Texas Senate Bill 5 Legislation for Reducing Pollution in Non-Attainment and Affected Areas: An Overview of Legislative Responsibilities, Code Compliance Issues and Accomplishments

Abstract

The 77th Texas Legislature, in 2001, established Senate Bill 5, SB-5, which addressed NOx emission reductions by establishing programs to reduce vehicle emissions and reductions due to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. The 78th Texas Legislature further expanded SB-5 into code certification for code officials and above code programs. Using data available from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, TCEQ, the EPA and new procedures developed by the Laboratory, the annual energy savings calculated in 2003 from energy-code compliant new residential construction in non-attainment and affected counties were 252,238 megawatt hours of electricity and 887,564 million Btu of natural gas. The resultant annual NOx reductions were 473 tons. On a peak summer day in 2003, the NOx emissions were 2.44 tons. SB-5 recognized Energy Efficiency / Renewable Energy, EE/RE, as a valid method to reduce emissions. The Energy Systems Laboratory was made responsible for achieving the following goals. 1. Quantify the NOx reductions from EE/RE by county. 2. Assist cities and counties determine the impact of code amendments that they planned to adopt. 3. Conduct training on the IRC / IECC, including ASHRAE 90.1. 4. Set up a certification program for code officials. 5. Assist cities and counties to achieve above code performance. 6. Translate the EE/RE savings into EPA acceptable emissions reductions which can be applied to the State Implementation Plan, SIP.