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EPA Sets First Limits on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

March 27, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.

“Today we’re taking a common-sense step to reduce pollution in our air, protect the planet for our children, and move us into a new era of American energy,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement announcing the limits. “Right now there are no limits to the amount of carbon pollution that future power plants will be able to put into our skies – and the health and economic threats of a changing climate continue to grow.”

This rule has been years in the making and was approved by the White House after months of review.  The rule will require any new power plant to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt of electricity produced. The average U.S. natural gas plant, which emits 800 to 850 pounds of CO2 per megawatt, meets that standard; coal plants emit an average of 1,768 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt which could essentially end the construction of conventional coal-fired facilities in the United States.

The rule provides an exception for coal plants that are already permitted and beginning construction within a year. There are about 20 coal plants pursuing permits; two of them would meet the new standard with advanced pollution controls.  The proposal does not cover existing plants.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , |

Governor Perry names Toby Baker to replace Garcia at TCEQ

March 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

On Friday, Governor Perry announced he is appointing Toby Baker, a former policy and budget advisor to Perry on energy, natural resources and agriculture, to replace Garcia who continues to serve in a TCEQ commissioner’s spot that officially expired in August 31, 2011.  Mr. Baker’s term will begin April 16 and will expire Aug. 31, 2017.

At the governor’s office, Baker has also served as a liaison between the office and Texas Legislature, Railroad Commission, TCEQ, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Animal Health Commission. Formerly, he also worked as a natural resources policy advisor to Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and is a former director and clerk of the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Coastal Resources.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , |

President Obama Sacrifices Gas Policy for Gas Politics on Keystone XL Pipeline

March 22, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Statement of Trevor Lovell, Environmental Program Coordinator,  Public Citizen’s Texas Office

It is unfortunate that President Barack Obama has decided to ignore news stories in Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Financial Post, among others, explaining in simple terms how the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline will raise gas prices for American consumers.

Public Citizen has long warned about Keystone’s health and safety risks, the environmental devastation associated with tar sands mining and its disproportionate impact on global climate change, and the unconscionable contributions to local air pollution in Port Arthur, Texas. Port Arthur is one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Environmental Justice Showcase Communities” due to a concentration of environmental health risks that disproportionally burden minority communities.

But Keystone XL also poses another risk – a risk to U.S. consumers and the fragile economic recovery. Analysts and economists agree that building the southern leg of this pipeline will alleviate a glut of oil in Cushing, Okla., and allow more oil products to be exported to other countries, thereby reducing domestic supply and raising gas prices.

The southern leg of this pipeline does not bring oil into the country (a goal our organization does not endorse), but does create a clear path to get oil out to export markets. Since refined oil products are now the largest export commodity in the U.S., it is obvious that pushing more oil to the Gulf Coast will result in more export activity and less supply for Americans.

Today, Public Citizen renews its call for the president and relevant agencies to treat this pipeline as a tar sands pipeline. As construction has not yet begun, it would be imprudent to build the pipeline when we anticipate new findings from a congressionally mandated study on the unique dangers of tar sands pipelines, which may inform new regulations for this industry.

Texas may be an oil and gas state, but the health and safety of our citizens is no less important than it is anywhere else. Our water resources are threatened now more than ever, and this pipeline would cross the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in East Texas, which serves 60 counties and as many as 12 million people. When the presidential permit was denied earlier this year, the inadequate study of threats to Nebraskan water resources was cited as a central concern. Apparently water resources in Texas do not require the same kind of thorough review. Texans deserve protection from our elected and appointed leaders, and today President Obama has shown he is ready to sacrifice that protection for election-year politics.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Below is a statement issued by Independent Texans by Julia Triggs Crawford

Response from Julia Trigg Crawford to President Obama’s support for TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline Project

Julia Trigg Crawford, a Texas farmer who is challenging TransCanada’s use of eminent domain to take an easement across her property for TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline, issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s Thursday morning press conference in Cushing, OK:

“Today President Obama indicated he’s taking an “All of the Above” strategy to his energy policy, and in doing so will expedite the Cushing to Houston leg of TransCanada’s pipeline. While his decision was not unexpected, it is disappointing that this issue continues to be a political football during this election game.”

