EPA greenlights Texas GHG permitting program

Nov. 3, 2014
The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) program to issue greenhouse gas permits for new and modified facilities.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) program to issue greenhouse gas permits for new and modified facilities.

The new program will replace the federal implementation plan, which has been rescinded by the EPA, eliminating the need for industry to seek air permits from two separate regulatory agencies in Texas.

TCEQ worked with EPA to write federal GHG permits through a work-share agreement, and the two agencies say they will continue to work with pending permit applicants during the transition period and ensure no unnecessary project delays result from this action.

The authority for Texas to issue air permits for new or modified GHG pollution sources will become effective on publication of the final SIP approval and the FIP withdrawal in the Federal Register. Publication in the Federal Register typically takes 7-10 days following signature.

Beginning in 2011, projects in Texas that increase GHG emissions substantially required an air permit from the EPA, which has since received 83 GHG permit applications from businesses in Texas. The state is ranks first in the country for receiving EPA-issued GHG permits, with more than 50 issued. Of the 189 GHG permits issued nationwide, EPA has completed 61 and the states have issued 128 permits.