This page notes new developments in the air quality State
Implementation Plan (SIP) such as recent SIP revisions, proposals,
stakeholder groups and guidance documents. Links with this symbol
 indicate the file is in
pdf format (pdf
help).
(Page last updated: 11/17/2008)
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Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) Stakeholder
Group
A new Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) Stakeholder Group has
been formed to seek stakeholder input on issues related to the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's CTG recommendations
for controlling emissions in the state's ozone nonattainment areas.
The CTG Stakeholder Group is open to the public and anyone who
wishes to join the group may attend the meetings. The first CTG
Stakeholder Group meeting has been scheduled for December 9, 2008,
to discuss EPA's Consumer and Commercial Products Groups II, III,
and IV CTG, which are related to coating operations and other
solvent use operations. For additional information please visit the
CTG Stakeholder Group web page or contact Lindley Anderson of
the Air Quality Planning Section at (512) 239-0003.
- Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compound
Study
The final report
Cost Analysis of HRVOC Controls on Polymer Plants and Flares is
now available.
- Adopted Dallas-Fort Worth Attainment
Demonstration SIP Revision for the 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Standard
(Contingency Measures Plan)
-
On November 5, 2008, the commissioners approved the adoption of
the Dallas-Fort Worth Attainment Demonstration SIP Revision for the
1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Standard (Contingency Measures Plan),
Project Number 2008-016-SIP-NR. For
additional information, contact Mary Ann Cook at mcook@tceq.state.tx.us or
512-239-6739 or Kathy Singleton at ksinglet@tceq.state.tx.us
or 817-588-5914.
- Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) Eight-Hour Ozone State
Implementation Plan (SIP) Stakeholder Group
The
HGB Eight-Hour Ozone SIP Stakeholder Group will hold a meeting
on November 3, 2008, to discuss the initial 2018 HGB modeling
results. The meeting will include updates on the development status
of the HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area Attainment
Demonstration SIP revision and a report from the Houston-Galveston
Area Council of Governments (H-GAC) regarding the local meetings
held to discuss potential mobile source control strategies. The
meeting will be held in Houston from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the
H-GAC office, 2nd Floor, Room A, 3555 Timmons
Lane. The stakeholder group is open to the public and anyone
may attend the meetings. For more information, please contact Lola
Brown of the Air Quality Planning Section at 512-239-0348 or send
an e-mail to siprules@tceq.state.tx.us
with HGB Eight-Hour Ozone SIP Stakeholder Group in the subject
line.
- The EPA's 2008 Eight-Hour Ozone Standard
On December 10, 2008, the TCEQ commissioners are scheduled to
consider a recommendation by the TCEQ executive director covering
potential ozone nonattainment boundaries and designations for the
EPA's 2008 eight-hour ozone standard. Backup material for the
December 10, 2008, Agenda will be posted on the
Commissioners' Agenda Web page November 21. The state's
recommendation is due to EPA by March 12, 2009. The 2008 ozone
standard was published in the
Federal Register March 27, 2008. For additional
information, contact Margie McAllister at mmcallis@tceq.state.tx.us
or 512-239-1967.
-
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB)
Reclassification
On October 1, 2008, the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) published the Clean Air Act Reclassification of the
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Ozone Nonattainment Area; Texas; Final
Rule in the Federal Register (
73 FR 56983)
 . The EPA is granting a
request by the governor to voluntarily reclassify the HGB ozone
nonattainment area from a moderate to a severe nonattainment area
for the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The EPA
is setting April 15, 2010, as the date for the state to submit a
revised state implementation plan addressing the severe ozone
nonattainment area requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. The
area's new attainment date for the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard
is as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than June 15,
2019.
- The EPA's 2008 Eight-Hour Ozone Standard
The TCEQ Air Quality Division hosted public meetings in July on
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2008 eight-hour
ozone standard, providing the public an opportunity to obtain
information and offer their comments on potential ozone
non-attainment boundaries and designations. The division invited
written comments to be submitted by September 5, 2008.
All written comments received can be reviewed at this
link.
