SIP Revision: Houston-Galveston-Brazoria 2007

On May 23, 2007, the commission adopted two revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) nonattainment area.  One is the HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area SIP revision and the other is the 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area Reasonable Further Progress (RFP) SIP revision.  The commission also adopted associated rule projects revising 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapters 114 and 115 and repealing one of the nitrogen oxides (NO_x) standards in the residential water heater rules in 30 TAC Chapter 117.

• About the Revision
• Related Rules
• SIP Narratives, Response to Comments, and Appendixes
• Contacts

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About the Revision

Adoption Date: May 23, 2007

Proposal Date: December 13, 2006

EPA Approval Date: March 29, 2010 (75 FR 15348), approval of revisions to 30 TAC Chapter 115; April 22, 2009 (74 FR 18298), approval of RFP Plan, Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets, and Revised 2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory.

HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area SIP Revision
As part of Phase I of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 1997 eight-hour ozone implementation rule, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was required to submit an eight-hour ozone SIP revision to EPA by June 15, 2007. On May 23, 2007, the commission adopted the HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area SIP revision.  This SIP revision was the first step in addressing the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard in the HGB area and represents the TCEQ's best effort, for planning for attainment of the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard.  The TCEQ is committed to attaining the 1997 standard as expeditiously as practicable and to continuing development of the HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration SIP revision.  The revision also includes additional Voluntary Mobile Emissions Reduction Program (VMEP) commitments, the Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) Analysis, and the Texas 2002 Periodic Emissions Inventory for the HGB Ozone Nonattainment Area.  This SIP revision includes amendments to 30 TAC Chapter 114, relating to the Texas Low Emission Diesel Rule (TxLED) for Certain Marine Fuels; and Chapter 115, relating to the Control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Emissions from Storage and Degassing Operations in the HGB Area.

In an associated rulemaking project, 30 TAC Chapter 117 was reformatted and the 10 nanogram per Joule heat input (ng/J) NO_x standard for residential water heaters was repealed in accordance with House Bill (HB) 965, 79th Legislature, 2005.  The emission standard of 40 ng/J NO_x was retained.

HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area RFP SIP Revision
This SIP revision demonstrates that the RFP 15 percent reduction requirement will be met for the analysis period of 2002 - 2008. Demonstration of RFP is based on the guidelines set forth in Phase II of the EPA's 1997 eight-hour ozone implementation rule.

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Related Rules

The following rules were proposed at the December 13, 2006, agenda and adopted at the May 23, 2007, agenda to support the HGB 1997 eight-hour ozone SIP revision.  These rules do not necessarily represent all of the rules and control strategies that may be required to attain the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard.

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SIP Narratives, Response to Comments, and Appendixes

This section contains downloadable documents with the revisions to the SIP, including the narrative, response to comments, and appendixes.

Adopted HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area SIP

Agenda Date: 05/23/2007

Adopted HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area RFP SIP Revision

Agenda Date: 05/23/2007

Proposed HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area SIP Revision

Proposal Date: 12/13/2006

Proposed HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone RFP SIP Revision

Proposal Date: 12/13/2006

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Public Hearings

Seven public hearings were held on the proposals:

• Houston, January 29, 2007, 2:00 p.m.
• Houston, January 29, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
• Dallas, January 31, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
• Arlington, February 1, 2007, 2:00 p.m.
• Midlothian, February 1, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
• Longview, February 6, 2007, 2:00 p.m.
• Austin, February 8, 2007, 2:00 p.m.

The 45-day comment period on these proposals closed on February 12, 2007:

• HGB 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone SIP Revision (Project No. 2006-027-SIP-NR)
• HGB RFP SIP Revision (Project No. 2006-030-SIP-NR)
• 30 TAC Chapter 114 Rulemaking, TxLED for Certain Marine Fuels (Project No. 2006-036-114-EN)
• 30 TAC Chapter 115 Rulemaking, Control of VOC Emissions from Storage and Degassing Operations in HGB for the 1997 Eight-Hour Ozone Standard (Project No. 2006-038-115-EN)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Attainment Demonstration SIP (Project No. 2006-013-SIP-NR)
• DFW Reasonable Further Progress SIP (Project No. 2006-031-SIP-NR)
• Chapter 117 Rulemaking, Chapter Reformat, NO_x Controls for DFW Eight-Hour Ozone Attainment Demonstration, and Revisions to the Residential Water Heater Rules (Project No. 2006-034-117-EN)

Formal comments received on the TCEQ's SIP-related proposals from the December 13, 2006, Commissioners' Agenda are available online:

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Contacts

For additional information, please direct your inquiries to the appropriate contact person:

HGB SIP Revisions
SIP: Get Information or Contact Staff

Stationary Source Programs Team
Stationary Source Programs: Contacts

Texas Low-Emission Diesel Rule
Morris Brown
Air Quality Division, TCEQ
Phone: 512-239-1438

Designated Air Quality Planning Groups

Houston-Galveston Area Council

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is the region-wide voluntary association of local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast planning region of Texas. The H-GAC’s mission is to serve as the instrument of local government cooperation, promoting the regions orderly development and the safety and welfare of its citizens.

Regional Air Quality Planning Committee

Appointed by the H-GAC Board of Directors, the Regional Air Quality Planning Committee (RAQPC) is composed of personnel from local government agencies and citizen groups along with representatives of business and industry. Personnel from the TCEQ are involved as non-voting members, whose main purpose is to provide information and technical assistance to the committee. The purpose of RAQPC is to assist and advise the H-GAC, regional and local governments, transportation organizations, and other agencies on air quality issues.

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