Grandfather Loophole Finally Closed

Grandfather plants will be a thing of the past thanks to the responsible work of the 77th Texas Legislature. As part of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) Sunset Review, the legislature is requiring all plants regardless of when they were built to obtain air pollution permits and reduce emissions. Previously, plant facilities built before 1971 were not required to have a permit but now all facilities must obtain one.

The Sunset Review is a legislative process that occurs every 12 years for all Texas State agencies. Through the Sunset bill (HB 2912) the 2001 Legislature made several other positive changes to the TNRCC that will make the agency more responsive to citizens and protective of public health. Among others, the Sunset bill requires TNRCC to improve its investigation and response to complaints, and to provide complaint response after business hours.

HB 2912 also strengthens the TNRCC's authority to enforce the Clean Air Act. TNRCC will evaluate a company's history of compliance with the clean air laws before it issues future permits and will consider the cumulative risks to a community when it reviews permits. The TNRCC will also control unauthorized upsets through additional reporting and regulatory requirements.

As a symbol of the agency's revisions, the TNRCC will change its name to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The mission statement will also be changed so that the agency is only required to consider the economic development of the state, rather than to encourage it as previously written.

New Emissions Reduction Plan

The TNRCC is responsible for developing a State Implementation Plan (SIP) that demonstrates to the EPA how this area will achieve clean air. However, it is the responsibility of the Legislature to pass the laws that will make the plan a reality. The 2001 Legislature established the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP ) as part of Senate Bill 5 to provide incentives to use cleaner technologies for on and off-road vehicles, to make buildings more energy-efficient, and to fund new technologies.

Major emission reductions are expected to come from the diesel component of the plan that will compensate businesses for the increased cost to purchase, lease, retrofit, or develop cleaner diesel engines. This portion of the TERP replaces the controversial construction ban that limited work hours to after noon. Additional incentives are available for individuals to purchase alternative fueled on-road vehicles such as the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius.

Senate Bill 5 also establishes energy efficiency building codes for single and multi-family homes, and commercial and industrial construction. In addition, grants will be made available to develop emissions-reducing technologies that can be commercially produced. For more information on the TERP and applications for grant funding see http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/oprd/sips/terp.html

MfCA Hires First Intern

MfCA received one of thirty $5300 internships through the Community Intern Program of the U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Justice to hire its first intern this summer. EPA interns were placed in community organizations nationwide where they could experience environmental protection at the grassroots level.

Joan Allen, now a junior political science major at Rice University, was selected to inventory environmental education materials on air pollution. Ms. Allen spent 12 weeks searching for and collecting existing curriculum, lesson plans, materials, and websites related to air quality. She evaluated the materials, selected ones that met the criteria, and categorized them by grade level.

"During my internship with MfCA this summer," Ms. Allen said, "I increased my awareness and understanding of environmental and air quality issues and had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. I am glad I was able to use my skills to improve access to educational and environmental resources for the Houston educators and citizens."

The results of Ms. Allen's internship can be viewed at www. mothersforcleanair.org under "air quality information."

Foundations Give Money to MfCA

Two local foundations have generously donated funds to Mothers for Clean Air (MfCA) to strengthen the organization and further the MfCA mission. Houston Endowment Inc. awarded $60,000 - the largest one time grant MfCA has ever received - to cover operating expenses for two years. The Bridgeway Charitable Foundation donated $12,000 to be used to continue MfCA's actions toward bettering the community. The Houston Endowment is a local philanthropy endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Jesse H. Jones since 1937 and the Bridgeway Charitable Foundation is affiliated with Bridgeway Capital Management, Inc., a mutual fund management company. The firm is committed to donating half of its own fee profits to charitable and non-profit causes.

TAG Awarded to Fifth Ward

The U.S. EPA has awarded a technical assistance grant (TAG) to Mothers for Clean Air for the purpose of hiring a consultant to interpret reports about the clean-up of the Many Diversified Interests (MDI) Superfund site in the Fifth Ward. The consultant will work with the community members so they can better understand the process and have a voice as decisions are made.

The MDI site is contaminated with lead and other metals from a steel castings operation that began at the site in 1926. More recently, over 5000 barrels of used chemicals from refineries and chemical plants were stored on the property. Although the buildings on the site have been demolished and the barrels have been removed, the soil is still contaminated on the site across the street from an elementary school. A chain link fence surrounds the darkened soil and little vegetation is able to survive. The area outside the fence has become a dumping ground for tires, mattresses, couches and construction debris.

