30 TAC § 101.305. Emission Reductions Achieved Outside the United States, DIVISION 1. EMISSION CREDIT PROGRAM

(a) A facility may use reductions achieved outside the United States of criteria pollutants or precursors of criteria pollutants if the facility meets the requirements of subsection (c) of this section.

(b) A facility may use reductions achieved outside the United States of criteria pollutants or precursors of criteria pollutants and substitute these reductions for reductions in other criteria pollutants or precursors of criteria pollutants if the facility meets the requirements of subsection (c) of this section; and

(1) the reduction is substituted for the reduction of another criteria pollutant and the substitution results in a greater health benefit and is of equal or greater benefit to the overall air quality of the area; or

(2) a reduction of an air contaminant for which the area in which the facility is located has been designated as nonattainment or which leads to the formation of a criteria pollutant for which an area has been designated as nonattainment is substituted for any air contaminant for which the area has been designated as nonattainment or leads to the formation of any criteria pollutant for which the area has been designated as nonattainment.

(c) The use of reductions outside the United States must be approved by the executive director and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the user of the emission reduction must:

(1) demonstrate to the executive director and EPA that the reduction is real, permanent, enforceable, quantifiable, and surplus to any applicable Mexican, federal, state, or local law;

(2) demonstrate that the use of the reduction does not cause localized health impacts, as determined by the executive director and EPA;

(3) submit all supporting information for calculations and modeling, and any additional information requested by the executive director and EPA; and

(4) be located within 100 kilometers of the Texas - Mexico border.

(d) This section does not apply to reductions in emissions of lead.