BEFORE THE BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

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TO: All Concerned Persons

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1. On June 21, 2007, the Board of Environmental Review published MAR Notice No. 17-258 regarding a notice of public hearing on the proposed amendment of the above-stated rules at page 795, 2007 Montana Administrative Register, issue number 12.

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2. The board has amended the rules exactly as proposed.

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3. The following comments were received and appear with the board's responses:

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COMMENT NO. 1: One comment was received expressing concern with the proposed per-ton increase when pollution decreased by 10,758 tons. Commentor stated that he assumed the department will use the increase to keep up with the permitting work load.

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RESPONSE: The board understands the department will use the fees to perform air quality permitting work. Pursuant to 75-2-220, MCA, the department is required to use air quality permit application and annual operation fees to cover the costs to administer the permitting requirements, including application review, implementing and enforcing the terms of the permit, monitoring, developing rules and policy, performing modeling, compiling emission inventories, supporting the small business compliance assistance program, and administering Title V permits.

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COMMENT NO. 2: Commentor also stated that the rationale for the proposed amendments refers to the legislative appropriation as one of the reasons for the increase in fees. He stated that the appropriation actually reflects the budget amount requested by the department with adjustments made by the Legislature. He indicated that the Legislature doesn't pick some number arbitrarily, but starts with the requested amount from the Department of Environmental Quality.

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RESPONSE: The board agrees that the legislative appropriation is set in the context of the Governor's budget, which is established in part using information provided by the department. However, the Legislature establishes the final appropriation.

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Reviewed by:������������������������������������������������������������������ BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

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����������� /s/ David Rusoff��������������������������������������������� ����BY:�/s/ Joseph W. Russell

����������� DAVID RUSOFF����������������������������������������������������� JOSEPH W. RUSSELL, M.P.H.

����������� Rule Reviewer��������������������������������������������������������� Chairman

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Certified to the Secretary of State, October 15, 2007.