“Where I come from you’re only as good as your word, and I am proud to stand by my principles no matter the pressure that’s applied. And there’s no doubt about it, TransCanada’s applying pressure anywhere they can, from Washington D.C. to small towns along the proposed pipeline route, and not everyone can hold up.”

“I stand by my belief that TransCanada illegally asserts that its pipeline is a common carrier and is for the public good. My attorneys tell me we have a strong case and we are eagerly awaiting our day in court. Should we win, and I wouldn’t be in this fight if I didn’t think we would, I hope that our case will give strength to other landowners who are still fighting for their property, and to those being bullied by a company falsely wielding the club of eminent domain.”

“I’m just a farmer caring for a piece of good Texas earth, up against a foreign corporation with the power to bend the will of a President, so I’m under no delusion that this will be easy. I am reaching out to my fellow Americans and anyone who believes in an individual’s right to private property to help me in this fight. You can go to www.standwithjulia.com to take action and to contribute to our legal defense fund so that we can face TransCanada on an even playing field.”

“So here is my “All of the Above“ strategy. Stand by one’s principles, hold onto and protect those property rights afforded to every American by the United States Constitution, and never bow to pressure that runs contrary to the promises you’ve made”.

“Thank you and God bless.”
Julie Triggs Crawford

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , |

Native Americans Will Protest Keystone XL From A Cage Today

March 22, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Native Americans protesting the Keystone XL pipeline will be compelled to stay in enclosure located miles from President’s pro-oil event

Native American’s gathering in Cushing, OK today to protest President Obama’s words of praise for the Keystone XL pipeline were forced by local authorities to hold their event in a cage erected in Memorial Park. The protestors were stunned that their community, so long mistreated, would be insulted in such an open manner instead of being given the same freedom of speech expected by all Americans simply for taking a stance consistent with their values.

“A lot of tribal councils and Indian businesses struggle to find a balance between economic resources and our inherited responsibilities for the earth,” said Indian actor and activist Richard Ray Whitman in a statement. “How will the decisions we make now effect coming generations?”

“President Obama is an adopted member of the Crow Tribe, so his fast-tracking a project that will desecrate known sacred sites and artifacts is a real betrayal and disappointment for his Native relatives everywhere,” said Marty Cobenais of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “Tar sands is devastating First Nations communities in Canada already and now they want to bring that environmental, health, and social devastation to US tribes.”

The President visited Cushing to stand with executives from TransCanada and throw his support behind a plan to build the southern half of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to move tar sands bitumen and crude oil from Cushing to the Gulf Coast refineries in Texas.

A major concern for Native Americans in Oklahoma, according to spokespeople at the event, is that Keystone XL and the Canadian tar sands mines that would supply it ignore impacts to indigenous communities and their sacred spaces.

“Natives in Canada live downstream from toxic tar sands mines,” said Earl Hatley, “and they are experiencing spikes in colon, liver, blood and rare bile-duct cancers which the Canadian government and oil companies simply ignore. And now they want to pipe these tar sands through the heart of Indian country, bulldozing grave sites and ripping out our heritage.”

The group points to a survey done by the Oklahoma Archeological Survey which found 88 archaeological sites and 34 historic structures that were threatened by Keystone XL. TransCanada was asked to reroute around only a small portion of these, leaving 71 archaeological sites and 22 historic structures at risk. The group says they have asked for a list of these sites and to oversee operations that might threaten sacred burial grounds, but neither request has been honored.

Beyond the threat to their own cultural heritage, the group voiced opposition to the pipeline’s environmental impacts.

“The Ogallala Aquifer is not the only source of water in the plains,” said RoseMary Crawford, Project Manager of the Center for Energy Matters. “Tar sands pipelines have a terrible safety record and leaks are inevitable.”

“We can’t stop global warming with more fossil fuel pipelines,” added Crawford. “The people who voted for this President did so believing he would help us address the global environmental catastrophe that our pollution is creating. He said he would free us from ‘the tyranny of oil.’ Today that campaign promise is being trampled to boost the President’s poll numbers.”

Posted in Tarsands, Water | Tagged , , , , |

What good are rules if they are not enforced?

March 21, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has a proposal to pardon as many as 3,000 environmental rule breakers.

