Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 101 - GENERAL AIR QUALITY RULES › Subchapter H - EMISSIONS BANKING AND TRADING › Division 4 - DISCRETE EMISSION CREDIT PROGRAM › Section 101.370 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
Unless specifically defined in the Texas Clean Air Act or
						in §
											3.2 or
						§
											101.1 of
						this title (relating to Definitions), the terms used by the commission have the
						meanings commonly ascribed to them in the field of air pollution control. In
						addition, the following words and terms, when used in this division, have the
						following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Activity--The amount of activity at a
					 facility or mobile source measured in terms of production, use, raw materials
					 input, vehicle miles traveled, or other similar units that have a direct
					 correlation with the economic output and emission rate of the facility or
					 mobile source.
(2) Actual
					 emissions--The total emissions during a selected time period, using the
					 facility's or mobile source's actual daily operating hours, production rates,
					 or types of materials processed, stored, or combusted during that selected time
					 period.
(3) Area source--Any
					 facility included in the agency emissions inventory under the area source
					 category.
(4) Baseline
					 emissions--The facility's emissions, in tons per year, before implementation of
					 an emission reduction and calculated as the lowest of the facility's historical
					 adjusted emissions or state implementation plan (SIP) emissions, except that
					 the SIP emissions value is only considered for a facility in a nonattainment
					 area.
(5) Certified--Any emission
					 reduction that is determined to be creditable upon review and approval by the
					 executive director.
(6)
					 Curtailment--A reduction in activity level at any facility or mobile
					 source.
(7) Discrete emission
					 credit--A discrete emission reduction credit or mobile discrete emission
					 reduction credit.
(8) Discrete
					 emission reduction credit--A certified emission reduction that is created by
					 reducing emissions from a facility during a generation period, quantified after
					 the generation period, and expressed in tenths of a ton.
(9) Emission rate--The facility's rate of
					 emissions per unit of activity.
(10) Emission reduction--A reduction in
					 actual emissions from a facility or mobile source.
(11) Emission reduction strategy--The method
					 implemented to reduce the facility's or mobile source's emissions beyond that
					 required by state or federal law, regulation, or agreed order.
(12) Facility--As defined in §
											116.10 of
					 this title (relating to General Definitions). Original equipment and
					 replacement-in-kind equipment that are the same or functionally equivalent are
					 considered the same facility. For the purpose of generating a discrete emission
					 reduction credit at an area source, multiple emissions points with common
					 characteristics may be grouped in order to be considered as a single unit
					 equivalent to a facility as long as the total grouping has emissions equal to
					 or greater than 0.1 ton, even if points within the group have emissions of less
					 than 0.1 ton.
(13) Generation
					 period--The discrete period of time, not exceeding 12 months, over which a
					 discrete emission credit is created.
(14) Generator--The owner or operator of a
					 facility or mobile source that creates an emission reduction.
(15) Historical adjusted emissions--The
					 emissions occurring before implementation of an emission reduction strategy and
					 adjusted for any local, state, or federal requirement, calculated using the
					 following equation.
Attached Graphic
(16) Mobile discrete emission
					 reduction credit--A certified emission reduction from a mobile source or group
					 of mobile sources that is created during a generation period, quantified after
					 the period in which emissions reductions are made, and expressed in tenths of a
					 ton.
(17) Mobile source--A source
					 included in the agency's emissions inventory under the mobile source
					 category.
(18) Mobile source
					 baseline activity--The level of activity of a mobile source during the
					 applicable mobile source baseline emissions period.
(19) Mobile source baseline emissions--The
					 mobile source's actual emissions, in tons per year, occurring prior to a mobile
					 emission reduction strategy calculated as the lowest of the historical adjusted
					 emissions or state implementation plan emissions.
(20) Mobile source baseline emissions
					 rate--The mobile source's rate of emissions per unit of mobile source baseline
					 activity during the mobile source baseline emissions period.
(21) Ozone season--The portion of the year
					 when ozone monitoring is federally required to occur in a specific geographic
					 area, as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 58, Appendix D,
					 §2.5.
(22) Point source--A
					 facility included in the agency's emissions inventory under the point source
					 category.
(23) Primarily
					 operated--When the activity is at least 75% within a specific nonattainment
					 area.
(24) Projection-base
					 year--The year of the emissions inventory used to project or forecast
					 future-year emissions for modeling point sources in a state implementation plan
					 revision.
(25) Protocol--A
					 replicable and workable method of estimating emission rates or activity levels
					 used to calculate the amount of emission reduction generated or credits
					 required for facilities or mobile sources.
(26) Quantifiable--An emission reduction that
					 can be measured or estimated with confidence using replicable
					 methodology.
(27) Real reduction--A
					 reduction in which actual emissions are reduced. Emissions reductions that
					 result from any of the following are not considered a real reduction:
(A) lowering the allowable emission limit in
					 a permit without a physical change or change in method of operation;
(B) shifting a vent gas stream or other
					 pollution or waste stream to another site;
(C) a mobile source that is not capable of
					 being operated as intended; or
(D)
					 a change in an emissions factor or emissions calculation equation.