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To cut down emissions from auto tailpipes may be the most direct method of reducing air pollution.
The Pechan Study, sponsored by the Northeastern States for Coordinated Air Use Management, concluded that cutting emissions from mobile sources is more economical than reducing emissions from
industry. Of course this relationship does not hold for all industries and all areas. But in areas of Texas where mobile sources contribute significantly more VOCs and nitrogen oxides to the
atmosphere than industries do, reducing vehicle emissions may be the most economical way to fight urban pollution.*
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NUMBER OF VEHICLES POTENTIALLY COVERED
BY THE TEXAS MOTORIST'S CHOICE
VEHICLE EMISSIONS TESTING PROGRAM
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AREA
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1993 VEHICLE POPULATION
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VEHICLE COVERED BY PROGRAM
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Dallas/Ft. Worth
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2,301,601
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2,301,601
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Total Surrounding Counties
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451,921
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147,411
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Houston (Harris)
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2,048,882
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2,048,882
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Surrounding Counties
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706,018
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64,692
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El Paso
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338,921
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338,921
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Total Vehicle Population
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5,847,343
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4,901,507
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Source: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission,
Inspection/Maintenance State Implementation Plan for Dallas/Ft. Worth, El Paso and Houston Non-Attainment Areas (1996), 91.
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In Texas, three programs have been developed to cut down on emissions from automobiles: an
inspection and maintenance program, a Low Emission Vehicle program for fleets and the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, which provides grants
to clean up diesel engines. The federal Clean Air Act and subsequent 1995 EPA regulations require all nonattainment areas over a certain size (200,000 population) to adopt a vehicle-emissions
testing program, also known as an inspection and maintenance program, to ensure that locally operated vehicles meet EPA standards.* While
Texas implemented a vehicle-emissions testing program in 1995, legislation passed by the 74th Texas Legislature canceled the testing program and mandated that the then-TNRCC negotiate with
the EPA to make it less costly and more convenient to drivers. Run by the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Motorist's Choice Vehicle Emissions Testing Program requires car and truck
owners in Harris, El Paso, Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker and Rockwall counties to have their vehicles' emissions
tested in either an annual two-speed idle and gas-cap integrity test or a biennial (every two years) loaded-mode
(treadmill) test, which uses more advanced equipment. The emissions testing fee is $27 in the Houston and Dallas areas, and $14 to $17 in El Paso.
Should a vehicle fail the emissions test, it must be repaired and retested, although waivers are available. In addition,
the Department of Public Safety is using remote-sensing equipment in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth to target
high-emitting vehicles commuting from adjacent ozone nonattainment counties. Those found with high emissions will
be required to have their vehicles tested and repaired if they do not meet the standards. Through the required testing
in these four counties and the remote sensing of commuting cars from adjacent counties, about 5 million vehicles in Texas will be affected by these regulations.
The 1990 federal Clean Air Act and subsequent regulations also require that federal, state, local-government, and
private fleet vehicles in serious or severe nonattainment areas purchase, lease, or convert an increasing percentage of
their vehicles to clean-fuel vehicles to meet or exceed low-emission vehicle (LEV) tailpipe-emissions standards.
Although Texas had developed such a plan in early 1995, action taken by the 74th Legislature in 1995 forced the state
to revise the program. For example, state legislation replaced the fuel standards with emission standards that included
not only alternative fuels such as propane, natural gas, ethanol, methanol, or electricity, but also reformulated gasoline
or even diesel fuel if it met LEV standards. In 1997 the passage of additional state legislation narrowed the program to
serious or severe nonattainment areas with populations over 350,000 and made the phase-in schedule easier to meet than federal requirements and the previous state plan.*
Under the current Texas clean fleet program, any local government with a fleet of 15 or more vehicles and any private
company with a fleet of 25 or more vehicles operating in El Paso County, Dallas-Fort Worth or in the
Houston-Galveston- Brazoria nine-county nonattainment area must meet or exceed LEV standards according to a
compliance schedule which includes 70 percent of light-duty fleet vehicle purchases after September 1, 2002; and 50 percent of heavy-duty fleet vehicle purchases after September 1, 2002.*
Emergency fleets, school districts, and police fleets are exempt from the requirements. Other entities may apply to the
TCEQ for exemptions from the requirements due to insufficient financing, contractual harm, or lack of refueling facilities, or if the change in vehicles would not be cost effective.
In 2001, the Legislature created a number of fee-based programs to generate money to help clean up engines faster
than regulations required through the TERP. Programs created included rebates on the purchase or lease of cleaner
cars and trucks; grant funding in 38 counties for new engines, repowers, retrofit technologies, fuels or new
technologies; an energy efficiency grant program for power companies and the creation of the Texas Building Energy
Performance Standards among other provisions. In FY 2003, over 43 grant projects were selected in the attainment
and non-attainment counties which was expected to result in a reduction of over 2,500 tons of NOx.*
While some $137 million was expected to be generated for the program in FY 2002, legal cases threw out one of the
main fees in support of the program, and only $20.5 million was available for the program. Because of the sudden
reduction of resources to fund TERP, in 2003 the Legislature changed the basis for the fees, and eliminated programs.
Under the legislation, TERP is being funded by a $15 extra fee on the application fee of a motor vehicle title and a two
percent surcharge on sales of heavy-duty diesel equipment as well as upon on-road diesel vehicles over 14,000
pounds. These fees are expected to generate some $130 million by 2008. In addition, the Legislature eliminated both
the energy efficiency and the cleaner car rebate program in favor of concentrating th emoney in the emissions
reduction incentive grant program to reduce emissions from high-emitting mobile diesel sources in 42 Texas counties. * Recently approved projects include the purchase of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels for the buses operated by the City of
Dallas and a retrofit of diesel engines for a food services company in Houston*.
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