Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to consider Barnett Shale in emissions plan, official says

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAM/WILLIS KNIGHT
Sharon Wilson of Earthworks distributed what she called the "Mark III B.S. protection mask" to people attending the TCEQ meeting Thursday night at the Arlington City Council Chambers

BY BILL HANNA - Fort Worth Star Telegram - June 25, 2010
- billhanna@star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON -- State environmental regulators "absolutely" will consider Barnett Shale emissions as part of a new plan to bring North Texas into compliance with federal ozone standards, an official with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said Thursday night.
Susana Hildebrand, the agency's chief engineer, said "everything is on the table" to bring the nine-county region into compliance with the 1997 EPA ozone standard of 85 parts per billion.

"We are particularly concerned about those emissions in Tarrant County," Hildebrand said. "I'm telling you, we are looking at those monitors. Our plan will look at those sites.

"
But most of the audience in the packed Arlington City Council chambers seemed skeptical.
Calvin Tillman, the mayor of the Denton County town of Dish, which has been a focal point in the testing of Barnett Shale emissions, said the agency is ignoring the natural gas industry as an ozone source.

"Are you here to protect the citizens, the people who came out here today, or are you here to protect large corporations?" Tillman asked. "Because frankly, I don't know whose side you're on."

Hildebrand responded that vapor recovery systems will be considered as part of the plan.
Industry praise
One of the few speakers not critical of the agency was Ed Ireland, executive director of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, an industry group. He praised TCEQ for installing air-monitoring systems and encouraged the agency to install more.
He said the air-monitoring sites in Dish and other locations have shown that the air near gas drilling sites is safe.
The EPA is in the process of reclassifying the Dallas-Fort Worth noncompliance area from moderate to serious. That will officially happen by Dec. 15.
The area's eight-hour ozone average for 2007, 2008 and 2009 was 86 parts per billion, placing it outside the 1997 standard.
The TCEQ will have a year to create a plan once the EPA reclassifies the area, and it will go into effect Dec. 15, 2013.
The EPA is also expected to rule by the end of August on the new standard, which will be between 60 and 70 parts per billion.
Even as the new standard is announced, the 1997 rules and deadlines will still apply, the EPA said.
Anthony Spangler, a spokesman for state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, read a statement from Davis urging that selective catalytic reduction systems similar to one that will be installed on the Lafarge North American cement kiln in Illinois be used on Midlothian cement kilns.
According to Davis, the systems can reduce nitrogen oxides by 80 to 90 percent. Davis also urged the state agency to consider transporting salt water from oil and gas drilling operations through pipelines rather than diesel trucks.
BILL HANNA, 817-390-7698


Read more in the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Filling the gap When the state won’t take on a dirty job

By Editorial - HOUSTON CHRONICLE - Aug. 23, 2009

City of Houston officials have wrestled for years with this dilemma: How do you prevent industrial facilities from violating clean air standards if the state agency entrusted with that responsibility doesn't do the job?
Environmental groups frustrated by that inaction are now taking polluters to court, with encouraging results. In the latest example, the Sierra Club and Environment Texas have filed a federal suit to force Chevron Phillips Chemical to reduce emissions of air toxics at its Cedar Bayou chemical plant in Baytown.
In court filings, the groups claim that since 2003 the plant has illegally released more than a million pounds of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals, including benzene and 1,3-butadiene. Most of the releases occurred during so-called “upsets,” which occur during startups, shutdowns, and other non-routine activities.
The litigation is being brought under a provision of the Clean Air Act empowering private citizens affected by illegal pollution discharges to file federal suits if state and federal regulators do not take action.
This is the second time that the two groups have used the citizen suit provision against a Houston-area company. Last year the target was the Shell Oil Deer Park refinery and petrochemical complex. That resulted in a landmark settlement in which Shell agreed to reduce emissions and pay nearly $6 million for past Clean Air Act violations.
Reacting to the latest suit, a Chevron Phillips spokesman claimed the company is complying with existing laws and has reduced emissions.
Neil Carman, a chemist and the Clean Air Program director for the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club, says a single discharge of emissions from the Cedar Bayou facility 10 years ago created the highest levels of ozone in Houston in the last 20 years.
The director of Environment Texas, Luke Metzger, says citizen suits are necessary “because the state of Texas has failed to stop such violations at Cedar Bayou and elsewhere and enforce the law themselves.”
The support evidence filed in the Chevron Phillips suit is based on analysis of the company's own reports submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It's inexcusable that the state agency responsible for enforcing clean air laws apparently can't be bothered to look at what's right under its nose.

