EPA rejects TCEQ’s regulations on new industrial plants
The
Environmental Protection Agency has rejected another aspect of the permitting system regulated by the
Texas Commission of Environmental Quality.
Companies must receive a permit to expand or add a new industrial plant in Texas.
EPA officials say the TCEQ’s current "New Source Review" program for those permits does not meet the federal requirements laid out in the Clean Air Act. Specifically, the plan does not go far enough to review a new plant’s impact on total air pollution levels.
Among other regulations, the permits require state-of-the-art pollution control technology be added to those plants seeking permits.
Earlier this year, the EPA also rejected the TCEQ’s flexible air permits, saying the permitting program makes regulating pollution impossible.
Governor Rick Perry has called the EPA’s actions a "federal power grab" and said the TCEQ programs have improved Texas air quality.
Since 1992, the EPA has awarded Texas 30 regulatory changes to the permitting plan.
The EPA insists their measures ensure better air quality for all Texans.