Regional TERP Overview

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is proud to launch the 3rd Party Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP).  The 3rd Party TERP (regional TERP program) is designed to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions of heady duty diesel engines powering equipment owned or operated by local governmental entities. 

H-GAC has been successful in securing $5,000,000 of TERP funding for our region through the end of August, 2010.  It is intended that the funds will be allocated to a variety of projects based upon an emission reduction / cost ratio. There are 9 fields of eligibility, and several fields have more than one section that will specify a project; each project will need to have a separate application form. 

  • On-Road Heavy-Duty Vehicles
  • Non-Road Heavy-Duty Equipment
  • Marine Vessels
  • Locomotives
  • Stationary Equipment with Engines of 25 hp or Greater
  • Refueling Infrastructure
  • On-Site Electrification & Idle Reduction Infrastructure
  • On-Vehicle Electrification & Idle Reduction Infrastructure
  • Rail Relocation

Eligible projects should focus on:

  • Fleet or inventory expansion of cleaner vehicles/equipment
  • Vehicle/equipment replacement with cleaner vehicles/equipment
  • Engine replacement or retrofit to cleaner standards
  • Building infrastructure for alternative fuels
  • Providing electrification and idle reduction modifications to facilities and/or vehicles
  • Relocation of rail lines to reduce congestion    

Application forms for each field and section of eligibility may be found at the program documents page. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted, and may be submitted by e-mail, mail, or fax. Please note that TERP funds cannot be used in combination with CMAQ funds obtained through the Clean Vehicles or Clean School Bus programs.

For questions or more information, please contact the regional TERP program contact. 

Program Process

Like H-GAC's Clean Vehicles program, the Regional TERP program works through a 3-phase process consisting of the application phase, the implementation phase, and the compliance phase.

In the Application Phase, staff review submitted application forms for completeness, to calculate emission reductions, and to determine cost-effectiveness.

All retrofits must be EPA- or CARB-certified, and all projects must reduce NOx emissions by at least 25% relative to the baseline emissions. New infrastructure applications must include committments from fleets to utilize the infrastructure once constructed, and must include the characteristics of those fleets to assist in the analysis of the application.

Once the application is evaluated, staff will contact the applicant to discuss their grant eligibility, and to verify that the applicant wishes to go forward with the project. At this time, staff may choose to conduct a Pre-Approval Site Visit to verify the information included in the application and to ensure that certain administrative/operational protocols (i.e. Workplace Drug & Alchohol policy) are in place.

Following H-GAC Board approval of the grant award and the execution of a contract, the Implementation Phase begins. During this period, the new equipment is ordered and installed, and any engines that were replaced are destroyed. Participants may then invoice H-GAC for reimbursement by submitting the appropriate documentation.

The final step is the Compliance Phase, in which the project is monitored to demonstrate that the anticipated emission reductions are being achieved. Participants must submit quarterly monitoring reports for at least 7 years, which detail the mileage, fuel consumption, and maintenance records of the funded equipment. Also, H-GAC staff may conduct a site visit and/or audit of the project.

 

Clean Cities/Clean Vehicles is a program of the Houston-Galveston Area Council
3555 Timmons, Suite 120, Houston, TX 77027
713.627.3200 • Fax 713.993.4508

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