Senate Bill Targets Coal-Power Greenhouse Gases

by Elizabeth Shogren - NPR - All Things Considered - Nov. 3, 2007
This past week, a Senate subcommittee passed a bill that would be a major step toward controlling greenhouse gases. The legislation would target places like Maryland's Brandon Shores, a large coal-fired power plant that emits 10 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Coal-fired power plants like Brandon Shores, located outside Baltimore, are the United States' biggest contributors to global warming. But they also supply about half of the country's electricity.

On a recent tour of the plant, Paul Allen, senior vice president of Constellation Energy — which owns Brandon Shores — discussed the plant's future.

"This power plant serves the electrical needs of perhaps a million customers. It's a very significant portion of the generation supply for the Baltimore metropolitan area," Allen said. Asked how long he expects the plant to operate, his response is optimistic. "Oh decades," he said.

That could mean Brandon Shores will also be pumping out carbon dioxide for decades. Right now, that doesn't cost the company anything. But that will change if one of the bills making their way through Congress becomes law.

The two measures would cover power plants, refineries and factories in a cap and trade system, in which they would need allowances for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit.

At first, the government would probably give Brandon Shores and other polluters some of those allowances. But over time, the company will have to buy them.

The price will be dynamic," Allen said. It could go up it could go down. But if we are serious about meeting the kind of targets that climatologists tell us need to be met, it's possible to think the price of carbon control could be pretty high."

Allen says Constellation will have no choice but to buy the allowances from other companies or the government.

"We recognize that ultimately this is going to be an additional cost of doing business."

Over time, as the cap gets tighter, that could lead to customers paying more expensive electricity bills.

Allen says Constellation can't just install a pollution control device for carbon dioxide, the way it's doing to strip out other pollutants like the ones that create smog and acid rain. The difference is that carbon dioxide is an unavoidable byproduct of burning coal.

Some engineers are working on ways to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants and then inject it underground. But Allen doesn't expect those technologies to be available any time soon.

Allen says the prospect of carbon dioxide regulation is already having a huge impact on his business. For instance, Constellation is planning to build new nuclear plants, mostly because they don't emit carbon dioxide.

"If you believe as we do, that carbon policy is both good and inevitable, and that it's going to have to be pretty significant to make a difference ecologically speaking," Allen said, "then you begin to believe that it has to be at the center of all your business planning — and for us, it is."

Economist Billy Pizer, from the Washington think tank Resources for the Future, says that Allen's statement reflects exactly the kind of thinking supporters of climate change policies are hoping to inspire by making it expensive to emit greenhouse gases.

"Suddenly this activity that had no consequence before has a consequence, a financial consequence," Pizer said.

"So, it's going to change the way people think. It's going to change the way they use the fuels they currently have and it's going to change the way people invest in research and development to try to find cleaner technologies."

Pizer says the hope is that over the long run, the changes will be enough to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that will protect the environment.

But in the mean time, measures like the one passed this week by a Senate subcommittee will have to work their way through the political process. The bill, America's Climate Security Act, was sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA).

