Maret, Isabelle, L. King, B. Sexton, and R. Arscott. Air Quality Planning in the Houston-Gaveston Region. Texas Southern University. 2004.
This research aims to overview and assess the Houston – Galveston Area’s (HGA) air quality plans, as well as describe the process by which these plans were created. It focuses largely on the State Implementation Plan, but also evaluates the City of Houston Emissions Reduction Plan, The Port of Houston Authority Air Quality Plan, and the efforts of the Houston Galveston Area Council (H-GAC).
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
This report was produced by researchers at Texas Southern University for the 2004 Blueprint Houston Planning Study.
Dr. Isabelle Maret was the Project Investigator. She is an Assistant Professor for TSU's School of Public Affairs, and she does not appear to have any other work related to air quality.
Lester King was the Research Assistant Leaders. He since has obtained his PhD and become a Sustainability Fellow at Rice University. He specializes in sustainable development, and has experience facilitating stakeholder meetings for federal, state, and municipal projects.
Brian Sexton and Raashan Arscott were both Research Assistants.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?
Houston should be working to create a "proactive management" system for air quality management, which would require the re-establishment of organizational structures.
The table below was taken from Angel and Sandhu's 2007 paper on proactive management.
This model was used by a metropolitan planning organization in Alberta, Canada called the Clean Air Strategic Alliance. They established specific membership categories including governments, industrial associations, and public interests, which Angle and Sandhu suggested to be beneficial be indicating the orientation of individual members and allowing the government to move from a mediator position to an active stakeholder position.
This management system requires an autonomous entity with its own board of directors.
Houston does not have a comprehensive plan to deal with the city's large sprawl and its growing population, expected to double within 25 years due due an expected floor of immigrants.
Stakeholder groups hold high importance and potential in improving air quality.
New initiatives need to be taken to increase citizen participation.
More industry regulations is necessary.
4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
Establishes the necessity of air quality plans in the region. HGA is in non-attainment for NAAQS for ozone. Between 1999 and 2001, the region had the most days (251) exceeding the federal health standard for the maximum 1-hour standard for ground level ozone in the nation.
In order to make recommendations for Houston's air quality management strategies, the report thoroughly fleshes out all participants in the current structure and the responsibilities and powers they have. This is useful to our research project to understand the big picture of air pollution governance in Houston.
Environmental Protection Agency develops and enforces regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress, as well as responsible for researching and setting national standards for environmental programs. The EPA delegates the enforcement of compliance, air monitoring, and issuing permits.
TCEQ is the state level environmental agency. The SIP for air quality is developed by the TCEQ's Environmental Planning and Implementation Division.
At the county level, the Harris County Pollution Control Division (HCPC) focuses primarily on enforcement. HCPC installs their own devices for air monitoring and enforces codes and standards based on the pollution levels recorded. They are also responsible for responding to citizen's complaints about air pollution at the county level. This organization presumably does not have a prominent presence in air pollution research in Houston, since they have not be encountered in previous research.
City of Houston has taken its own initiatives.
Houston Air Excellence and Leadership program aim to identify ways air pollution control policy can specifically target key pollutants that cause the most serious health impacts.
City of Houston Bureau of Air Quality Control monitors and controls pollution within the city of Houston. The bureau enforces federal and state air pollution regulations as well as enforces Houston's Air Pollution Registration Ordinance. They also provide engineering review for air permits evaluated by the TCEQ for new industry proposing to locate in Houston and existing facilities in the city that want to expand.
Houston-Galveston Area Council is an association of local governments and elected officials. (organization profile here)
Promotes efficient and accountable use of local, state, and federal tax dollars, to provide a platform for local governments to collaborate on problem solving, and to provide technical assistance to other agencies involved in air quality.
