June 16, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Background: What the controversy is all about
On May 25, 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) barred the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from issuing a permit to a refinery in Corpus Christi. EPA said that the process used to justify that permit violated the Clean Air Act. EPA’s Region 6 Administrator, Al Armendariz, also stated that the EPA would block future permits and force polluters to comply with EPA standards if the TCEQ did not change its rules. On June 14th, EPA announced it was taking over the process for two additional air-quality permits
At issue are two types of air permits used in Texas – one known as a “flex permit” and one known as a “plant-wide applicability limit.” In both cases, instead of issuing permits that limit pollution from each individual point-source (e.g. a smokestack), TCEQ limits pollution for entire facilities, allowing operators to emit more pollution from one stack if another stack was emitting less. Studies indicate that there would be greater emission reductions if limits were done on a stack-by-stack basis.
These permits make enforcement extremely difficult at vast petrochemical and refining facilities. They also fail to protect people from emission clouds that can occur as a result of letting one stack emit more than would be allowed under the Clean Air Act.
Suppressed reports add fuel to the fire
The flex permit controversy had been brewing for some time as EPA and TCEQ battled behind closed doors, secretly playing a game of chicken with air pollution regulations. Meanwhile, another controversy was broiling beneath the surface in Fort Worth. Elected officials from the area felt they were getting the run-around from TCEQ when they asked whether natural gas drilling and processing on the Barnett Shale was putting residents’ health at risk.
On June 1st, TCEQ admitted they had failed to divulge (i.e. suppressed) reports showing elevated benzene levels in the area. In a statement, Mark Vickery said TCEQ “missed an opportunity” to “bolster their confidence in the quality of the air.” In reality, TCEQ knowingly presented inaccurate air-quality information to leaders and decision makers for months. Soon after, TCEQ admitted that 3 additional air-quality reports had not been made public. Continue Reading »
Posted in Good Government, Sunset | Tagged emissions, EPA, glenn shankle, Mark Vickery, Oak Grove, perry, Sunset, TCEQ, Texas, waste control specialists, WCS |
TransCanada's map for the proposed pipeline.
While the Department of Energy took a step towards cutting the emissions of the state by approving a Carbon Capture and Storage project for Texas which will start early next year, a nasty tar-sand Pipeline is set to penetrate through Texas land and be completed by late 2011. The first segment of the line which extends from Alberta to Illinois has already been completed and will be functioning next month. The second segment (Texas and Oklahoma) of the Keystone XL line will be built by the Canadian oil and pipeline company, TransCanada.
The line will end in Houston, where the crude oil will be refined. In addition to the fact that pipelines are not the safest to be around as we saw a couple of them blow up just in the past week, the line will carry tar-sands, one of the dirtiest sources of oil. This source of oil is estimated to have as much as three times more emissions than other oil sources when produced, keep in mind that it will be refined in Houston, a city that is already in non attainment of federal air quality standards.
TransCanada also applied for a special permit to build the line thinner than what the standards require. The segment already built in Illinois was approved for using a thinner pipe, a method which the United Steelworkers had warned last year that it “would increase the risks of ruptures, leaks and spills and lessen pipeline safety by the use of thinner pipe and greater operating pressure.” State Department approval for the Texas-Oklahoma segment is pending.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming, Toxics | Tagged Houston refinary., keystone xl, oklahoma-texas pipeline, tar sand, tar sand pipeline, Texas, transcanada, tx pipelines |
June 14, 2010 by Citizen Carol
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review the Exelon Nuclear Texas Holdings Early Site Permit (ESP) application for the Victoria County site near Victoria, Texas.
The application and associated information were initially submitted on March 25 and is available, minus proprietary and security-related details, on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/esp/victoria.html.
Exelon’s application seeks approval for safety and environmental issues for the site, approximately 13 miles south of Victoria. If approved by the NRC this would give Exelon three to 20 years to decide whether to build a plant in Victoria County. It can be extended for another 20 years, giving the company up to 40 years to begin construction from the time that the NRC approves the permit.