Background:
The 2008 standard was published in the
Federal Register
March 27, 2008. An
EPA March 2000 memo
provides guidance on
recommending ozone-area boundaries that are larger or smaller than
the Metropolitan Statistical Area. The state's recommendation
on ozone non-attainment boundaries and designations is due to EPA
by March 12, 2009. For additional information, contact Margie
McAllister at mmcallis@tceq.state.tx.us or
512-239-1967.
- Proposed DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration
SIP Revision for the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard [for
only the Contingency Measure Plan and Discrete Emission Reduction
Credit (DERC) Program]
On August 6, 2008, the
commission proposed a revision to the Texas SIP for the control of
ozone air pollution in the DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment
Area (Project No. 2008-016A-SIP-NR). The proposed
rule revision  associated with this SIP is project
No. 2008-011-101-EN. For additional information on the SIP,
please contact Mary Ann Cook at (512) 239-6739 or Kathy Singleton
at (817) 588-5914. For information on the rule revision,
please contact Luke Baine at (512) 239-5856 or Jay Tonne at (512)
239-1453
The commission will hold two public hearings on this proposed
SIP revision for the Dallas-Fort Worth eight-hour ozone
nonattainment area.
- September 9, 2008, 6:30 p.m., J. Erik Jonsson Central Library
Auditorium,
1515 Young Street, Dallas, Texas
- September 10, 2008, 10:00 a.m., City of Arlington City
Council Chambers,
101 W. Abram Street, Arlington, Texas
Comments may be submitted to Mary Ann Cook, MC 206, Air Quality
Division, Chief Engineers Office, Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087, or faxed to
(512) 239-5687. Electronic comments are preferable, and may
be submitted via the TCEQ eComments system, accessible from the
agency website at http://www5.tceq.state.tx.us/rules/ecomments/.
All comments pertaining to this proposal for the DFW
area should reference Project Number
2008-016-SIP-NR. The period for TCEQ to take comments on
this SIP revision will close on September 12, 2008.
- Proposed Eight-Hour Ozone Redesignation Request and
Maintenance Plan SIP Revision for the Beaumont-Port Arthur
Area
On July 9, 2008, the commission proposed the Eight-Hour
Ozone Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan SIP revision
for the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. The commission approved
solicitation of public comment on the proposed SIP revision. There
are no associated rules with this document.
- Austin-Round Rock Eight-Hour Ozone Flex
Plan
On June 18, 2008, the Commission approved the Austin-Round
Rock 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Flex Plan and
Memorandum of Agreement. Stakeholders involved in this plan are
Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties; the
Cities of Austin, Bastrop, Elgin, Lockhart, Luling, Round Rock and
San Marcos; the TCEQ, and the EPA. There are no associated rules
with this document. For additional information please contact Kim
Herndon at (512) 239-1421 or kherndon@tceq.state.tx.us.
-
Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) SIP
and Rule Revisions Proposed
On June 4, 2008, the Commission approved proposal of the CAIR SIP
and 30 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapter H, Division 7 (CAIR) revisions.
The CAIR SIP revision proposal is project No. 2007-051-SIP-NR and
the CAIR rule revision proposal is project No.
2007-053-101-EN.
- EPA Review of the Dallas-Fort Worth Eight-Hour Ozone
Attainment Demonstration SIP
In its review of the DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment
Demonstration SIP, the EPA requested specific supplemental and
clarifying information beneficial to that review in a
March 7, 2008, letter to TCEQ. The TCEQ has provided the
requested information in an
April 23, 2008, letter to the EPA.
- Adequacy Determination for DFW Area Motor Vehicle
Emissions Budgets
The EPA has informed the TCEQ of their determination that the DFW
Reasonable Further Progress 2008 motor vehicle emissions budget
(MVEB) and the DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration SIP
2009 MVEB have both been found to be adequate, and must now be used
for future transportation conformity purposes. These budgets will
supersede the 2005, Five Percent Increment of Progress SIP Budget.
On March 21, 2008, EPA published a
notice to the public of these adequacy determinations.
