Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.81
Liaison Christa Rieck
Submission Date Jan. 4, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Houston
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

Does the institution have policies and/or guidelines in place to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources on campus?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the policies and/or guidelines to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources:
UH Automotive and Fleet management provides alternative vehicles to reduce campus emissions and improve the campus carbon footprint. Alternative vehicles include bicycles and zero-emission electric carts and light duty trucks. Fleet management incorporated an alternative fuel program into a fleet management plan and policy which: "requires all vehicles purchased or leased by the university to be capable of using an alternative fuel. Alternate fuel vehicles reduce the dependency on imported oil by utilizing other fuels such as ethanol (E85), compressed natural gas, liquefied propane gas, hybrid electricity and gas, or electricity."

Part 2 

Has the institution completed an inventory of significant air emissions from stationary campus sources or else verified that no such emissions are produced?:
Yes

Weight of the following categories of air emissions from stationary sources::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 2.10 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) ---
Carbon monoxide (CO) ---
Particulate matter (PM) ---
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations ---

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Currently, the University of Houston is considered a minor source per the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality air emission rules. UH Environmental Health and Life Safety conducts annual internal emission inventories to document the university's air quality status. The University has two specific air permits that have been granted by the TCEQ. One permit is for the steam generating boilers in the Central Plant and the other is for a pathological incinerator. The University also claims several types of general air emission sources that are allowed by the TCEQ without the need for a specific permit. These are called permits by rule (PBRs) and our most common PBR emission source is emergency power generators found throughout the campus. EHLS tracks the use of emergency generators on a 12-month rolling period. The emergency electric generators are operated under permit by rule authorization 106.511. Another common source of air emissions are asphalt or urethane roofing projects or asphalt-paving projects. EHLS requests that an Air Emissions Estimate Worksheet be submitted to EHLS before any such project starts.

Optional Fields

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.uh.edu/ehls/environmental/air-quality/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Fleet Management Plan: http://www.uh.edu/af/universityservices/policies/mapp/03/030104.pdf http://www.uh.edu/facilities-services/services/fleet-automotive/

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.