The bill would require TCEQ to request from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the amount of foreign emissions that are detected, or estimated to be, at each federal air quality monitoring site located in each nonattainment area.
The bill would not set a deadline for submitting any necessary SIP revisions based on the foreign emissions estimates but the provisions of the bill would expire on September 1, 2027.
Based on information provided from TCEQ, it is assumed that there are 11 nonattainment areas in Texas and 57 monitoring sites that report to the EPA and that the bill would only apply to these areas. According to TCEQ, estimating the amount of emissions from foreign sources at a Texas monitoring site requires complex data analysis and modeling and it is not possible to precisely quantify a definitive amount of foreign emissions that are impacting each monitor. This analysis assumes the EPA would not provide foreign emission data required by the bill within the 180 day time period and that TCEQ would need to contract with an outside entity due to the agency anticipating that it would not have the necessary information.
Based on information provided by TCEQ, the agency would be required to distinguish between international and interstate emissions because the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) allows states to make a demonstration to the EPA that an area would attain national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for international emissions.
Based on information provided by TCEQ, the agency could spend up to $2,500,000 each fiscal year from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Trust Fund No. 1201 (TERP Trust Fund) to estimate the amount of foreign emissions from international sources under Health and Safety Code Section 386.252 (f). The TERP Trust Fund is outside the Treasury and is unable to cover costs related to estimating foreign emissions from interstate sources.
Based on information provided by TCEQ, the agency would use General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 151 funds to analyze interstate foreign emissions. TCEQ estimates $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $500,000 in fiscal year 2025 from General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 151 would be necessary to procure a contract with a third-party entity to obtain the estimate of both interstate and international foreign emissions in nonattainment areas. However, TCEQ was not able to determine individual costs for estimating interstate foreign emissions only and international foreign emissions only.
It is assumed that staffing costs related to implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed by TCEQ using existing resources.
Based on information provided by TCEQ, costs to implement the provisions of the bill would depend on the interpretation of the bills intent in defining foreign emissions because either including both international and interstate emissions or excluding one or the other could determine the method of financing to fund the analysis. There would be no fiscal impact to the state to estimate foreign emissions from international sources using the TERP Trust Fund outside the Treasury for this purpose. However, the fiscal impact from using General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 151 could vary depending on whether it was used to estimate either interstate foreign emissions only, international foreign emissions only, or both interstate and international foreign emissions together.
The fiscal impact to the state cannot be determined because the determination of whether the bill requires the analysis of either international or interstate foreign emissions, or both, is unknown; costs for estimating interstate foreign emissions and international foreign emissions independently is unknown; and the method of financing that would be used to procure a contract with a third-party entity to obtain the estimate either international or interstate foreign emissions, or both, is unknown.