Now the site permit application will undergo a three- to four-year review process by the NRC in which it will evaluate the project’s environmental impact and safety preparedness.
Water use figures prominently into the concerns of many. The Guadalupe River is the designated water source for the possible power plant, and Exelon has a water reservation agreement with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) that expires in 2013. Continue Reading »
Posted in Nuclear | Tagged Exelon, NRC, Nuclear, Nuclear Power, Texas, tx, Victoria |
June 11, 2010 by Citizen Carol
At a time when lax regulatory oversight has contributed to such catastrophic problems for our nation as the financial crisis and the BP oil spill, Texas may be in the process of setting itself up for a fiscally disastrous and environmentally catastrophic future – all because of a vote by an appointed committee taking place out on the dusty, lonely edges of West Texas.
The hearing on plans to expand the low-level radioactive waste facility in Andrews County, that was postponed last month because of the volume of comments for official review, has been rescheduled for Saturday, and opponents of the facility are stepping up their opposition. Continue Reading »
Posted in Nuclear, TCEQ | Tagged Nuclear, nuclear waste, Texas, waste |
This footage is of the town hall event that was held in Bay City in April. Though invited, White Stallion representatives refused to show up to answer questions from the public. Some Bay City officials, including Mr. Owen Bludau of the Matagorda Economic Development Corporation and Judge Nate McDonald did attend to voice their positions and to answer questions that pertained to them. This footage is for public/educational use and may be duplicated and distributed freely by all.
[vimeo 11720643] Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, TCEQ, Toxics | Tagged Carbon Dioxide, Coal, coal plant, Global Warming, Public Citizen, Texas |
Video footage of a public meeting back in March for the Dallas, TX region. EPA has proposed a new NOx attainment standard, and this meeting was held during the comment period. Though an official EPA meeting had been held in Houston, there was no official meeting for Dallas (where Region 6 offices of EPA are located) so a number of environmental groups got together to host and sponsor this event. The last video is of some folks who didn’t speak at the event itself but who wanted to submit video comments to the EPA. The event was sponsored by Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Downwinders at Risk, and other individuals and environmental organizations. Rep. Lon Burnam presided over the entire meeting and was joined throughout by Mayor Cluck of Arlington, TX and other representatives and officials, including one from the TCEQ.
Press Conference
[vimeo 11089828]
Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming, TCEQ | Tagged clean air, Clean Energy, climate change, Coal, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Global Warming, ozone, Texas |
The Capital Power Plant on Capitol Hill
Tomorrow, Thursday June 10, Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) “Disapproval Resolution” will be voted on in the Senate. If passed, it would overturn the EPA’s “endangerment finding”, undermining the Clean Air Act- which by the way is the most successful piece of environmental legislation- and stripping the EPA of its right to regulate Greenhouse Gas emissions.
Congress has the audacity to claim that global warming is their domain, not the EPA’s. If this is true, it’s baffling that the EPA has been taking action to curb greenhouse gas emissions while all the Senate has done is sit on greenhouse gas legislation.
Murkowski’s resolution, because it will be voted on under the Congressional Review Act, only needs 51 votes to pass the Senate and move on to the House. Murkowski has already locked in 40 co-sponsors and is not revealing how many additional votes she has secured. But while she might get her resolution through the Senate without too much sweat, getting enough votes in the House and the approval of the White House- Obama has already threatened to veto it- promises to be more of a challenge.
This is not the only bill that those of us in favor letting the EPA protect our clean air need to keep our eyes on. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) will try to push his own bill, which if passed would block the EPA from regulating the greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and oil refineries for two years, through the Senate. He needs 60 votes and is less confident about its getting through the Senate, but either way, he has said, he will vote in favor of Murkowski’s resolution.