After being approved, 4-3, the bill moves on to the Environment and Public Works Committee, which is headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Hear audio and read more on NPR

SB 12: TCEQ considers prohibition against truck idling and Funds SOLAR Residential Low-income Housing Grant Pilot Project

TCEQ - Aug. 10, 2007
Items Approved for Consideration for Rule Proposal :

2007-041-114-EN

SB 12: Idling of Motor Vehicles
The rulemaking will extend prohibitions that were set to expire on September 1, 2007, until September 1, 2009. Additionally, the rulemaking will prohibit idling within 1,000 feet of a hospital, residential areas, and if an electrification facility that provides external heat and air conditioning hook ups is within two miles of where a vehicle may be idling.
Source: TCEQ

Comment by Faith Chatham:
How much sweeter it would be if this rule which was already in effect were PUBLICIZED so that the public understands that it is illegal to leave a vehicle idling near a residence, hospital or power plant! The text of the bill sounds more like it pertains only to trucks than to automobiles.

When I looked up the bill I discovered much more than mere vehicle idling.

SB 12: Relating to programs for the enhancement of air quality, including energy efficiency standards in state purchasing and energy consumption; providing penalties
Author: Averitt Co-Authors: Ellis & Hinojosa.
Enrolled and Signed by Governor 6/8/2007 effective immediately except for Article 5 which is effective Sept. 1, 2007

The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria areas of the State of Texas do not currently meet air quality standards for ozone, and the largest contributor to the formation of ozone in these two regions are mobile resources, such as personal automobiles and diesel engines found in construction equipment. Because federal law precludes state regulation of emissions from these sources, the State of Texas has developed the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) and the Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program (LIRAP), aimed at reducing these emissions. TERP is primarily designed to affect diesel engines, while LIRAP is intended to lessen emissions from personal automobiles. Currently, Texas does not meet the new federal air quality standards effective in 2010.

C.S.S.B. 12 increases the scope of both the TERP and the LIRAP programs to reduce emissions from mobile sources, increases the number of individuals eligible for grants under LIRAP, and increases the amount of the grant for purchase of a new vehicle. C.S.S.B. 12 seeks to reduce statewide emissions from electrical generation units by providing for the updating of building energy codes, encouraging the purchase of efficient appliances, and providing efficiency standards for school districts, institutions of higher education, state agencies, and governmental entities in counties.

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in SECTIONS 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, 1.12, and 1.14 of this bill and to the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) in SECTIONS 3.01 and 3.06

C.S.S.B. 12 amends the Health and Safety Code to set forth definitions for "hybrid motor vehicle" and "qualifying new motor vehicle". The bill removes the limitation on the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program that applies it only to gasoline-powered vehicles, making vehicles that are not gasoline-powered subject to the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program. The bill also subjects to the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program, vehicles that are newer than model year 1980 rather than those that are less than 25 years old.

The bill prohibits more than 10 percent of funds provided to counties for LIRAP to be spent on administration of the program. The bill prohibits more than 10 percent of LIRAP fees collected in a county that is subject to an early action compact and has a LIRAP program from being used to pay for administration of the program.

The bill provides that if a vehicle is to be retired under LIRAP, the replacement vehicle must be a qualifying motor vehicle. The bill authorizes TCEQ, by rule, to provide monetary or other assistance under LIRAP for the replacement of a vehicle that meets criteria set forth in the bill. The bill sets forth the maximum amounts that may be provided toward the purchase of a qualified replacement vehicle based on the vehicle type and model year. The bill authorizes this money to be used as a down payment for purchase of a replacement vehicle. The bill specifies that a vehicle owner's income cannot exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible for vehicle replacement under LIRAP. The bill requires a participating county to provide an electronic means for distributing LIRAP repair and replacement funds and requires these funds to be transferred to a participating dealer within five business days. The bill sets forth provisions relating to documentation that will be issued to a person eligible to purchase a replacement vehicle. The bill sets forth provisions relating to the dismantling and scrapping of a retired vehicle. The bill provides that an automobile dealer that is participating in vehicle emissions programs must be located in this state. The bill specifies that participation in these programs is voluntary.

