Summary: North Central Texas, including Parker County, is using its federal EPA "green" money on "air quality issues related to transportation." Solutions include incentives for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel vehicles.
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Transportation is polluting North Texas air, so federal "green" money is planned for "air quality issues related to transportation."
Transportation is polluting North Texas air, so the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), including Parker County, is using its federal EPA "green"money on "air quality issues related to transportation," which includes incentives to local governments and companies to replace high-pollution diesel vehicles with cleaner options, including
• incentives to replace high-pollution diesel vehicles with cleaner options, including electric vehicles and lower-emission engines.
• a pilot program for hydrogen fuel vehicles
• incentives to replace gas-fueled lawn equipment with electric options. [1]
Through the federal 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Environmental Projection Agency (EPA) will award $4.6 billion to local governments and states to develop regional climate action plans.
Willow Park is getting it's piece of the federal "green" money through two sources, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Air Quality Improvement Plan and the Dallas-Fort Worth Air Quality Improvement Plan.
After gauging interest through an online survey and open house meetings, the NCTCOG has developed a plan that focuses heavily on air quality issues related to transportation. North Texas is seeking between $105 and $185 million for transportation programs. [1]
In 2022, the Council was awarded a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency grant to develop a regional climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The council’s clean vehicle and equipment program would carry the highest price tag — between $30 and $50 million. Most of the funds would go toward providing incentives to local governments and companies to replace high-pollution diesel vehicles with cleaner options, including electric vehicles and lower-emission engines. Other programs include a pilot program for hydrogen fuel vehicles and incentives to replace gas-fueled lawn equipment with electric options. [1]
The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments, established to assist in regional planning for 16 counties in North Texas. The counties served by NCTCOG include Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise. This service area incorporates all of the 11- county Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). [2]
Sources and Resources
[1] Transportation is polluting North Texas air. Officials seek about $200M for solutions, Fort Worth Report, 13 February, 2024
With just weeks to finalize Dallas-Fort Worth’s air quality improvement plan, North Central Texas Council of Governments staff have revealed its initial ideas for reducing pollution across the region.
In 2022, the council was awarded a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency grant to develop a regional climate action plan. Along with Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Austin and the state of Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth is expected to submit its preliminary, short-term plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by March 1.
Using funding made available by the Inflation Reduction Act, the EPA will award $4.6 billion to local governments and states to execute those climate action plans. That grant application is due by April 1.
Members of the Regional Transportation Council, made up of elected officials from across North Texas, approved a rough draft of the climate action plan during their Feb. 8 meeting.
Although mayors and city managers across the region may hold different opinions of the federal government or about climate change, every official can find a reason to support this plan, said Michael Morris, transportation director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
He referenced the region’s failure to meet federal ozone requirements and the EPA’s recent announcement that Tarrant and Dallas counties will fail to meet new standards for soot pollution if air quality doesn’t improve by 2026
“If you’re into climate change, you should be interested,” Morris said. “If you’re into attainment of the ozone standard, you should be interested. If you do not want to come into non-attainment of the particulate matter standard, you should be interested. If you’re interested in funding transportation and air quality projects, you should be interested.”
After gauging interest through an online survey and open house meetings, the council’s initial plan focuses heavily on air quality issues related to transportation. North Texas is seeking between $105 and $185 million for transportation programs.
The council’s clean vehicle and equipment program would carry the highest price tag — between $30 and $50 million. Most of the funds would go toward providing incentives to local governments and companies to replace high-pollution diesel vehicles with cleaner options, including electric vehicles and lower-emission engines. Other programs include a pilot program for hydrogen fuel vehicles and incentives to replace gas-fueled lawn equipment with electric options.
[2] North Central Texas Council of Governments > Air Quality Improvement Plan > Dallas Fort Worth [includes Parker County]
The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments, established to assist in regional planning for 16 counties in North Texas. The counties served by NCTCOG include Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise. This service area incorporates all of the 11- county Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
• North Texas could get up to $500M in federal funds to improve air quality. Here’s how, Fort Worth Report, 18 December 2023
Dallas-Fort Worth officials are in a race against time to finish a plan that could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to fight air pollution.
• A billion-pound problem: How unchecked “excess emissions” ballooned in Texas, The Texas Tribune 07 June 2023
Over the last two decades, state regulators have allowed companies to release more than a billion pounds of excess pollution.
• North Texas ozone alerts hit highest number in a decade. Are millions in fines on the horizon? KERA, 26 October 2023, [Header Image]
Cristian ArguetaSoto / Fort Worth Report
Fort Worth's skyline, as seen from Arlington's landfill in April 2022.
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