Russell Train, former EPA chief wrote a letter urging Republic Senators Reid and McConnell to vote against Murkowski’s resolution:
I am writing as former EPA Administrator under the Nixon and Ford Administrations to urge the Senate to oppose any legislative proposals that would undermine the Clean Air Act. In particular, I ask the Senate to reject the Resolution of Disapproval offered by Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (S.J.Res.26), which would prevent the EPA from acting on that agency’s endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases.
For 40 years, the Clean Air Act has protected the health and welfare of the American people, saving hundreds of thousands of lives while vastly improving the quality of the air we breathe. The economic benefits provided by the Act have exceeded its costs by between 10 to 100 times over.
Despite the law’s impressive track record, S.J.Res.26 would rollback Clean Air Act protections and prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, notwithstanding the agency’s scientific determination that these pollutants endanger human health and welfare. If passed, this resolution would fundamentally undermine the Clean Air Act, overturning science in favor of political considerations. Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged EPA, Global Warming, greenhouse gas emissions, Texas |
After Monday’s deadly explosion of a pipeline in Johnson County, there was another explosion in the Panhandle today. From the Austin-American Statesman:
The blast near Darrouzett, just south of the Oklahoma border, was the second fatal natural gas explosion in Texas in as many days. On Monday, a worker was killed when a utility crew accidentally hit and ruptured a natural gas line in rural Johnson County, about 30 miles south of Fort Worth.
Tuesday’s blast involved a crew that was removing clay for a dirt-contracting company, Lipscomb County Sheriff James Robertson said in a news release. The explosion happened when a bulldozer struck a pipeline.
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Three other workers were injured. One was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Oklahoma City. Two others escaped with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The utility crew involved in Monday’s explosion worked for Oklahoma-based C&H Power Line Construction Services. Fred Haag, the company’s chief operating officer, said the crew followed the proper procedures in locating the line before digging. It used a survey map and made calls verifying the line location, he said.
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“Even at night, the soles of their shoes were melting because it was still extremely hot,” said Jack Snow, Johnson County’s emergency management coordinator.
At least seven of the other 13 workers who had been close to the site were treated at hospitals, mostly for burns to their necks and arms as they ran away from the massive fireball, Haag said. Only one worker remained hospitalized Tuesday, he said.
A 23-member crew that had been working in the area for several months was drilling a hole Monday for an 80- to 120-foot utility pole when the gas line was struck and ruptured, sending a massive fireball into the air that burned out about two hours later after the gas flow was shut off.
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After investigators finish looking over the site, workers will repair the ruptured pipeline, which is expected to take several days, said Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP, which partially owns the 36-inch-diameter line. It is a 395-mile segment of a pipeline extending from western to eastern Texas, the company said in a Tuesday news release.
Unlike other cases (BP oil spill, Massey mine explosion, etc) this does not look like a problem of lax oversight, but merely the inherent dangers of fossil fuels. As I wrote in a editor’s note in Ali’s post:
All of this comes back to our reliance on fossil fuels and regulation. Whether it’s oil, coal, or even natural gas, there are inherent risks in extracting these fuels from the earth and dangerous, toxic emissions that come from burning them. To date, no one has been killed in a “wind spill” or “solar spill.” We ultimately need less of the fossil fuel resources, no matter their source, and more renewables. Oftentimes small government advocates and conservatives warn against regulation because of the cost it can create. We never advocate for regulation merely for the sake of regulation, but we NEED smart regulation that places a premium on human life and quality of life over the search for more corporate profits. All of these stories have this theme in common: common sense regulation through a smart regulatory agency, which is something we have lacked from TCEQ.
Posted in Energy | Tagged explosion, fossil fuels, pipeline, Renewables, Texas |
Johnson County Gas Pipeline Explosion
While the BP rig is still gushing oil out into the ocean, several events (positive and negative ones) have taken place in Texas without receiving the coverage they deserve. I wanted to shed some light on those events.
