SB 238 Summary

• Requires the Department of Environmental Management to enter into contracts with local air pollution control agencies whenever the agencies are willing to do so, effective July 1, 2012.

• Contracts must authorize local agencies to conduct regional ambient air quality monitoring, issue operating permits, perform compliance inspections, respond to complaints and emergencies, and initiate enforcement actions within their jurisdictions.

• Requires the department to provide fair monetary compensation to local agencies covering staffing and operating costs, with compensation tied to the Consumer Price Index and reviewed annually after January CPI-U release.

• Compensation may be funded through EPA grants (Clean Air Act Sections 103 and 105), annual operating fees, the environmental management special fund, or other governor-approved revenue sources.

• Requires counties, cities, or towns adopting air pollution ordinances to establish or designate an agency to enforce those ordinances and undertake air pollution control efforts under contract with the department.