Tell the TCEQ that pardoning polluters is no way to make the air and water in Texas cleaner.

The TCEQ is changing the rules to allow those with a “poor” record of complying with Texas’ weak environmental laws to be upgraded to “satisfactory” — which means they would get fewer inspections, lower fines and new permits granted more easily.

In addition, the new rules would allow the TCEQ’s executive director to pardon “repeat” violators — without even explaining why.

The TCEQ refuses to tell us which polluters get the break. When we asked, they sent us almost 10,000 pages of unsortable data.

Actions like these tell citizens that the TCEQ would rather dole out favors for polluters than protect the health of Texans.

Tell the TCEQ not to give rule breakers a pass.

The TCEQ is the world’s second largest environmental agency. Taxpayers have a right to expect the agency to enforce a minimum standard of regulatory compliance. Lowering the grading standard does not mean businesses perform better — it just means the TCEQ is slacking on enforcement.

The deadline for voicing your concerns to the TCEQ is this Friday, March 23, so take action right now.

See the press release that went out from several advocates here. 2012-03-21 Press release – Texas Pardons Pollution

You can download an ASCII file of all compliance histories statewide by clicking here.

You can download the TCEQ test report on the current data by clicking here.

You can download a file that Public Compiled from the current compliance history data and compared side by side with the test data by clicking here.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , |

TLLRWDCC could have trucks carrying radioactive waste rumbling through Texas as early as April

March 19, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Trucks carrying low-level radioactive waste from 38 states could start rolling down Texas highways bound forburial at a dump in Andrews County on the Texas / New Mexico border as early as April,.

The state’s commission (Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission) overseeing disposal of low-level waste in Texas may approve the final rule changes needed this Friday, March 23rd. State lawmakers cleared the way with a new law passed late in the 82nd legislative session and state regulators still need to sign off on the burial site’s construction, but it seems inevitable that Texas is going to become the nation’s radioactive dumping ground.

The Compact Commisson meeting is scheduled to begin at 9am on Friday, March 23rd in the Texas Capitol Extension at  1400 North Congress, Austin, Texas in Hearing Rm. E1.024,  We’ve provided the meeting agenda below and encourage any who are interested to attend the hearing.

Agenda

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call and Determination of Quorum

3. Introduction of

a. Commissioners

b. Elected Officials

c. Press

4. Public Comment (Note: Pursuant to Article IV, Section Two (c) of the Commission¿s Bylaws, the Commission [subject to such time constraints as may be established by the Chair] also will provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the Commission on each item on the agenda during the Commission¿s discussion or consideration of the item.

5. Discussion and possible action with regard to the final adoption of amendments to Rule 675.23 (Importation of Waste from a Non-Compact Generator for Disposal) (31 TAC 675.23) with changes from the proposed amendments to the rule as published in the Texas Register on January 20, 2012 (37 Tex. Reg. 184).

A) Receive and discuss the report of the Rules Committee (Mr. Lee [Chair], Mr. Salsman, Mr. Saudek, and Mr. Wilson) with respect to its deliberations after the publication of the proposed amendments to Rule 675.23 (31 TAC 675.23) as published in the Texas Register on January 20, 2012 (37 Tex. Reg.184).

B) Receive and act on the recommendations of the Rules Committee with respect to

(i) the final adoption (with changes) of proposed amendments to Rule 675.23 (31 TAC 675.23) as published in the Texas Register on January 20, 2012 (37 Tex. Reg. 184); and

(ii) the filing and publication of Rule 675.23 (31 TAC 675.23) as finally adopted in the Texas Register.

 6. Discussion and possible action on the following petitions for export: A) South Texas Project B) Vermont Yankee C) Luminant

7. Discussion among Commission members about methods of processing and evaluating applications for Agreements for importation of waste for disposal in accord with Compact Commission Rules and with Texas requirements expressed in Chapter 401 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, including quantities and revenue expectations and including possible action to appoint one or more Committees in connection with the processing of applications for Agreements for importation.

8. Discussion on and possible action on Bionomics Request for Import Agreement.

9. Presentation of Site status report and outlook from Waste Control Specialists Inc.

10. Presentation from Advocates for Responsible Disposal in Texas concerning Compact site use plans and issues.

11. Site status report from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality including discussion of plans for actions on commingling rule change effort and actions on site licensing and disposal site rate case actions.

