30 Tex. Admin. Code § 101.304 - Mobile Emission Reduction Credit Generation and Certification
(a) Methods of generation.
(1) Mobile emission reduction credits (MERC)
may be generated by any mobile source emission reduction strategy that creates
actual mobile source emission reductions under these rules and subject to the
approval of the executive director.
(2) MERCs may not be generated from the
following strategies:
(A) that portion of
reductions funded through a state or federal program, unless specifically
allowed under that program;
(B)
through the transfer of emissions from one mobile source to another mobile
source within the same nonattainment area and under common ownership or
control;
(C) reduction strategies
resulting in secondary emissions increases that exceed limits established under
state or federal rules or regulations; or
(D) the shutdown or replacement of a mobile
source unless that source is rendered permanently inoperable or permanently
removed from North America.
(b) MERC baseline emissions.
(1) Mobile source baseline emissions shall be
calculated with either measured emissions of an appropriately sized sample of
the participating mobile sources using a United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)-approved test procedure, or by estimating emissions of the
participating mobile sources using the most recent edition of the EPA on-road
or non-road mobile emissions factor models or other model as
applicable.
(2) The historical
adjusted emissions and state implementation plan emissions may only include
actual emissions that occurred when the mobile source was operating inside a
specific nonattainment area.
(3)
The activity and emissions rate data used to calculate the mobile source's
historical adjusted emissions must be determined from two consecutive calendar
years from the five consecutive years immediately before the emissions
reduction is achieved unless detailed operational records are available for
more than five years. If these detailed operational records are available and
do not demonstrate decreasing use due to vehicle age or inoperability, the
historical adjusted emissions for a mobile source may be determined from two
consecutive calendar years up to six to ten consecutive years immediately
before the emissions reduction is achieved.
(4) For a mobile source in existence less
than 24 months or not having two complete calendar years of activity data, a
shorter period of not less than 12 months may be approved by the executive
director.
(5) Baseline emissions
for quantifying MERCs should include, but not be limited to, the following
information and data as appropriate:
(A) the
emission standard to which the mobile source is subject or the emission
performance standard to which the mobile source is certified;
(B) the estimated or measured in-use
emissions levels per unit of use from all significant mobile source emissions
sources;
(C) the number of mobile
sources in the participating group;
(D) the type or types of mobile sources by
model year;
(E) the actual or
projected activity level, hours of operation, or miles traveled, by type and
model year; and
(F) the projected
remaining useful life of the participating group of mobile sources.
(c) MERC calculation.
The quantity of MERCs must be calculated from the difference between the mobile
source baseline emissions and the strategic emissions. The strategic emissions
must be based on the best estimate of the actual in-use emissions of the
modified or substitute on-road or non-road vehicles or transportation system
that will occur when the mobile source is operating inside a specific
nonattainment area. Any estimate of a strategic emissions level based on an
assumption of reduced consumer service or transportation service would not be
allowed without the support of a convincing analytical justification of the
assumption.
(1) For mobile sources generating
credits from a shutdown, the amount of MERCs generated will be reduced by 15%
or 0.1 ton per year, whichever is greater.
(2) The amount of MERCs generated will be
adjusted to account for the quality of the data used to quantify the emissions.
The reduction will be 15% or 0.1 ton per year, whichever is greater, for
records supporting alternative methods approved according to §
101.302(e)(1)(E)
of this title (relating to General Provisions).
(3) If the mobile source is subject to an
adjustment based on both the reduction strategy being a shutdown and the
quality of the data used to quantify the emissions, the total combined
reduction to the amount of MERCs generated will be 20% or 0.1 ton per year,
whichever is greater.
(d) Emission offsets. Mobile source reduction
strategies that reduce emissions in one criteria pollutant or precursor for
which an area is designated nonattainment, yet result in an emissions increase
of another criteria pollutant or precursor for which that same area is
nonattainment and from the same mobile source, must be required to offset the
resulting increase at a 1:1 ratio with ERCs or MERCs.
(e) MERC certification.