The bill authorizes the appropriation of money for LIRAP local initiative projects only for programs administered in accordance with the Uniform Grants and Contract Management Act. The bill authorizes a participating county to agree to contract with an appropriate entity to implement a vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program, LIRAP, or LIRAP local initiative project. The bill requires LIRAP local initiative projects to be implemented in consultation with TCEQ and sets forth examples of these local projects. The bill sets forth limits on how these funds may be expended.

The bill adds an amount made available to the consumer under LIRAP for vehicle replacement to the definition of "total consideration" in the Tax Code.

The bill adds violations of provisions of the Texas Clean Air Act relating to vehicle emissions to civil penalties provisions of the Water Code.

The bill repeals Subsection (e), Section 382.0622; Subsections (q) and (r), Section 382.202; and Section 382.217 of the Health and Safety Code.

The bill requires TCEQ to review its current cutpoint levels for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and determine whether a lower cutpoint standard would best serve the interest of public health and welfare and make necessary adjustment to LIRAP. The bill requires TCEQ to seek to work in partnership with automobile manufacturers and dealers in the state and the steel industry and automobile dismantlers to implement provisions of this bill.

The bill amends the Health & Safety Code to delay the expiration of the TERP program from 2010 to 2013. The bill requires TCEQ in administering TERP to hire staff and consultants needed to implement the TERP program in a timely manner. The bill requires TCEQ to make proposed revisions to TERP grant guidelines available to the public 30 days, rather than 45 days, before the guidelines are adopted. The bill changes the percentage of time or vehicle miles that must be traveled within nonattainment or affected counties from 75 percent to 50 percent. The bill also authorizes TCEQ to allow travel on roads designated by TCEQ that are outside nonattainment or affected counties to count towards this percentage. The bill allows TCEQ to consider a project for a marine vessel that operates within nine miles of a nonattainment area or affected county in addition to existing requirements. The bill increases the maximum cost effectiveness amount for TERP grants from $13,000 per ton of NOx emissions reduced to $15,000 per ton. The bill adds marine vessels to the types of engines eligible for grants for infrastructure projects for auxiliary power units. The bill sets forth provisions related to providing funding for and promoting idle reduction technologies. The bill requires TCEQ to encourage the use of external power units at ports and border crossings. The bill requires TCEQ to set aside funds in the TERP rebate grants program for projects with non-road engines used in construction and ensure that these projects are funded at a level commensurate with their percentage contribution to the nitrogen oxides emissions from mobiles sources. The bill requires TCEQ to implement an internet based application process for these grants and notify potential applicants of changes to the program by email and on the TCEQ website. The bill moves the administration of the TERP fund from the comptroller to TCEQ. Changes to the allocation of TERP funds that were set to take effect in 2008 are repealed and previous provisions are reenacted.

The bill makes an institution of higher education based in Houston eligible to administer the New Technology Research and Development Program (NTRD) and authorizes TCEQ to contract with more than one organization to administer the program. The bill sets forth conditions that a non-profit organization under contract with TCEQ to administer the NTRD program is required to meet and sets forth provisions relating to TCEQ oversight of the NTRD program. The bill sets forth provisions relating to the establishment of a testing facility to evaluate new technology that may result in NOx emissions reductions. The bill removes air quality studies from the list of eligible NTRD projects. The bill provides that the selection of NTRD grant recipients by a nonprofit organization is subject to the TCEQ's review. The bill prohibits a nonprofit organization from making a grant of TERP funds if TCEQ or executive director of TCEQ does not consent to the grant.

The bill amends the Tax Code to extend the expiration for the TERP fees and surcharges from 2010 to 2013.

Changes to the amount of the fee charged on a certificate of title that were set to take effect in 2008 are repealed from the Transportation Code. The bill provides that the portion of these title fees that are sent to the comptroller and then deposited to the credit of the Texas Mobility fund beginning in 2008 will be deposited directly to the credit of the TERP fund beginning in 2010. The bill provides that the TERP surcharge on certain vehicle registrations expires in 2013 rather than 2010. The bill amends the Health & Safety Code to authorize SECO to adopt new editions of international energy conservation code and sets forth a process for doing so. The bill adds institutions of higher education and state agencies to provisions requiring political subdivisions to implement certain energy efficiency programs. The bill provides for reporting on energy efficiency programs to SECO that would indicate no change from previous reports.