Board of Directors appoints a Regional Air Quality Planning Committee (RAQPC) to assist and give advise to local and regional governments, transportation organizations, and other agencies. Members represent the 8 counties in the region, cities, pollution control officials, industry, environmental organizations, citizens’ organizations, area associations, Greater Houston Partnership, Transportation Policy Council, METRO and TxDOT. In the reccommendations, the researchers suggest that RAQPC is the stakeholder group with the greatest potential in the to create corporation in the region for solving air pollution problems. They suggest that the committee becomes more proactive by developing its own Vision and Mission, and that it should also become more autonomous.
Stakeholder organizations include the Galveston Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) and Mothers for Clean Air (MfCA) (which combined to make Air Alliance Houston, discussed in this annotation). The Electric Auto Association is also mentioned as a special interest organization that works to reduce pollution through alternative fuels and technologies.
Justifies more regulation for industry by citing industry as the second biggest contributor to ozone pollution in the area. According to Environmental Defense, point sources contributed 54,000 and 90,000 tons of VOCs and NOx respectively in HGA in 1999.
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?
"In order for Houston to be competitive in the modern economy, there should be a comprehensive plan that can guide development and act as a future guide for the goals, which citizens choose to attain. One major element in the comprehensive plan should be the environmental management component, which can be used to manage natural resources such as air quality in our region."
"Houston has until 2007 to meet the regulations set by the EPA. The massive effects of sprawl and the absence of a comprehensive plan create adverse effects to Houston’s otherwise massive potential to be a great city. Added to this the culture of low social capital in the area of environmental policy, this creates a scenario where government institutions end up planning specifically for business and industry."
"Despite efforts by the City of Houston to create a plan for internal operations reduction of emissions, it is still indicative that they have not created a comprehensive plan for citywide reductions. This identifies a lack on the part of the city to proactively combat the issue of emissions reduction. According to the Clean Air Act, municipalities have basically the same enforcement powers as do the state commission, except that they should not compromise state legislature."
6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
The plans for air pollution control were researched and outlined in the report.
HGA State Implementation Plan
Rate of Progress reports (ROP) can be used to observe and identify shift in the EPA's focus. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments require areas that do not comply with NAAQS standards to submit ROP plans to demonstrate progress towards the goal. The timeline below demonstrates the EPA's shift in focus from VOC emission reduction to NOx reductions.
1990-1996: ROP for 15% reduction of VOC emissions
1996-1999: ROP for 6% reduction of VOC and 3% reduction of NOx
1999-2002: ROP for 6% reduction of VOC and 3% reduction of NOx
2002-2005: ROP for 9% reduction of NOx
2005-2007: ROP for 6% reduction of NOx
The state was first required to prepare an SIP in 1990 when the NAAQS were established. The SIP had to demonstrate how Texas planned to come into compliance in 17 years (1990-2007). The EPA did not approve the Texas SIP until 2001. In their approval, the EPA highlighed the aspects that were good contributions to pollution reduction, many of which were related to transportation. this included local measures such as speed limit reduction, Voluntary Mobile Emissions program (VMEP), and Transportation Control Measures (TCM). They also pointed to the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget (MVEB) from post 1999 ROP plans.
However, the EPA recieved many comment letters, some of which from representatives of GHASP, Environmental Defense, Sierra Club Houston, HGAC, and industy. Many of the letters urged the EPA to disapprove the SIP because it did not outline enough action to meet the objectives. There was also request for the EPA to commence an Federal Implementation Plan (FIP). However, the EPA felt justified in the approval through the use of the Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM) rule.
City of Houston Emissions Reduction Plan
Another reason cited by the EPA for the 2001 approval of the SIP was the "Memorandum of Agreement" between the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC - the former name for the TCEQ) and the City of Houston. Under this ageement, the City of Houston would oversee the 90% reduction of NOx emissions from the Houston Airport System by 2007. On its own, the Airport System was able to reduce emissions by 75%. The City recommended the consolidation of rental facilities and common bussing system, a consolidated employee parking lot and buses, cleaner buses for the City economy lot, pilot program for fuel cell technology, and voluntary reductions of GSE (ground support equipment) by various operators with supporting infrastructure provided by the City. This brings to attention an extremely important transportation mode when it comes to air quality that has not be addressed in the research thus far.