12. Receive a report from and possibly take action in response on any recommendations from the Committee on the Commingling Rule (Ms. Morris [Chair], Mr. Saudek and Mr.Wilson)

13. Chairman¿s report on Compact Commission activities including reporting on fiscal matters and on status of filling needs for staffing.

14. Discussion and possible action regarding the provisions of existing Compact Commission Rule 675.21(l) (31 TAC 675.21(l)).

15. Determination of date and location of next meeting.

16 Adjourn.

Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste | Tagged , , , |

Comment Period for TCEQ Compliance History rule changes extended to March 23rd

March 19, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The comment period for the proposed new TCEQ Compliance History rules was extended in large part due to Public Citizen making the public aware that the TCEQ had run test scores on their data from the previous year’s posting but were not willing to release that information to us, the Austin American Statesman or the public.  When they did release the data and then subsequently extend the comment period, the data was not in a format that was useful to most folks.

After much wrangling with the agency, they finally released the test scores this afternoon and they can be accessed below:

Proposed Chapter 60 Compliance History Test Scores

The test Compliance History scores for proposed revision to 30 TAC Chapter 60 (Compliance History) rule are available here.

The test Compliance History scores available below are intended to provide approximations of what scores might look like under the Commission’s proposed Chapter 60 (Compliance History) rule.  These scores were generated as part of the agency’s proposed rulemaking process.

These are not official Compliance History scores and therefore, are not subject to the Chapter 60 appeal process. Due to computer programming limitations during rule development , individual scores do not reflect all aspects of the formula as proposed. Rather, the scores represent approximate numbers using a simplified model, as explained below. Limitations include the following:

  • The scores were generated using applicable compliance-history data from September 1, 2006–August 31, 2011, made public on October 1, 2011 and thus to regulated entities so they can make corrections, as necessary, since that date.  Upon rule adoption, new compliance-history scores will be generated using data from September 1, 2007–August 31, 2012.
  • The scores do not accurately reduce points for compliance with administrative orders. Under the proposed rule, two years after the effective date of an order, if an entity is compliant with all ordering provisions and has resolved all violations, the points attributable to that order will be reduced.  The reduction will be 25 percent for year three, 50 percent for year four, and 75 percent for year five.  The simplified model does not take into consideration compliance with the order. Therefore, under the simplified model, all orders receive the total reductions allowed each year under the proposed rule.  Entities that have not yet achieved compliance with an order receive a reduction under the simplified model that is not warranted.
  • Points awarded for “small entities” are not completely reflective of the proposed rule.  Under the proposed rule, points are allocated to small entities.  The simplified model allocates points for small businesses but does not allocate points for small cities and counties.
  • Reductions for voluntary programs are not completely reflective of the proposed rule.  The proposed rule allows for a maximum 25% reduction of compliance history points for implementing voluntary programs, such as an environmental management system.  If an entity has multiple voluntary programs, the simplified model does not accurately apply reductions for all programs.
  • Changes to the proposed formula and associated compliance-history components may be made as part of the rule adoption process.  Any changes to the proposed formula or components as a result of the rulemaking process would change scores that will be calculated on September 1, 2012.

To download test Compliance History scores click the link below:

http://www.tceq.texas.gov/enforcement/history/compliance-history-test-data.html

Please note that these reports are large files and, depending on your connection speed, may take several minutes to download.

These scores will only be available to download for the duration of the Chapter 60 public-comment period, which has been extended and will close on March 23, 2012.

You may comment on this rule via eComments.

We have provided sample comments for you to use in submitting your own.  We have also provided information on where and how to submit your comments below.

Comments of _Your name here_ on 2011-032-060-CE: HB 2694 (4.01 and Article 4): Compliance History Draft Rules.

Polluter-friendly amendments, proposed in the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality’s new regulatory rules, serve to increase the degree of noncompliance a company is permitted with no consequence. More noncompliance means more unauthorized toxins in the air, water, and ground in communities across Texas.

