Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP)

 

Fiscal Year 2005 Grants Allocation Concept

At the August 16, 2004, Work Session, TCEQ Commissioners agreed to a funding allocation approach to ensure the Austin and San Antonio Early Action Compact commitments of two tons/day NOx emission reductions by 2007 can be met. The concept also provides that other areas with State Implementation Plan commitments are on target to meet their goals, while some funding is allocated for the remaining affected areas. (Note: the numbers may change as TCEQ works with applicants to complete the FY04 contractual phase). The Commissioners agreed to revisit the allocation issue for each upcoming fiscal year.

• Spreadsheet (in PDF)
• Allocation Explanation (in PDF)

What is TERP?

The Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) was established by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001, through enactment of Senate Bill (SB) 5. The TERP includes a number of voluntary financial incentive programs, as well as other assistance programs, to help improve the air quality in Texas.

The goals of the TERP, as set forth in SB5, are to:

• assure that the air in this state is safe to breathe and meets minimum federal standards established under the Federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section 7407);
• develop multipollutant approaches to solving the state's environmental problems
• adequately fund research and development that will make the state a leader in new technologies that can solve the state's environmental problems while creating new business and industry in the state.

In addition to these general goals, a primary purpose of the TERP is to replace, through voluntary incentive programs, the reductions in emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) that would have been achieved through two mandatory measures that SB5 directed the TCEQ to remove from the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston/Galveston (HGA) ozone nonattainment areas. Those reductions totaled 35.2 tons per day (tpd), to be achieved in 2007. The two strategies that were removed were:

• a limit on the use of construction and industrial equipment during the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. time period; and
• a requirement that the owners and operators of diesel-powered construction, industrial, commercial, and lawn and garden equipment 50 hp and above replace their affected equipment with newer Tier 2 and Tier 3 equipment within certain designated deadlines.

It was also envisioned that TERP incentives could be used to achieve up to an additional 20 tpd of NOx reductions, out of 56 tpd of reductions remaining to be identified in the SIP for the HGA area.

Incentive funding was also expected to be available to help achieve reductions in counties located in the other two nonattainment areas (Beaumont-Port Arthur Area and El Paso County) and in designated near-nonattainment areas, where air quality is approaching nonattainment levels.

Are applications currently being accepted?

Yes, the TCEQ is currently accepting applications under this program. The application deadline is Friday, July 1, 2005. For more information visit the TCEQ TERP page.

For further information please visit the TCEQ TERP home page.