In 1998, at the Region's First Air Quality Summit, Mayor Lee Brown announced a ten point air pollution reduction plan. 1. Initiate a regional stakeholder process to develop and finalize a regional air plan.
2. A reduction of 65% of nitrogen oxides by the year 2007
3. Reduction of 15% of volatile organic compounds by 2007
4. Reduction in the level of pollution from cars, trucks, and buses.
5. Use of cleaner diesel fuel
6. Further reduce air emissions from industrial facilities in the region especially from older facilities.
7. Public education to inform citizens of challenges and need for progress.
8. Increase scientific understanding of pollution formation and health consequences.
9. Implement Houston Air Excellence and Leadership Program (HAXL)
10. Executive Order to reduce air pollution in city operations.
The executive order mentioned in the last point was passed in 2000, and as a result the City of Houston produce its Emission Reduction Plan. The mayor also created the Mayors Clean Air Team to execute the order. The order specifically called for a comprehensive air pollution emissions reduction plan for each department of the city, procedures for city departments, compliance with timelines, education of City employees on air pollution emission sources, and audits for air pollution emissions from City facilities. Almost all of the objectives of the plan mentioned in this report were transportation related.
New Purchase of clean vehicles and equipment
Purchase and use of low sulfur gasoline
Conduct diesel catalysts demonstrations and retrofit city's fleet
Expand employee commute options
Port of Houston Authority (PHA) Air Quality Plans
In their 2003 Environmental Report, PHA stated air quality was a top priority. They outlined a plan to reduce air pollution in these areas:
Producing emission inventories
Increased technology
Utilizing the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP)
A method to track air quality EMS performance
Combating idling vehicles
Instituting a quality shipping prgram
Particulate Matter control for dry bulk cargo
PHA claims to be the first organization to test modern technologies for off-road diesel engines.
TCEQ is funding the PHA's development of an accurate emissions inventory.
Due to a dust control program, contractors in charge of loading an unloading cargo from ships are responsible for developing a dust control plan before beginning operations.
With input from government and other stakeholders, PHA was the first port to begin testing a diesel emulsion fuel called PuriNOx for cargo handling equipment. The use of this fuel will provide an estimated 25% reduction in Nox and a 30 to 50% reduction in PM. This fuel costs 15 to 18% more than regular diesel fuel, so this cost has been subsidized by TERP.
PHA purchased Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) and propane vehicles for on-road fleets.
Signs have been posted around the port property to make private tenants aware of the no idling rule for heavy duties vehicles, mandated by the TCEQ, to aid in enforcement. Also, they are streamlining their facilities to create more transaction efficient transactions for checking in and out of the facility. This is predicted to reduce wait time from 22 minutes to 6 minutes.
The report concludes that PHA is actively pursuing air quality planning and has had many successful initiatives, but they fail to seek citizen involvement in air planning efforts.
Several other programs were reviewed, but the most pertinent ones were included in this annotation.
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
Discusses the Pleasantville Civic Association (PVCA). Pleasantville is located on the east side of Houston near the ship channel, and is near an industrial area with chemical plants and refineries.
A representative of PVCA expressed that residents feel they have very little influence on the air quality planning process due to a lack of information on ways they can participate.
The area also has a signifcant number of elderly citizens in the area, and the organization is concerned they are excluded from information because many of them do not use computers or the internet.
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
No articles or reports could be found to have used this report as a source.
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
Used a wide variety of sources, from private studies to government organizations, especially utilizing sources from H-GAC and the EPA.
This report did not involve producing new data to analyze, but instead included a review of organizations, research, and findings to give an educational overview of the system of air pollution governance in the Houston Galveston region, and to make recommendations for improvement.
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?