We are unsatisfied with the compliance history proposals because:

  • The TCEQ has jurisdiction over 250,000 entities all around the state. Holding one public hearing at 10 a.m. in Austin does not give citizens enough of an opportunity to give feedback. I would like to have a meeting hosted at the TCEQ office in my region so that I can participate in this process.
  • Increased compliance history leniency will cut the percentage of companies considered unsatisfactory from 5% to a mere 3% without reducing an ounce of pollution.  Compliance standards should be raised the longer a regulation has been in place, not made less effective by changing the unsatisfactory rating cutoff from 45 to 55 noncompliance points.
  • The executive director will be able to pardon polluters at his discretion—instead of adhering to a standard protocol. Why have formal classifications if the director can reclassify an entity or decide that a repeat violator charge should not apply? This is a nontransparent, unstipulated and unacceptable loophole.
  • Polluters will improve their compliance history score by signing up for supplemental environmental programs, regardless of effectiveness. Mere participation in a voluntary pollution reduction points does not warrant a 5% reward. The formula should call for measured returns for measured results.
  • The TCEQ has not presented information that calculates how the new formula will affect entities. Given the denseness of the proposal’s language, I would like to have a way to interpret the new compliance history ratings.
  • The proposed language for repeat violations would make it very difficult for any facility with many “complexity points” to ever be considered a repeat violator. Because so many points are given for different kinds of permits, authorizations and even hazardous waste units, getting to “25” complexity points will be easy for any large industrial facility or major entity, meaning that the only way they would be penalized for being a repeat violator would be to have four or more violations over the last five years.

I urge you to utilize TCEQ’s rulemaking process to implement changes that will benefit the health, communities, and resources of Texas citizens and not the pocketbook interests of businesses.

Comments due by 5pm on March 23, 2012.

Texas Register Team – MC 205 General Law Division Office of Legal Services TCEQ P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087

Tips on Commenting Effectively

You will be providing comments for the rulemaking – 2011-032-060-CE: HB 2694 (4.01 and Article 4): Compliance History

  • Identify who you are and why the regulation affects you;
  • Explain why you agree or disagree with the proposed rulemaking;
  • Be direct in your comment; and
  • Offer alternatives, compromise solutions, and specific language for your suggested changes.

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , , |

It’s Time to Beef Up Texas’ Ethics Watchdog

March 19, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Statement by Tom “Smitty” Smith, Director of the Texas office of Public Citizen

It’s time to unshackle Texas’ ethics watchdog and give it some teeth.

A recent study by the  Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and Global Integrity found that when it comes to government openness and accountability, Texas ranks in the lower half of all states.

While the language of the laws received a B- grade in the study, when it came to implementing the laws (or disclosing and enforcing them), Texas got a D+

Among the faults found in the study, four stand out as most egregious: The Lone Star State’s poor financial disclosure laws make it almost impossible to tell when an officeholder has a conflict of interest; lobbyists can make unlimited contributions to legislators to influence policy; contributors or their employees can be appointed to regulatory agencies – and adopt policies to benefits their business interests; and the revolving door is kept spinning by loopholes that allow government officials to go to work for the businesses they regulated or had legislative control.

While Texas should be performing better, the ethics commission isn’t to blame. It has been handcuffed since it started. Instead of policing the politicians, the watchdog is protecting them.

It is time for Texas to get tough on political crimes, stop protecting the politicians and treat the ethics commission as if it were just another professional regulatory agency. The commission should have the authority to take enforcement actions and hear complaints without needing to check in with a board of political appointees.

The Ethics Commission will undergo Sunset review this year. In advance of discussions about necessary reforms for the commission, which are slated for April 10, ethics watchdog groups will make public a comprehensive reform package. It’s time to give Texas the ability to rein in out-of-control, unethical behaviors.

Check out the excellent coverage of this issue by the Texas Tribune

Texas Gets a D+ in Public Integrity Study

Texas: The story behind the score

Posted in Campaign Finance, Consumers, Good Government | Tagged , , |

ACT and other organizations sign on to comments on the TCEQ Compliance History Rules

March 15, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Last week, Public Citizen filed comments that had been developed with other Alliance for Clean Texas (ACT) partners.  Since we filed our comments, the TCEQ agreed to  extend the  comment period.  We have simple comments in an earlier blog for citizens to submit, but if you want more detailed comments for developing your own, take a look at these. ACT Comments on TCEQ Compliance History Rule

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , |

US Senate rejects GOP measure to build Keystone tar sands pipeline

March 8, 2012 by Citizen Carol

According to CNN, the Senate narrowly rejected a Republican-sponsored measure Thursday that would have bypassed the Obama administration’s current objections to the Keystone XL pipeline and allowed construction on the controversial project to move forward immediately.

