75-2-301. Local air pollution control programs. (1) After public hearing, a municipality or county may establish and administer a local air pollution control program if the program is consistent with this chapter and is approved by the board.
     (2) If a local air pollution control program established by a county encompasses all or part of a municipality, the county and each municipality shall approve the program in accordance with subsection (1).
     (3) (a) Except as provided in subsection (4), the board by order may approve a local air pollution control program that:
     (i) provides by ordinance or local law for requirements compatible with, more stringent than, or more extensive than those imposed by 75-2-203, 75-2-204, 75-2-211, 75-2-212, 75-2-215, 75-2-217 through 75-2-219, and 75-2-402 and rules adopted under these sections;
     (ii) provides for the enforcement of requirements established under subsection (3)(a)(i) by appropriate administrative and judicial processes; and
     (iii) provides for administrative organization, staff, financial resources, and other resources necessary to effectively and efficiently carry out the program. As part of meeting these requirements, a local air pollution control program may administer the permit fee provisions of 75-2-220. The permit fees collected by a local air pollution control program must be deposited in a county special revenue fund to be used by the local air pollution control program for administration of permitting activities.
     (b) Board approval of an ordinance or local law that is more stringent than the comparable state law is subject to the provisions of 75-2-207.
     (4) Except for those emergency powers provided for in 75-2-402, the board may not delegate to a local air pollution control program the authority to control any air pollutant source that:
     (a) requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement in accordance with Title 75, chapter 1, part 2;
     (b) is subject to regulation under the Montana Major Facility Siting Act, as provided in Title 75, chapter 20; or
     (c) has the potential to emit 250 tons a year or more of any pollutant subject to regulation under this chapter, including fugitive emissions, unless the authority to control the source was delegated to a local air pollution control program prior to January 1, 1991.
     (5) If the board finds that the location, character, or extent of particular concentrations of population, air pollutant sources, or geographic, topographic, or meteorological considerations or any combination of these make impracticable the maintenance of appropriate levels of air quality without an areawide air pollution control program, the board may determine the boundaries within which the program is necessary and require it as the only acceptable alternative to direct state administration.
     (6) If the board has reason to believe that any part of an air pollution control program in force under this section is either inadequate to prevent and control air pollution in the jurisdiction to which the program relates or is being administered in a manner inconsistent with this chapter, the board shall, on notice, conduct a hearing on the matter.
     (7) If, after the hearing, the board determines that any part of the program is inadequate to prevent and control air pollution in the jurisdiction to which it relates or that it is not accomplishing the purposes of this chapter, it shall require that necessary corrective measures be taken within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days.
     (8) If the jurisdiction fails to take these measures within the time required, the department shall administer within that jurisdiction all of the provisions of this chapter, including the terms contained in any applicable board order, that are necessary to correct the deficiencies found by the board. The department's control program supersedes all municipal or county air pollution laws, rules, ordinances, and requirements in the affected jurisdiction. The cost of the department's action is a charge on the jurisdiction.
     (9) If the board finds that the control of a particular air pollutant source because of its complexity or magnitude is beyond the reasonable capability of the local jurisdiction or may be more efficiently and economically performed at the state level, it may direct the department to assume and retain control over that air pollutant source. A charge may not be assessed against the jurisdiction. Findings made under this subsection may be either on the basis of the nature of the sources involved or on the basis of their relationship to the size of the communities in which they are located.
     (10) A jurisdiction in which the department administers all or part of its air pollution control program under subsection (8) may, with the approval of the board, establish or resume an air pollution control program that meets the requirements of subsection (3).
     (11) A municipality or county may administer all or part of its air pollution control program in cooperation with one or more municipalities or counties of this state or of other states.

     History: En. Sec. 16, Ch. 313, L. 1967; amd. Sec. 23, Ch. 349, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 69-3919; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 560, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 141, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 502, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 471, L. 1995.