Because the HGA was in non-attainment for NAAQS for ozone, the state was required to create an SIP to demonstrate how it will come into compliance within 17 years (1990 – 2007). In 1997, news standards for NAQQS were implemented by the EPA, replacing the previous one-hour ozone NAAQS with an eight-hour NAAQS set at 0.08 ppm. By 2007 the area has still not reached attainment. On June 15, 2007, the state requested that the Houston Galveston area be reclassified from a moderate to a severe nonattainment area for the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS, with an attainment deadline of June 15, 2019. On March 27, 2008, the EPA made a stricter standard for the primary and secondary eight-hour ozone NAAQS to 0.075 parts per million. On January 19, 2009, the EPA proposed to lower the primary ozone NAAQS to a range of 0.060–0.070 ppm and proposed a separate secondary NAAQS based on cumulative seasonal average ozone concentrations. On September 2, 2011, President Obama announced that he had requested the EPA withdraw the proposed reconsidered ozone NAAQS. Source
The report mentions that if the state does not meet the EPA’s compliance deadlines by 2007, the EPA can choose to revoke the states’ authority to create their own plan, and implement a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) instead. On March 27, 2013, the EPA moved to dismiss a lawsuit by the Sierra Club, requesting that the EPA to promulgate an FIP for Texas that complies with the Clean Air Act's "good-neighbor" provision with respect to ozone and fine particulate matter emissions. This provision requires each state to adopt SIP provisions that prohibit air pollution from a state that will "contribute significantly to nonattainment in, or interfere with maintenance by," any other state. According to the EPA, the D.C. Circuit’s recent rejection of its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, left it without authority to promulgate such a FIP for Texas. Source
In November 2014, The EPA proposed a disapproval of important components of Texas’ 2009 Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), and will issue a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Texas. Source
11. Does the article provide information or perspective on any of the thematics already identified as important for the 6Cities project?
Air pollution has been at the center of increasing NGO activities in many contexts, with NGOs playing increasingly significant roles in governance
Fleshes out the duties and contributions of many NGOs in the area, including GHASP, Mothers for Clean Air, Pleasantville Civic League, Houston Renewable Energy Group, and the Electric Auto Association.
Argues that an NGO should be the head of a new organizational hierarchy to implement proactive management.
Increasingly, researchers themselves are calling for specific policies and interventions.
This report recommended an increase for citizen partcipation, and specifically suggested policies and iniativies that could help achieve this by harnessing citizen reaction to the seriousness of region's air pollution problem.
closing schools during high warning periods
empowering citizens to act in more oversight capacity in public hearings
advertising household air pollution reduction practices and the threat to health.
training programs for citizens to collect samples of air pollution to aid enforcement procedures.
There have been important developments in capacity to share air quality information.
The report described the Houston Galveston Brazoria Ozone Alert System, which reads from 27 monitoring stations through out the region. If ozone readings go above the federal standard, warnings are transmitted. The warnings utilize the AQI (Air Quality Index), which was established in 1999 as a system of colors and ranks to communicate the current risk due to air quality. The system sends a notice to the Harris County Office of Emergency Management server. You can sign up to become a recipient of these warnings online.
1. Full citation and abstract?
2. Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project.
3. What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report?
4. Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported.
5. What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report?
6. What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report?
1. Initiate a regional stakeholder process to develop and finalize a regional air plan.
2. A reduction of 65% of nitrogen oxides by the year 2007
3. Reduction of 15% of volatile organic compounds by 2007
4. Reduction in the level of pollution from cars, trucks, and buses.
5. Use of cleaner diesel fuel
6. Further reduce air emissions from industrial facilities in the region especially from older facilities.
7. Public education to inform citizens of challenges and need for progress.
8. Increase scientific understanding of pollution formation and health consequences.
9. Implement Houston Air Excellence and Leadership Program (HAXL)
10. Executive Order to reduce air pollution in city operations.
7. How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report?
8. Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.)
9. Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced?
10. What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings?
11. Does the article provide information or perspective on any of the thematics already identified as important for the 6Cities project?