Mothers for Clean Air first became involved with the MDI site when it started a chapter organization in the Fifth Ward with an EPA Environmental Justice Grant in 1999. The Chapter conducted several educational activities centered around the MDI site. The Technical Assistance Grant will continue this process of educating the community and also will involve the citizens in making thoughtful, informed comments to EPA decision makers.

The grant award totaled $50,000 in federal funds and $12,500 in matching funds from MfCA over the estimated three year clean-up of the site. EPA awards one TAG per Superfund site to a community group for the purpose of hiring a technical advisor. Mothers for Clean Air will now begin the process of hiring an advisor to work with the Fifth Ward community.

Awarding of the TAG will be announced at a 7:00 meeting on October 29 at the Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center, 4014 Market Street.

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Texas Air Quality Study 2000

Late last summer when many of us were wondering if temperatures would ever cool down, 300 scientists and technicians were studying Houston regional air pollution in planes and on the ground. In a $20 million study, scientists from over 40 universities and government agencies boarded five aircraft equipped with sophisticated instruments and also conducted measurements at 17 ground sites. Scientists established one of the sites on the 62nd floor of the Williams Tower (formerly called the Transco Tower) in the Galleria. From Aug 15 - Sept 19, 2000 they collected massive amounts of data about wind, temperature, and pollutants from the ground up to 1000 feet. Peter Daum, one of the participating scientists from the Department of Energy in Brookhaven, N.Y. called it "the most detailed characterization of sources, transformation processes, and meteorology controlling ozone and aerosol concentration."

Houston's unique air pollution

In the year since the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS 2000), scientists have revealed some amazing facts about air pollution in the Houston region. They have determined that ozone formation in Houston is unique because of its location near water, the intense sources of chemicals that form ozone, the day to day variation in ozone concentrations, and the meteorology. In comparison with other cities the scientists have studied (Nashville and Phoenix), ozone formation in the Houston region is much more rapid and more efficient.

Peter Daum explained that Houston wouldn't have an ozone problem if it weren't for industry and the weather. Daum says that in most cities, the very high ozone is caused by transportation sources and meteorology. But in Houston, emissions coming from industry are causing the very high formation rates. Daum explained further that "In Houston, ozone formation can be as high as four times faster than in a typical city. Planes flying over Houston were able to measure how fast ozone forms. Formation of ozone over the center of the city is moderate, but the rate of ozone formation increases over the Ship Channel. The highest rates of ozone formation occur over the Ship Channel in late morning."

Weather affects ozone formation

Weather patterns in the Houston region are affected by the coast which cause the wind to change direction on some days. This change, called a flow reversal, is partly responsible for the region's high ozone. In the morning, the winds may come from the northwest and carry pollution from the Ship Channel to the south. Later in the morning, the winds may shift in a clockwise direction and carry those pollutants back north of the city. This flow reversal pattern explains why ozone concentrations are often high north of the city late in the afternoon. Scientists explain that every ozone exceedance for the past five years has some circulatory path associated with it.

High Ozone Events

During the study period, measurements indicated that the federal ozone standard of 125 parts per billion (ppb) was exceeded almost every day. Scientists attribute extremely high ozone exceedances called "transient high ozone events" (THOEs) to rapid and efficient ozone formation that occurs north of the Ship Channel. THOES are characterized by an increase of at least 40 ppb ozone the hour before the episode and a decrease of at least 40 ppb ozone afterwards. These compact plumes of very high ozone can be blown in such a way that ozone exceedances can occur without being recorded on any monitor in the area.

Scientists will continue to analyze the data they collected in 2000 for another two to three years. From information about how ozone forms and moves across the region, business, industry and policy makers will be able to determine how to reduce it. For the latest detailed information, look on the TNRCC Air Quality Science Evaluation website http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/aqp/airquality_science.html#topic1.

Free Video on Urban Sprawl

The PBS film, Save Our Land, Save Our Towns, examines causes and effects, and remedies for suburban sprawl. Mothers for Clean Air will co-sponsor a screening of the film, on Friday, October 26, at 3015 Richmond just west of Kirby. The screening will begin at 7:00 PM followed by a brief discussion. A small reception will start the evening at 6:15 PM and provide an opportunity for conversation and networking. The event is free and open to the public.

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Ship Channel Tour on the M.V Sam Houston

Experience Houston's petrochemical complex up close on MfCA's Fourth Annual Houston Ship Channel Tour.
Sunday November 4
1:30 - 3:30 PM
Free - Families Welcome
Reservations Required by October 30
(713)526-0110