One bright point to start your day is a Texas Tech researcher who has received EPA approval for his fibertect product that can potentially be a “slick solution for the biggest environmental disaster in the US history.” Essentially, it’s the Shamwow for oil spills. We don’t often say this in Austin, but go Texas Tech!
Some (especially those in the natural gas industry) say that instead of depending on Middle East oil, the US should invest in natural gas, a resource that is being advertised to the public as environment-friendly and associated with less risk. Yesterday’s news stories that came from Johnson County suggest otherwise. One of the operators in Johnson County’s Pecan Plantation died as a result of a pipeline explosion while several others were dangerously burned and taken to nearby hospitals. The pipeline exploded after it was ruptured by the crew that was working on it.
The pipe, owned by Enterprise Products Partners, shot up more than 600 feet skyward for about two hours. The blast shook the windows of homes in Hood County where more than 5,000 people reside only three miles from the plantation.
Texas is familiar with the risk associated with natural gas. According to Star-telegram, more than 20 blowouts have taken place only at Barnett Shale wells, along with, well, all the other pollution they’ve been spewing (and TCEQ has been covering up). In addition Continue Reading »
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, natural gas | Tagged BP clean up, energy regulation, fibertect, flower mound, johnson county, Texas |
World Oceans Day has been celebrated unofficially since 1992, and officially since December 2008 when the UN formally recognized it. Organized by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network, this holiday celebrates our oceans which bring us clean air, clean food, and clean water- that is, until April 20. The explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig has, if you choose to believe the ‘official government estimate’, leaked somewhere between 12,000 and 19,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. And scientists fear we will be living with the effects of this disaster for decades.
According to MSNBC.com, Bill Mott, the director of the Ocean Project said, “it’s terrible disaster and it’s raising awareness around the country and the world about the ocean’s fragility to a large extent.”
If you want to show our oceans a little more love than they have received over the past few months, here are some ideas:
Stop by the Smithsonian Ocean Portal to learn About 5 Simple Things You Can Do For The Ocean.
Visit Change.org for Ten Ways To Honor World Oceans Day.
Find events near you organized by the World Ocean Project.
ALSO: Several groups are gathering for makeshift vigils tonight around the country to celebrate World Oceans Day and mark the 50th Day since the Deepwater Horizon explosion that began this catastrophe. The vigil in Austin will be at 1005 Congress Ave, just a block or so south of the Texas Capitol.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming, Toxics, Uncategorized | Tagged bp, oil spill, Texas |
It was a bit surprising that the EPA finally has taken a stand against the TCEQ’s practices of giving “flexible permits.” Prominent Texas politicians including the governor criticized the action taken by the EPA and once again, Gov Perry used a very important local issue to launch his attacks on the Federal government as part of his re-election campaign. “I don’t understand the federal response of coming in to the state that should be the poster child, should be the model for this country,” Perry said last week at a news conference. He was also quoted by the Houston Press saying, “Last week, the federal government sent the very clear message that it seeks to destroy Texas’s successful clean air program and threaten tens of thousands of good Texas jobs in the process.” Perry’s claims that our air permitting program is successful is equally as dubious as his claims that we are the poster child for clean air.
Perry’s comments came at the same Texas Congress-members criticized Obama’s decision to issue a moratorium on deep-water drilling for a period that can take longer than six months. Some Congress members, who rank among the highest contribution receivers from the oil and energy industry in general, mentioned that jobs will be affected if such regulation was to take place, “”It’s exactly the wrong decision,” said Joe Barton, a Republican from Arlington, “It’s going to raise unemployment, and it’s going to raise oil prices.”