The bill amends the Education Code to require school districts to establish a goal to reduce annual electric consumption by five percent each year for six years. The bill amends the Government Code to require the Texas Building and Procurement Commissions (TBPC) to develop a list of equipment and appliances that meet energy efficiency standards and assist state agencies in selecting products from that list. The bill requires TBPC or another state agency to purchase equipment and appliances that meet the federal Energy Star standards.

From the text of the bill:
ARTICLE 4. IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLES
SECTION 4.01. Subsections (b), (c), and (d), Section 382.0191, Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission may not prohibit or limit the idling of a motor vehicle when idling is necessary to power a heater or air conditioner while a driver is using the vehicle's sleeper berth for a government-mandated rest period. Idling is not necessary to power a heater or air conditioner if the vehicle is within two miles of a facility offering external heating and air conditioning connections at a time when those connections are available.
(c) No driver using the vehicle's sleeper berth may idle the vehicle in a residential area as defined by Section 244.001, Local Government Code, or in a school zone or within 1,000 feet of a hospital or a public school during its hours of operation. An offense under this subsection shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2009 [2007].

SOLAR ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
The bill also enables a solar energy demonstration program. From the text of the bill:

ARTICLE 7. SOLAR ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
SECTION 7.01. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 39.9051 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.9051. ENERGY EFFICIENCY DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM; GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The commission by rule shall establish grant programs for:
(1) a demonstration project for installation of solar electric systems for new residential subdivisions;
(2) a demonstration project for installation of solar electric systems for new or established affordable housing for persons with low incomes; and
(3) a demonstration project for installation of solar electric systems for not more than three small businesses.
(b) To qualify for a grant under this section, the solar electric system must be a device that:
(1) generates electricity using solar resources;
(2) has a generating capacity of not more than 1,000 kilowatts; and
(3) is installed with a manufacturer's warranty against breakdown or undue degradation for a period of at least five years.
(c) A demonstration project grant program established under this section must provide for full or partial payment of the cost of equipment and installation for the solar electric systems. The commission shall establish for each grant program a competitive bidding process for grant applicants. The commission shall
consider the value of funding demonstration projects in different parts of this state, after considering the demographic and geographic diversity of this state.
(d) To qualify for a grant under Subsection (a)(1), the applicant:
(1) must be a person whose primary business activity is the building of residential housing developments; and
(2) must have installed or must be contractually obligated to install qualifying solar electric systems in each residence constructed in a residential subdivision.
(e) To qualify for a grant under Subsection (a)(2), the applicant must have installed or be contractually obligated to install a qualifying solar electric system for residential real property:
(1) appraised in accordance with Section 23.21, Tax Code, as affordable housing property; or
(2) subject to a contractual obligation that the property will be appraised in accordance with Section 23.21, Tax Code, as affordable housing property within a reasonable time after the grant is received.
(f) To qualify for a grant under Subsection (a)(3), the applicant must be a small business or owner of a small business that meets qualifications adopted by the commission after consideration of federal Small Business Administration standards for qualification for loans from that administration.
(g) The commission shall issue a report to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year summarizing the status of the grant programs established under Subsection (a).
The report must include the amount of money granted to each demonstration project and an evaluation of whether the projects demonstrate the economic and ecologic viability of solar electric system installations.
(h) This section expires December 31, 2010.
SECTION 7.02. (a) The Public Utility Commission of Texas may not spend money to implement a demonstration project grant program established under Section 39.9051, Utilities Code, as added by this article, except for money described by Subsection (b) of this section that is appropriated to the commission.
(b) The Public Utility Commission of Texas may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and other donations from any source to carry out the demonstration grant program established under Section 39.9051, Utilities Code, as added by this article.
(c) This section expires December 31, 2010

.

Read Text of Enrolled Bill
Read History of Bill
Read Fiscal Notes