(1) The generator of the reduction from a
mobile source with potential MERCs shall submit an application form specified
by the executive director and signed by an authorized account representative.
(A) Applications will be reviewed to
determine the credibility of the reductions. Reductions determined to be
creditable will be certified by the executive director and a MERC will be
issued to the owner of the mobile source except as specified in §
101.302(n) of
this title.
(B) The application for
MERCs must be submitted no more than two years after the date of the emissions
reduction, except as provided by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(C) For a mobile source, the application for
MERCs may be submitted as follows.
(i) For
emission reductions that occurred after June 1, 2013 and prior to January 1,
2015, the application for MERCs must be submitted by December 31,
2017.
(ii) For emissions reductions
that occurred between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2017, the application for
MERCs may be submitted up to three years after the date of the emissions
reduction.
(iii) The application
deadline exceptions specified in clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph no
longer apply after December 31, 2019.
(iv) Emission credits certified under the
application deadline exceptions specified in clauses (i) and (ii) of this
subparagraph or certified for mobile source emission reductions occurring
before and included on an application submitted, but not acted on, before
January 1, 2017 shall be available for use for 72 months from the date of the
emission reduction in lieu of the provisions outlined in §
101.309(b)(2) of
this title (relating to Emission Credit Banking and Trading).
(2) MERCs will be
determined and certified in accordance with §
101.302(e) of
this title using:
(A) EPA methodologies, when
available;
(B) actual monitoring
results, when available;
(C)
calculations using the most current EPA mobile emissions factor model or other
model as applicable; or
(D)
calculations using creditable emission reduction measurement or estimation
methodologies that satisfactorily address the analytical uncertainties of
mobile source emissions reduction strategies.
(3) The expected remaining useful life of the
mobile source shall be determined based on the assumptions used in the models
in the applicable state implementation plan (SIP) revision or on a case-by-case
basis approved by the executive director when a type of mobile source is not
reflected in these models. Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this
subsection, the amount of MERCs certified for a given emissions reduction will
be determined by the emissions reduction for the expected remaining useful life
of the mobile source(s), annualized over 25 years.
(4) The requirement to consider the expected
remaining useful life of the mobile source and to annualize the emissions
reduction over 25 years, as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection, does
not apply if a capture and control system is used to reduce mobile source
emissions. Instead, the MERC calculation will include the following.
(A) The strategic emissions used in the MERC
calculation must include the mobile source emissions that are not captured by
the capture and control system. In addition, the strategic emissions must also
include any emissions that are not controlled by the system after capture and
any emissions caused by or as a result of operating the system.
(B) The initial owner of the MERCs is the
owner or operator of the capture and control system.
(5) An application for MERCs must include,
but is not limited to, a form specified by the executive director that is
signed by an authorized account representative, along with the following
information for each pollutant reduced by each applicable mobile source:
(A) the date of the reduction;
(B) a complete description of the generation
strategy;
(C) the amount of
emission credits generated;
(D)
documentation, including records for approved or approvable methods to quantify
emissions, supporting the mobile source baseline activity, mobile source
baseline emission rate, historical adjusted emissions, SIP emissions, mobile
source baseline emissions, and the mobile source strategy emissions;
(E) a complete description of the protocol
used to calculate the emission reduction generated;
(F) the actual calculations performed by the
generator to determine the amount of emission credits generated; and
(G) a demonstration that the reductions are
surplus to all local, state, and federal rules and to emission modeled in the
SIP.
(6) MERCs will be
made enforceable with an Emissions Banking and Trading Certification Form (Form
EBT-CERT), or equivalent form approved by the executive director, that may
contain special conditions including, but not limited to:
(A) written certification and photographs for
mobile sources that are made permanently inoperable for replacement or
shutdown;
(B) where applicable, a
certified or duplicate Texas Nonrepairable Vehicle Title for mobile sources
that are made permanently inoperable for replacement or shutdown;
(C) a bill of sale and bill of lading for
mobile sources that are permanently removed from North America for replacement
or shutdown and any additional information required by the executive director;
and
(D) a new maximum allowable
mobile source emission limit.
Notes
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