Stakeholder Group: Federal Clean Air Act Section 185 Fee
Background on the group. Meeting schedule, agendas, and minutes. Membership details.
About the Stakeholder Group
The group welcomes input on developing state regulations to implement a TCEQ Section 185 Fee program specific to the 2008 eight-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The FCAA Section 185 Fee Stakeholder Group is an open participation group; anyone may attend the meetings.
Get Involved
We're interested in your input. Please attend a meeting or contact us to provide feedback on our plans.
Upcoming Meetings
We will host two identical virtual stakeholder meetings for the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS nonattainment areas. The same information will be presented in each meeting so you are welcome to attend the one that best fits your schedule. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide informal comments and input on rule development prior to the rule proposal. Informal comments will be due September 9, 2024. The opportunity to provide formal comments will come at a later date.
Spanish language interpretation services will be made available during the meetings.
- Presentation: TCEQ FCAA Section 185 Penalty Fee Stakeholder Update
- Q&A and open discussion
Meeting Help:
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Need registration assistance (English or Spanish)? Email us your contact information and we'll contact you.
Spanish interpretation: After joining the virtual meeting, a pop-up box will appear that states, “language interpretation available”. Click the “choose language” menu in the pop-up box and choose Spanish from the “listen to” options in the dropdown menu. If you do not see the pop-up box, navigate to the upper tool bar. At the top right, click the “more” icon (three dots), choose “language and speech”, then choose “language interpretation” and finally choose Spanish from the from “listen to” dropdown menu.
Past Meetings
Background on the Section 185 Penalty Fee
The FCAA requires a penalty fee if an ozone nonattainment area fails to meet its severe or extreme attainment date for an ozone NAAQS. The fee applies to major stationary sources of ozone precursors, including nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. The fee is required each year after the missed attainment date until the area is redesignated as attainment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If the state does not collect the fee, EPA will collect it with interest and the revenue will not be returned to the state. The fee rate per ton of NOX and/or VOC is adjusted annually by EPA using the consumer price index.
The Dallas Fort-Worth area and the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area are classified as severe nonattainment for the 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS. If the DFW or HGB ozone nonattainment areas do not meet the 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS by the end of 2026, they will be subject to the Section 185 Fee. The fee could potentially be imposed as early as 2028. TCEQ is required to develop and submit Section 185 Fee rules for these nonattainment areas by November 2025.
Members
Anyone may join the group as a member and attend the meetings. We will periodically update the list of members for this group.
Get Updates by Email/Text
Get email/text updates about the FCAA Section 185 Fee. After entering your email or mobile number, select the "Penalty Fee for Major Stationary Sources Under the Federal Clean Air Act Section 185" topic. Don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at any time.
Resource Documents
- TCEQ Section 185 Fee Presentation at the DFW Technical Information Meeting on Aug. 24, 2022
- DFW Section 185 Overview at North Central Texas Council of Governments on Feb. 17, 2023
- TCEQ Section 185 Fee Presentation at the HGB Technical Information Meeting on July 28, 2022
- TCEQ Section 185 Fee Presentation at the HGB Section 185 Overview at Houston-Galveston Area Council on April 26, 2023
- FCAA Section 185 Fee
- TCEQ Section 185 Fee Rule specific to the 1979 One-Hour Ozone NAAQS
- EPA Memorandum: Section 185 Penalty Fee for Calendar Year 2022
Contact Us
For more information or to suggest topics for future meetings, please email 185Rule@tceq.texas.gov or call the Point Source Emissions Inventory helpline at 512-239-1773.