One must question the sincerity of such comments and whether they truly are accurate or not. The Dallas Morning News in an articled called “Texans in Congress say drilling support not tied to campaign donations” showed records that were obtained from Center for Responsive Politics that show how many contributions were received by Texas Congressmen:
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TEXANS IN CONGRESS
SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics
| A look at oil industry donations to members of Congress from Texas: |
| Member |
Oil/gas industry donations |
Rank* |
| Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison |
$2.1 million |
1 |
| Sen. John Cornyn |
$1.6 million |
3 |
| Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington |
$1.4 million |
1 |
| Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland |
$651,718 |
1 |
| Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas |
$642,864 |
2 |
| Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth |
$612,807 |
1 |
| Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall |
$529,468 |
3 |
| Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands |
$445,697 |
1 |
| Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock |
$440,772 |
1 |
| Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston |
$423,561 |
1 |
| Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco |
$409,698 |
9 |
| Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano |
$393,700 |
3 |
| Rep. Lamar Smith , R-San Antonio |
$391,147 |
2 |
| Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston |
$374,113 |
5 |
| Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon |
$351,480 |
1 |
| Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler |
$257,063 |
3 |
| Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas |
$232,650 |
10 |
| Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi |
$220,432 |
2 |
| Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land |
$216,300 |
1 |
| Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble |
$208,450 |
3 |
| Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin |
$207,734 |
6 |
| Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville |
$195,246 |
3 |
| Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson |
$178,632 |
17 |
| Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston |
$173,525 |
6 |
| Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock |
$164,150 |
5 |
| Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo |
$157,350 |
4 |
| Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio |
$143,500 |
7 |
| Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell |
$139,750 |
1 |
| Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes |
$98,084 |
9 |
| Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio |
$96,500 |
13 |
| Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso |
$83,350 |
12 |
| Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin |
$51,730 |
n/a |
| Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas |
$32,875 |
n/a |
| Rep. Al Green, D-Houston |
$26,400 |
13 |
|
NOTE: Tally includes donations from political action committees and individuals starting in 1989, for the lawmaker’s first year in office if later than 1989.
* Rank indicates where the oil industry ranked among the top industries to donate to a lawmaker. N/A means the oil industry wasn’t among the top 20 givers to that lawmaker.
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These numbers are staggering and if you want to bet that those massive contributions don’t alter or affect the decisions of those politicians, I have some beachfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you. Continue Reading »
Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Renewables, TCEQ, Toxics | Tagged Air Quality, climate change, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Global Warming, TCEQ, Texas |
The battle between the TCEQ and the EPA is still making headlines, and, at least according to the headlines at the Houston Chronicle, the environmentalists have gained the upper hand!
TCEQ and EPA have been in the headlines, as shown by this Google News search
With the looming possibility that Al Armendariz, regional EPA administrator, will take over all of Texas air quality permitting, as they have already done in the case of 39 Texas polluters, the strong opposition that Bill White is presenting to Rick Perry in the race for Texas Governor, and (don’t forget!) the sunset review of the TCEQ coming up in December, the TCEQ is in trouble.
“This has been brewing for about 15 years, ” our own Tom “Smitty” Smith told the Houston Chronicle. “But what’s happening now is you’ve finally have [sic – Houston Chronicle’s error, not Smitty’s, btw] an EPA administrator who’s got enough guts to stand up to the polluters.”
According to that same article, the fight, which started in response to the TCEQ’s issuing of flexible air quality permits in violation of the Clean Air Act, could potentially escalate from permitting to all environmental regulations. But with growing magnitude and environmental support comes growing backlash. Former TCEQ commissioner and now environmental advocate, Larry Soward, worries that the legislature will join forces with the governor to fight off the EPA.
Governor Perry and those siding with him are standing strong behind the argument that the EPA is wrongfully expanding federal control over an issue that they originally delegated to the state and that this action will hurt the Texas economy. TCEQ chairman Bryan Shaw claims that the fight has already begun to affect Texas economically, and Attorney General Abbott and state agriculture commissioner Todd Staples agree.
Politifact decided to factcheck Staples, and his statement that:
“The EPA’s regulation would directly impact thousands of Texas businesses and cost real jobs. Companies that will be endangered in Texas include 575 dairy facilities, 58 swine operations, 1,300 corn farms. No industry is more threatened than the cattle industry. If this rule is implemented, an estimated 28,000 beef cattle operations in Texas will fall under EPA regulation.”
