB Recommendationss

• Fee package should include permit application fees

• Fees should generate about $400,000 per year

April 2010 MRAB Recommendation

No changes were made to the rulemaking from proposed to final version

No Changes

• Permit Application Fee• Major Permit Revisions

Definitions Added

• Workload Analysis– Review time for each application type

• Personnel costs• Overhead • Proportion needed to generate $400,000– ~37% of state share of cost for application review

Fee Basis

New Bituminous Underground Permit $5,750Surface Mine Permit Major revision $300Permit Renewal $250

Example Fee Amounts

Every three years the Department will compare the fees collected with program costs and prepare a report for the EQB.

Periodic Fee Review

• Final-form regulations are in line with MRAB Recommendations

• Estimated to generate about $400,000 per year

• The Department is requesting approval of the final-form regulations.

Summary and Recommendation

Thank you

John J. Stefanko, Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mining Operations