Texas Precaster Receives $388K Anniversary ‘Gift’ To Replace Aging Tractors

Design-build general contractor and structural/architectural precast producer Speed Fab-Crete recently celebrated 10 years under its current ownership with a companywide cookout and unveiling of a new John Deere wheel loader and four 2008 Mack tractors

Sources: Speed Fab-Crete, Fort Worth, Texas; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Austin
Design-build general contractor and structural/architectural precast producer Speed Fab-Crete recently celebrated 10 years under its current ownership with a companywide cookout and unveiling of a new John Deere wheel loader and four 2008 Mack tractors. The vehicles were acquired with a $388,000 rebate from TCEQ as part of the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP). By upgrading to the new trucks and loader, equipped with EPA-compliant ’07 or Tier III power, Speed Fab-Crete will realize a NOx emission reduction of about 48 tons when measured against its aging vehicles’ exhaust patterns. The tractors will serve the company’s fleet of precast wall panel trailers, while the loader keeps the batch plant charged.

The TERP money is part of the Lone Star State’s effort to offer grants and rebates to companies, local governments, and other organizations whose diesel vehicles do not meet federal emissions standards. In the most recent funding cycle (there are two per year), the Texas State Legislature authorized $110 million for the program. Money for the first-come-first-served rebates tends to go fast, according to EPA Region 6 Project Manager Leslie Rauscher, and is divided among applicants using strict criteria. The rebate’s specific dollar amount is determined primarily on NOx reduction. Since TERP’s inception in 2001, the program has channeled about $506 million in grants and rebates to replace 7,000 vehicles and other rolling stock, or the equivalent of 125,000 tons of NOx reduction in the life of the program.

All grant and rebate recipients are required to report fuel consumed and miles traveled on any new or retrofitted equipment. Recipients are given the option of purchasing GPS-enabled tracking devices to collect and relay to the state. Applicants must agree to operate the new equipment for at least seven years to ensure pollution reduction in a specific region. Additional information on the Texas program can be found at www.terpgrants.org.