Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
Assemblywoman ALIXON COLLAZOS-GILL
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Assemblywoman GARNET R. HALL
District 28 (Essex and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain high-traffic facilities to obtain permit from DEP and annually implement measures to reduce air pollution caused by facility.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning indirect air pollution from certain facilities and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) Air pollution disproportionately impacts overburdened communities, and that without concerted action, air pollution could worsen in overburdened communities, even as Statewide emissions decline or stay the same;
(2) Air pollution levels vary greatly within towns and even neighborhoods, and the variation is missed by standard monitoring techniques;
(3) Truck traffic contributes disproportionately to air pollution, so targeting high-traffic locations for emissions reductions would allow for a greater air pollution mitigation and the concomitant health benefits at a lower cost than Statewide air pollution reduction measures;
(4) Facilities that generate high truck traffic, such as warehouses, are already having significant impacts in overburdened communities and those impacts are growing rapidly; and
(5) The federal "Clean Air Act" expressly reserves existing State authority to regulate mobile sources that congregate at facilities.
b. The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the public interest for the State to implement an indirect source review program, in order to target and mitigate air pollution from high-traffic locations in the State, particularly those in overburdened communities.
2. As used in this act:
"Defeat device" means any part or component intended for use with, or as part of, any motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine, where a principal effect of the part or component is to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine in compliance with State or federal air pollution laws.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Federal Reference Method" means an air pollution monitoring technique that has been tested and approved as a Federal Reference Method by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Hoteling" means the practice, by drivers of long-haul trucks, of resting while leaving the truck's engine running.
"Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value," or "MERV" means a measurement scale used to rate the effectiveness of air filters.
"Operator" means the person who conducts day-to-day operations at a regulated facility, either with its employees or through the contracting out of services for all or part of the regulated facility operations.
"Owner" means a legal, beneficial, or equitable owner of a regulated facility.
"Overburdened community" means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2020, c.92 (C.13:1D-158).
"Regulated facility" means (1) a facility used for the purpose of goods distribution, whether leased or used as a proprietary facility, which has 100,000 square feet or more of business area; (2) a facility located in an overburdened community and used for the purpose of goods distribution, whether leased or used as a proprietary facility, which has 50,000 square feet or more of business area; or (3) a facility that generates 50 or more truck trips per day, including a port or any part of a port.
"Truck count" means an accounting of the number of trucks traveling through a designated intersection.
"Truck trip" means a one-way trip a truck or tractor makes to or from a facility.
3. a. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish an indirect source review program for regulated facilities. The goal of the program shall be to reduce air pollution emissions from regulated facilities to zero by 2050.
b. The owner or operator of each regulated facility shall obtain, and abide by the terms of, an indirect source air pollution permit issued by the department pursuant to this act. A regulated facility shall not operate without possession of an indirect source air pollution permit issued by the department. A newly constructed regulated facility shall not commence operations without first obtaining an indirect source air pollution permit. Any time a regulated facility carries out a major modification of the facility or its operations, as defined in rules and regulations adopted by the department pursuant to section 9 of this act, the owner or operator of the regulated facility shall obtain a new indirect source air pollution permit.
c. A permit for a regulated facility located in an overburdened community shall have a duration of three years. A permit for a regulated facility not located in an overburdened community shall have a duration of five years.
d. No permit or permit renewal shall be issued to a regulated facility unless the owner or operator thereof pays the permit fee required by section 6 of this act, and demonstrates to the department, in a manner and form determined by the department, the facility's ability to meet its air pollution mitigation compliance obligations, as determined by the department pursuant to section 4 of this act.
e. The department shall consider the following factors or information when issuing and renewing permits, revoking permits, and imposing permit conditions:
(1) the cumulative impact of air pollution on residents and workers within a half mile of the regulated facility;
(2) whether the facility is located with one half-mile of an overburdened community;
(3) air pollution monitoring data, including Federal Reference Method, fence-line, and satellite data;
(4) the results of any inspections of the facility;
(5) whether the regulated facility is in compliance with its air pollution reduction plan compliance obligation, if applicable; and
(6) the modeled emissions rates for the facility's activities, integrating inputs such as truck counts and onsite activities such as idling, as calculated by the department.
f. The department shall establish a community-prompted permit review protocol for regulated facilities. A municipal government, or other community representative organization, of an overburdened community may petition the department to review the permit for a regulated facility. The department shall initiate a permit review process if the petitioner presents compelling quantitative or qualitative evidence that the regulated facility is contributing to the cumulative air pollution burden of the overburdened community. After the review, the department may revoke, or impose additional conditions on the facility's permit, as it deems appropriate.
g. The provisions of each permit issued by the department pursuant to this act shall require the regulated facility to reduce its air pollution emissions to zero by 2050 through truck electrification, the use of on-site solar power generation, battery storage, and managed charging systems, or other means.
h. The department may revoke or revise a r