Fifty-six senators voted in favor of the amendment — four short of the 60 required for approval.

Click here to read CNN’s coverage

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , |

Fukushima Anniversary Action in Austin, TX

March 7, 2012 by Citizen Carol

This weekend marks the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Our thoughts and prayers will be with the hundreds of thousands of Japanese still living in contaminated areas.

There are anniversary actions across the U.S. and entire world this weekend. You can find a list of many of them on the NIRS Actions page. Don’t forget to click the link you’ll see there for additional global actions to get a sense of the incredible number and variety of events going on all over the world!

Here in Austin:
Saturday, March 10th at Noon, Prevent Fukushima Texas vigil
At the river (Lady Bird Lake) immediately across from the front of the Austin City Hall (301 W. 2nd St.) just West of 1st Street.

Speakers will include Chiaki Kasahara and Ivan Stout, who lived in Japan at the time of the nuclear disaster and had to leave their home, family and friends in order to protect their health and that of their young son.

Sponsored by SEED Coalition and Nuke Free Texas. www.NukeFreeTexas.org

(If it looks like light rain, bring an umbrella. If it’s raining heavily, we’ll move over to a covered space at City Hall – under the solar panels.)

Posted in Nuclear | Tagged , , , |

Tell TCEQ grading polluters on a curve doesn’t improve our air, our water or our health. And, oh yes, thanks for extending the comment period.

March 7, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Comment Period Extended to March  23rd

The Texas Commission for Environmental Quality is the second largest environmental agency in the world—with a budget to match. Help hold TCEQ accountable for taxpayer’s interests and stop them from implementing rules that favor polluting businesses.

TCEQ’s Mission Statement and Agency Philosophy includes a commitment to “ensure meaningful public participation in the decision-making process.”  Frankly, that did not translate into practice last week.  At the public hearing on Tuesday, March 6th, Public Citizen testified about our experience attempting to gain access to an agency analysis of the proposed changes to Chapter 60 (Compliance History) rule on a previous report that is accessible on TCEQ’s website as an ASCII file which can be imported into an excel spreadsheet. Continue Reading »

Posted in Air Quality, Coal Plants, Toxics, Water | Tagged , , |

Texas Pardons Pollution (Again!) – Public hearing next Tuesday and comments can be submitted before March 12th

February 29, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Get tough on environmental crimes

Texas law requires that the our state environmental agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), consider a facility’s past compliance when making decisions regarding permits or inspections.  In fact, a facility’s Compliance History score affects every bit of its business with the TCEQ.

New rules currently proposed by the TCEQ to the Compliance History program would possibly bump up thousands of previously categorized “poor” performers to an “average” classification without having removed an ounce of pollution from our air and water.  The TCEQ has introduced even more limitations which will only further serve to keep every facility average.  These changes include increasing the score by which a performer falls into the poor category, separating repeat violations by media (i.e. administrative violations vs specific emissions violations), giving the TCEQ Executive Director extraordinary authority to change a facility’s classification, and handing out bonus points for ill-defined and unregulated voluntary measures that a facility can implement.

If the Compliance History program reforms go forward as currently written, we will be missing out on two major opportunities by continuing to pretend that all facilities in this state are average.

  • First, we miss a chance to implement the type of regulation that a lot of people in our state prefer.
  • Second, and most importantly, we miss a huge opportunity to try to clean up the air and water around our state in a business friendly manner.

At a time when the challenge of grappling with an increasing array of environmental and health threats to our state and its population gets harder every day, we cannot afford to let such opportunities pass us by.  We urge the TCEQ to reconsider its Compliance History rules, and deliver a program that works to the people of the state of Texas.