- 2007 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Cooling Tower Heat
Exchange System Survey
The results of the 2007 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Cooling Tower
Heat Exchange System Survey can be found
here.
- DRAFT SIP Timeline - Estimated Dates and Activities
2007 thru 2009
The following
draft timeline reflects the ongoing SIP revision activities
that will continue through 2009.
- San Antonio Area
Reclassification to Attainment (April 2,
2008) Federal Register Publication
(
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2008/April/Day-02/a6825.pdf)
from the EPA regarding Early Action Compact (EAC)
Designations.
- Eight-Hour Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
Transport State Implementation Plan (SIP) Revision
On April 16, 2008, the commission approved adoption to
revise the Texas SIP to address
eight-hour ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) transport.
No rulemaking is associated with this adoption. The project is No.
2007-057-SIP-NR. For additional information, please contact Kim
Herndon at kherndon@tceq.state.tx.us
or 512-239-1421.
- The
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) Eight-Hour Ozone SIP
Stakeholder Group held meetings in Houston on March 25
and 26, 2008, to discuss the development of the HGB Eight-Hour
Ozone SIP and to seek public input on potential control strategies
for the area. The TCEQ is accepting comments on the technical and
economic feasibility of potential control strategies; modifications
or alternatives for specific control strategy concepts; and
suggestions for additional control strategy concepts until April
30, 2008. These comments are essential to helping the TCEQ develop
the next SIP revision for the HGB area, however, the TCEQ will not
develop formal responses to these comments. The written comments
(non-confidential information) will be posted on the HGB
Stakeholder Group web site. The stakeholder group is open to the
public and anyone may join the group and attend the meetings.
-
Regional Haze SIP Revision comments are now available
(end of comment period was February 22, 2008).
Regional Haze SIP Revision Appendixes are now
available (proposed December 5, 2007).
-
TCEQ comments to EPA regarding the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria
(HGB) Reclassification (January 30, 2008)
Federal Register Publication
of the EPA Proposal to
Reclassify the HGB Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area (December
31, 2007).
- El Paso CO Maintenance Plan SIP Revision
On January 30, 2008, the Commission approved adoption of a
revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) modifying the
existing maintenance plan for
Carbon Monoxide (CO) in El Paso.
- Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Cap
and Trade Program
The Form ECT-1H, Annual Compliance Report used to report annual
emissions may be found
here.
-
PM2.5 Data: Proposed Exceptional-Event Flags for Public
Review
The TCEQ has completed identification of candidate exceptional
event days to be flagged in the EPA's AQS data system. In
accordance with new federal requirements, the proposed data flags
are available to the public for review and comment.
- Recommendation for revised 24-hour PM2.5
NAAQS Designations Approved
On October 12, 2007, the commission approved submitting the
recommendation that Texas be designated attainment for the
revised 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS to the governor for his
consideration.
- Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Reclassification
HGB Reclassification Request (June 15, 2007)
EPA Response (July 10, 2007)
TCEQ Recommended Timeline (August 24, 2007)
- Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOC)
Special Emissions Inventory Survey
The TCEQ sent a HRVOC specials emissions inventory request to
companies that are subject to the HRVOC Emission Cap and Trade
Program. The results are available
here.
- Rich-Burn Compressor Engine Grant Program under Senate
Bill 2000
The TCEQ is now accepting applications for the Rich-Burn
Compressor Engine Grant Program under Senate Bill 2000. The program
provides grants for the partial reimbursement of direct capital
costs for installation of nonselective catalytic reduction (NSCR)
systems to reduce NOx emissions from existing stationary gas-fired
rich-burn compressor engines. Additional information is available
here. A list of questions and responses are also available
here.
- The adopted packages for the
HGB Eight-Hour Ozone SIP Revision, the
HGB Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) SIP, the
DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration SIP Revision, the
DFW RFP SIP, and the revisions to
Chapters 114, 115, and 117 Rules are now available online.
These documents were approved by the commission at the May 23,
2007, Commissioners Agenda.
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