| be represented on the same application
and will have an application deadline and credit expiration date determined
by the earliest emission reduction date among the aggregated sources.
(2) The executive director shall review an application
for certification to determine the credibility of the reductions.
Each ERC or MERC certified will be assigned a certificate number.
A new number will be assigned when an ERC or MERC is traded or partly
used. Reductions determined to be creditable and in compliance with
all other requirements of this division will be certified by the executive
director.
(3) The applicant will be notified in writing if the
executive director denies the emission credit application. The applicant
may submit a revised application in accordance with the requirements
of this division. If a facility's or mobile source's actual emissions
exceed any applicable local, state, or federal requirement, reductions
of emissions exceeding the requirement may not be certified as emission
credits. An application for certification of emission credit from
reductions quantified under subsection (e)(1)(E) of this section may
only be approved after the EPA's 45-day adequacy review of the protocol.
(g) Credit application submission and conditions.
(1) Beginning January 1, 2018, an application to certify
credits must be submitted through the State of Texas Environmental
Reporting System unless the applicant receives prior approval from
the executive director for an alternative means of application submission.
(2) As a condition for the certification of a credit,
the executive director may specify monitoring, testing, recordkeeping,
or other requirements through an Emissions Banking and Trading Certification
of Emission Reductions Form (Form EBT-CERT), or other forms considered
equivalent by the executive director.
(3) The generator must comply with all conditions specified
in a Form EBT-CERT, or other forms considered equivalent by the executive
director, once the credit is certified.
(h) Geographic scope. Except as provided in §101.305
of this title (relating to Emission Reductions Achieved Outside the
United States), only emission reductions generated in nonattainment
areas can be certified. An emission credit must be used in the nonattainment
area in which it is generated unless the user has obtained prior written
approval of the executive director and the EPA; and
(1) a demonstration has been made and approved by the
executive director and the EPA to show that the emission reductions
achieved in another county or state provide an improvement to the
air quality in the county of use; or
(2) the emission credit was generated in a nonattainment
area that has an equal or higher nonattainment classification than
the nonattainment area of use, and a demonstration has been made and
approved by the executive director and the EPA to show that the emissions
from the nonattainment area where the emission credit is generated
contribute to a violation of the national ambient air quality standard
in the nonattainment area of use.
(i) Recordkeeping. The generator shall maintain a copy
of all notices and backup information submitted to the executive director
and all records required or necessary to verify the certified emissions
reduction for a minimum of five years. The user shall maintain a copy
of all notices and backup information submitted to the executive director
from the beginning of the use period and for at least five years after.
The user shall make the records available upon request to representatives
of the executive director, EPA, and any local enforcement agency.
The records must include, but not necessarily be limited to:
(1) the name, emission point number, and facility identification
number of each facility or any other identifying number for each mobile
source using emission credits;
(2) the amount of emission credits being used by each
facility or mobile source; and
(3) the certificate number of emission credits used
for each facility or mobile source.
(j) Public information. All information submitted with
notices, reports, and trades regarding the nature, quantity, and sales
price of emissions associated with the use, generation, and transfer
of an emission credit is public information and may not be submitted
as confidential. Any claim of confidentiality for this type of information,
or failure to submit all information, may result in the rejection
of the emission credit application. All nonconfidential information
will be made available to the public as soon as practicable.
(k) Authorization to emit. An emission credit created
under this division is a limited authorization to emit the pollutants
identified in subsection (a) of this section, unless otherwise defined,
in accordance with the provisions of this section, 42 United States
Code, §§7401 et seq., and
Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 382, as well as regulations
promulgated thereunder. An emission credit does not constitute a property
right. Nothing in this division may be construed to limit the authority
of the commission or the EPA to terminate or limit such authorization.
(l) Program participation. The executive director has
the authority to prohibit a person from participating in emission
credit trading either as a generator or user, if the executive director
determines that the person has violated the requirements of the program
or abused the privileges provided by the program.
(m) Compliance burden. A user may not transfer their
compliance burden and legal responsibilities to a third-party participant.
A third-party participant may only act in an advisory capacity to
the user.
(n) Credit ownership. The owner of the initial emission
credit shall be the owner or operator of the facility or mobile source
creating the emission reduction. The executive director may approve
a deviation from this subsection considering factors such as, but
not limited to:
(1) whether an entity other than the owner or operator
of the facility or mobile source incurred the cost of the emission
reduction strategy; or
(2) whether the owner or operator of the facility or
mobile source lacks the potential to generate 0.1 ton per year of
credit after all adjustments are applied.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §101.302 adopted to be effective January 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 83; amended to be effective December 2, 2004, 29 TexReg 11038; amended to be effective October 26, 2006, 31 TexReg 8684; amended to be effective August 16, 2007, 32 TexReg 4985; amended to be effective June 25, 2015, 40 TexReg 3848; amended to be effective October 12, 2017, 42 TexReg 5441 |