The public has a chance to weigh in on these rules and we ask you to consider coming to the public hearing on March 6th or sending comments to the TCEQ by March 12th.  Tell them:

  • Don’t pardon the polluters by increasing the threshold for being declared a poor performer
  • Don’t give the executive director the right to pardon polluters
  • Don’t give polluters a get out of jail free card for signing up for “defensive polluting” classes

As we know from our criminal justice system, swift sure and certain punishment deters crime.  We should apply these lessons to environmental crime too

Public Hearing : TCEQ will hold a public hearing on this proposal in Austin on March 6, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in Building E, Room 201S, at the commission’s central office located at 12100 Park 35 Circle.

Comments can be submitted  by March 12, 2012.

Tips on Commenting Effectively

You will be providing comments for the rulemaking – 2011-032-060-CE: HB 2694 (4.01 and Article 4): Compliance History

  • Identify who you are and why the regulation affects you;
  • Explain why you agree or disagree with the proposed rulemaking;
  • Be direct in your comment; and
  • Offer alternatives, compromise solutions, and specific language for your suggested changes.

Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Sunset, TCEQ, Water | Tagged , , , , |

Tar Sands by Any Other Name

February 28, 2012 by Citizen Carol

This post was reprinted from a press statement by Trevor Lovell in response to TransCanada’s announcement yesterday, February 27th regarding their plans to pursue the building of a pipeline from Cushing, OK to the refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast while pursuing a new application for the Keystone XL pipeline through the heartland of the US.

Texans are a proud people and not to be taken for fools. TransCanada today has changed the name of its Keystone XL pipeline in Texas and claims it will be used for U.S. crude oil – knowing that such a use would be temporary at best and that it would be converted to tar sands in very short order. The diluted bitumen that this pipeline ultimately would carry must be pumped at extreme pressures, increasing the likelihood and magnitude of a leak. It also is far more toxic, as the sludge must be diluted with chemicals like benzene, which is considered threatening at levels higher than 6 parts per billion.

The White House’s judgment appears clouded with regard to the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. In stating support for the project, the president has willfully neglected the fact that this pipeline is intended to carry diluted bitumen from Alberta’s tar sands mines – a substance far more toxic and corrosive than crude petroleum. Allowing TransCanada to dress this project as a crude oil pipeline knowing full-well this is not its purpose, and further, knowing that it will deliver a far more dangerous feedstock across important water resources in our drought-stricken state is a dereliction of duty. The president and TransCanada can rest assured that Texans of all political stripes will take every step possible to impede its construction.

Public Citizen’s Texas office calls upon the president and relevant agencies to treat this pipeline as a tar sands pipeline. Additionally, it would be imprudent to build this pipeline when we anticipate new findings from a congressionally mandated study on the unique dangers of tar sands pipelines that may inform new regulations for this industry. Texas may be an oil-and-gas state, but the health and safety of our residents are no less important than they are anywhere else. Our water resources are threatened now more than ever. We are due a minimum of protection from our elected and appointed leaders.

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , |

2012 Tornado Season: Fasten your seat belts boys, it might just be a bumpy ride.

February 23, 2012 by Citizen Carol

While March is generally considered to be the beginning of tornado season, this year the season got an early and deadly start in late January when two people were killed by separate twisters in Alabama, and just yesterday, dozens of homes were damaged by a tornado in Georgia that knocked out power and forced schools to close. Preliminary reports showed 95 tornadoes struck last month, compared with 16 in January 2011.

The season usually starts in March and ramps up over the next couple of months, but forecasting tornado seasons is even more imprecise than predicting hurricane seasons. Small and too short-lived, tornados eluded scientists’ ability to make seasonal predictions. They pop in and pop out, and if the weather service can let people know 20 minutes in advance, it’s considered a victory.  Despite the difficulties in predicting the tornado season, forecasters are telling the Southeast and heartland to get ready again.

All this is remincent of one of the worst tornado years in U.S. history. Tornadoes in 2011 started on New Year’s Day killing hundreds, injuring thousands and causing billions in damage. The 2011 season continued on to break records for the most tornadoes in a single day and in a single month.  Still, tornado experts just don’t know what that means for this year.  Keep in mind, climate scientists have told us that the impacts of climate change include more incidences of extreme weather events, so folks should be aware as we head into another tornado season.

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