OAR 340-105-0110: Facility Permit Charges and Fees

(1) Any person who is required to have a permit (including new applicants, applicants with permit applications on file as of the effective date of this rule, and permittees with expiring permits) for a Hazardous Waste Management Facility, or PCB treatment or PCB storage facility pursuant to 40 CFR Parts 264, 265, 270 and OAR 340, shall be subject to charges to cover the Department Costs of processing the permit. These charges are in addition to any Management Facility Annual Compliance Determination Fee required by OAR 340-105-0113, any Corrective Action Cost Recovery charges required by OAR 340-105-0125, any Permit Modification Fees required by OAR 340-105-0113, and any other fees applicable to the facility. The charges to cover the permit processing costs shall be the reasonable Department Costs, subject to the limitation in section (10) of this rule, including, but not limited to, the Department Costs of providing information and permit assistance to the applicant or permittee; regulatory and legal review; permit investigation and evaluation; processing and issuance or denial; and public involvement pursuant to 40 CFR Part 270 and OAR 340. The terms permittee and applicant shall be used to refer to those persons subject to the fees described in section (1). (2) As used in OAR 340, division 105, the following definitions shall apply: (a) Hazardous Waste Management Facility includes: (A) Hazardous Waste Storage; (B) Hazardous Waste Treatment; (C) Hazardous Waste Disposal; and (D) Post-Closure Care. (b) Hazardous Wastes include any residue or hazardous wastes as defined in OAR 340, division 101 to 108, 109, 110, 113 and 120, or 40 CFR Part 261 handled under the authority of a management facility permit. (c) License and Permit shall mean the same thing and will be referred to in this rule as Permit. (d) Department Costs shall mean actual costs chargeable to the processing of any permit, permit renewal, or corrective action including, but not limited to, the charges directly attributable to the facility-specific permit or corrective action activities and any associated indirect costs. Indirect costs shall be composed of general management, support, administrative and overhead costs of the Department and the Waste Management and Cleanup Program that the Department determines to be allocable using generally accepted accounting principles. (3) Permittees requesting a permit modification not related to corrective action activities shall be assessed fees as listed in OAR 340-105-0113(4). Permittees shall also be assessed these fees for agency-initiated, legally required modifications. (4) The Department shall provide to any applicant a good faith estimate of the Department Costs and time frame for the permit process, based on information available. The Department will not assess charges until the estimate is provided. The estimate will be provided within 60 days of the Department’s receipt from the applicant or permittee of a request for authorization to proceed with a permit application, as required under 40 CFR Part 270 and OAR 340, or, for a new hazardous waste storage facility, when the Department first receives both a Part A and Part B permit application. For any application on file with the Department as of the effective date of this rule, when the Department notifies the applicant of the Department’s intent to resume or continue work on the application, the Department will provide a good faith estimate of the remaining projected total Department Costs and time frame for the permit process, based on information available. (5) Upon request by an applicant, the Department will provide up to one hour of consultation prior to assessing charges. Any applicant may request, in writing, additional consultation with the Department prior to beginning the permit process. The Department will charge the applicant for the additional consultation. (6) The Department may begin assessing charges identified in section (1) after the estimate is provided in section (4) for any work associated with the permit process and following the one hour consultation. The permittee or applicant is liable for the Department Costs incurred after the estimate is provided. (7) During any period in which the Department incurs costs under section (1) of this rule, the Department will provide a monthly bill itemizing the Department Costs to date. (8) Upon a determination that the Department Costs are projected to exceed the original good faith cost estimate as provided in section (4) of this rule by 20% or by $20,000, whichever is less, the Department will notify the applicant. Unless waived by the applicant, the Department will provide a revised estimate and a written explanation of the deviation. Department Costs associated with providing a revised estimate or an explanation of a deviation from the original estimate will be charged to the applicant or permittee. (9) Upon completion of permit action, or if permit processing activities cease for any reason, and the Department has not received payments for costs incurred as described in section (1) of this rule, the applicant shall pay the outstanding balance. (10) Charges to a permittee for processing a hazardous waste permit renewal shall not exceed $150,000. (11) All fees and charges shall be made payable to the Department of Environmental Quality.