The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is seeking public input on a controversial rule change for how to pay industry fees for ozone nonattainment. The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metro area is considered to be in “severe nonattainment” of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008 ozone pollution standard.

The North Texas region has failed to meet air quality standards for ozone pollution since 2008. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is asking Texas residents for input on a new rule change that environmental advocates say would use money paid by motorists to offset pollution caused by industry.

Under the new rule, industries facing fees for the region’s poor air quality would be able to use funds from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, or TERP, to offset costs. TERP, created in 2001, collects fees from vehicle titles, the purchase or lease of heavy-duty and registration and inspection of commercial vehicles, and provides grants for programs meant to curb congestion and emissions.

Katherine Guerra, with the nonprofit watchdog organization Public Citizen, told KERA that TCEQ’s proposal amounts to an “accounting trick.”

“It’s not going to generate any new revenue and it won’t lead to any new pollution reductions as it is intended to do,” said Guerra, who also volunteers for the Dallas Environmental Commission.

North Texas and the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metro area are considered to be in “severe nonattainment” of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008 ozone pollution standard.

RELATED: EPA rejects Texas’ plan to lower ozone levels in Houston, Dallas areas

Poor air quality caused by ozone can lead to respiratory problems for vulnerable populations, including elderly residents and children with asthma.

Guerra calls the TERP program one of the “bright spots” in the state’s air quality control efforts, but said the proposed rule change would turn that on its head.

“They’re calling it an alternative fee program,” Guerra said. “They’re going to borrow from TERP money, which is the program that motorists pay into, to forgive an industry debt and an obligation that Congress deliberately placed on industry.”

Businesses could be fined if North Texas doesn’t improve its air quality Leaders say they need to take critical steps to address poor air quality in the region.

Congress created Section 185 of the Clean Air Act to address poor air quality in major urban areas like North Texas. The EPA would begin assessing a fee on large industries – including power plants, refineries, cement plants, and chemical manufacturing plants – if the region doesn’t come into attainment by the end of 2026.

TCEQ said the change does not propose a fee for motorists.

“The proposed rules would credit revenue from an existing TCEQ program, the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), to offset the Section 185 fee owed by the large industrial facilities,” said TCEQ spokesperson Ricky Richter in a written statement.

In a summary of the rule change, TCEQ notes “TERP is designed to reduce emissions from vehicles, construction equipment, and similar sources, which create more pollution that contributes to ozone levels than large industries in the DFW and HGB areas.”

However, Guerra at Public Citizen said the proposed rule essentially asks drivers to use their money from registration fees to pay off an industry debt.

“If you’re a motorist in Texas and you’re being told this is what we’re taking this money out of your registration fee for, that is, you know, what you expect it to be used for,” she said. “Any other use of that money I think is dishonest.”

The proposed rule change requires public input and a subsequent vote by TCEQ commissioners. The state has to submit its rule to the EPA by November, or the agency “will collect the fee with interest, and the money will not be returned to the state,” read a summary of the rule change.

Guerra said the EPA under the previous Biden administration would not approve an “alternative fee” program, but under the current Trump administration, that may change.

“Perhaps TCEQ believes that they’re going to be able to implement this alternative program without pushback,” she said.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments is holding a public comment meeting on Tuesday, June 10. TCEQ is holding its own public comment meeting on Thursday, June 12.

Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org .