According to Politifact, this is absolutely FALSE. The EPA ruled last week that farms will not be subject to these regulations, as Continue Reading »
Posted in Sunset, TCEQ | Tagged EPA, flex permits, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas |
June 4, 2010 by Citizen Carol
Federal environmental regulators set new limits on sulfur dioxide emissions for the first time in 40 years. A move that could prevent thousands of asthma attacks and premature deaths while reducing health care costs..
The new rules, which take effect under court order, will prohibit short-term spikes of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is primarily emitted from coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities. Texas has 17 coal plants, with another dozen under construction or in the permitting phase across the state.
The EPA estimates nationally the cost of retrofitting power plants to comply with the new rules will be $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. The savings in health benefits could be as much as $13 billion to $33 billion a year.
The previous standard called for concentrations of no more than 140 parts per billion, averaged over 24 hours. Under the new rules, the allowable level of SO2 would drop to 75 parts per billion in one hour to guard against short-term spikes, and is seen by the EPA as the most efficient and effective way to protect against SO2 pollution in the air we breathe.
Although the final standard is a bit less strict than the American Lung Association had urged, it is well within the range recommended by EPA’s independent science advisers.
At this writing it is anticipated that Jefferson County is the only area in Texas that would fail the tougher standard, but EPA is requiring additional monitors in some areas of the state that are borderline.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged Air Quality, climate change, Coal, coal plant, emissions, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Public Citizen, SO2, sulfur dioxide, Texas |
The TCEQ granted a permit to re-open the ASARCO foundry over protests of staff, residents of El Paso, and local leaders. Luckily, the EPA intervened and stopped it.
You’ve probably heard by now. The TCEQ has failed to adhere to the federal Clean Air Act, jeopardizing our health, our safety, and the quality of our air. This is why, on Tuesday, May 25, the EPA took over the TCEQ’s authority to grant clean air permits for 40 facilities across the state of Texas, most notably the Flint Hills Resources’ crude oil refinery near Corpus Christi.
The TCEQ has failed to fulfill its promises to the federal government and the citizens of Texas, whom it is supposed to protect.
The Sunset Advisory Commission is a 12-member body appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the speaker of the house to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. Every 12 years, over 150 government agencies are reviewed for potential changes and improvements in their responsibilities and operations. And since the review of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the TCEQ, is quickly approaching, we’re getting organized! Will you join us for a call next Thursday, June 10th at 6pm CT?
From the Alliance for Clean Texas:
The Alliance for a Clean Texas (ACT) will launch its 2010-2011 TCEQ sunset campaign with a conference call next Thursday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m. All Texans committed to protecting our state’s environment and health are invited to participate in the call.
ACT is a coalition of organizations and individuals around the state working together to make this a milestone year for environmental protection in Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is currently under review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. Now is the time to turn our concerns about how TCEQ does and does not do its job of protecting our environment and our health into real, lasting reform.
In the last week, TCEQ has been at the center of two major stories about the Texas environment. The EPA has finally taken action to bring TCEQ air permitting back into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act–a move opposed by the TCEQ commissioners. And Fort Worth is reeling with the news that
Continue Reading »
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Sunset, TCEQ | Tagged Air permit, Air Quality, ASARCO, Barnett shale, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, flex permits, permit application, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, Sunset, sunset commission, sunset review, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission |
It was a week of welcoming at 1303 San Antonio Street. Four summer interns were hired this week and everyone is excited to to have them on board, particularly me as it gets pretty quiet in this place when there aren’t interns running around and being told what to do, or is it just me that gets pretty quiet? No matter, now onto introductions: Continue Reading »
Posted in Global Warming | Tagged abilene christian university, abilene repor, Cap Metro, clean elections texas, internship, tenaska coal plant, Texas |
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Background: What the controversy is all about
