Section 101.352 - General Provisions(a) An allowance may be used only for the purposes described in this division and only for an affected facility. An allowance may not be used for any purpose that is not described in this division or to meet or exceed the emission limitations authorized under Chapter 116, Subchapter B of this title (relating to New Source Review Permits) or any other applicable requirement.(b) No later than March 1 after each control period, the quantity of allowances in a site's compliance account must be equal to or greater than the total tons of nitrogen oxides (NOX) emitted from all affected facilities at the site during the control period.(c) The owner or operator of an affected facility may certify reductions from the facility as NOX emission reduction credits (ERCs), provided that: (1) an enforceable and permanent reduction of annual allowances is approved by the executive director at a ratio of 1.0 ton of allowances per year for each 1.0 ton per year of ERCs generated; and(2) all applicable requirements of Division 1 of this subchapter (relating to Emission Credit Program) are met.(d) An allowance cannot be used for netting requirements under Chapter 116, Subchapter B, Divisions 5 and 6 of this title (relating to Nonattainment Review Permits; and Prevention of Significant Deterioration Review).(e) An allowance may be used to offset NOX emissions from an affected facility if such use is authorized in a nonattainment new source review (NNSR) permit issued under Chapter 116, Subchapter B of this title with the following conditions. (1) The owner or operator shall use a permanent allowance allocation equal to the amount specified in the NNSR permit to offset NOX emissions from an affected facility. A vintage allowance or an allowance allocated based on allowable emissions in accordance with variable (B)(i) in the figure in § 101.353(a) of this title (relating to Allocation of Allowances) cannot be used as an offset. An allowance used for offsets may not be banked, traded, or used for any other purpose except as allowed in § 101.354(g) of this title (relating to Allowance Deductions).(2) At least 30 days before the start of operation of an affected facility using allowances as offsets, the owner or operator shall submit an application form specified by the executive director. (A) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the executive director shall permanently set aside in the site's compliance account an allowance used for the one-to-one portion of the offset ratio. If an allowance set aside for offsets devalues in accordance with § 101.353(d) of this title, the owner or operator shall submit the application at least 30 days before the shortfall to revise the amount of allowances set aside for offsets. At the end of each control period, the executive director shall deduct from the site's compliance account all allowances set aside as offsets.(B) The executive director shall permanently retain an allowance used for the environmental contribution portion of the offset ratio. An allowance used for this purpose cannot be used for compliance with this division or devalued due to future regulatory changes.(3) The owner or operator may submit a request to the executive director to release an allowance used for offsets. If approved, the executive director will release the allowances for use in the control period following the date that the request is submitted. Allowances will not be released retroactively for any previous control periods. A request may be submitted if the owner or operator: (A) receives authorization in the NNSR permit to use an alternative means of compliance for any portion of the NOX offset requirement equivalent to the amount of allowances the owner or operator requests to have released for the affected facility; or(B) permanently shuts down the affected facility, except that an allowance used for the environmental contribution portion of the offset ratio does not qualify for release under this paragraph.(f) An allowance does not constitute a security or a property right.(g) An allowance will be allocated, traded, and used in tenths of a ton. The number of allowances will be rounded up to the nearest tenth of a ton when determining allowances used.(h) The owner or operator shall use one compliance account for all affected facilities located at the same site and under common ownership or control.(i) The executive director will maintain a registry of the allowances in each compliance account and broker account. The registry will not contain proprietary information.(j) If there is a change in ownership of a site subject to this division, the new owner of the site is responsible for complying with the requirements of this division beginning with the control period during which the site was purchased. The new owner shall contact the executive director to request a compliance account for the site. The new owner must acquire allowances in accordance with § 101.356 of this title (relating to Allowance Banking and Trading).30 Tex. Admin. Code § 101.352
The provisions of this §101.352 adopted to be effective January 18, 2001, 26 TexReg 282; amended to be effective October 18, 2001, 26 TexReg 8073; amended to be effective January 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 83; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 25, June 19, 2015, TexReg 3891, eff. 6/25/2015