With states scrambling to align their own rules with U.S. EPA‘s new regulations, which are set to take effect on Jan. 2, 2011 and require regulators to start issuing Clean Air Act permits next year for large stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions, Texas is now the lone holdout, according to an analysis by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). Click here to see a copy of the analysis. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘TCEQ’
Texas last holdout on issuing greenhouse gas permits
Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, natural gas, Renewables, TCEQ, tagged clean air act, EPA, flex permits, fort worth star telegram, George W. Bush, greenhouse gas, greenhouse gases, Major stationary source, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, United States Environmental Protection Agency on October 29, 2010 |
TCEQ Status Update on Las Brisas Application an Effort to “Fast-Track” the SOAH process
Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Global Warming, tagged Coal, las brisas, TCEQ, Texas on October 15, 2010 |
This morning at a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hearing, Las Brisas Energy Center attempted to try to move their permitting process along by asking the commissioners to intervene in the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) process, but the SOAH Admininistrative Law Judges (ALJs) informed the TCEQ that changes to their process would not be prudent.
[vimeo 15967410]
Both Commissioner Garcia and Chairman Shaw are shown here asking the administrative law judges who presided over the contested case hearing for the proposed Las Brisas coal (pet-coke) plant to speed the process along. The main reason for this is likely that the EPA’s new CO2 rules take effect on January 2nd of next year – and they don’t want to have to make the coal plant owners meet these new standards. Once again it is clear that the sole interest of these Governor-appointed commissioners is the financial interests of the applicants (coal plant owners, etc.) and not the health and well being of the people of Texas and their environment.
To watch the entire TCEQ video of the hearing (second item on the agenda), click here.
TCEQ GETTING A STATUS UPDATE ON LAS BRISAS
Posted in Air Quality, Coal, tagged Coal, corpus chrisit, las brisas, soah, TCEQ, Texas on October 14, 2010 |
Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will have a hearing at their headquarters off Interstate 35 and Parmer Lane in north Austin regarding a status-update on the air permit application for the controversial Las Brisas coke-fired coal plant proposed for Corpus Christi. Commissioners sent the application back for further review last summer.
This update on the planned Las Brisas Energy Center will be held in advance of Monday’s hearing by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The commission sent the application back to SOAH on June 30 to determine if the plant would be in compliance with federal clean air laws.
Las Brisas has asked the TCEQ to take unprecedented and extraordinary steps to issue an air pollution permit before the end of the year, in order to avoid greenhouse gas regulations that become effective early next year and tomorrow’s status update and Monday’s SOAH hearing should be watched carefully
When commissioners remanded the application in June, they cited problems involving technical readings of federal clean air laws, including whether petroleum coke should be in the same category as coal for the purpose of evaluating its impact on air quality.
Both the ALJ and the TCEQ staff had agreed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not specifically ruled on that question, but noted that the federal agency is expected to do so by next year.
The TCEQ’s decision to remand the application was based on more narrow concerns, including whether there would be an increase in particulate matter from offsite sources above levels expected under its most recent modeling.
The commission also instructed Las Brisas to be able to demonstrate that it could load the ashes from the burned petroleum coke into trucks for offsite disposal without contributing to additional emissions.
We’ll keep you updated on what is happening with this proposed plant as events unfold.
###
By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Judges Recommend Tenaska Coal Plant Permit Not Be Granted As Is
Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Sunset, TCEQ, tagged Air permit, alj, CCS, climate change, Coal, coal plant, Global Warming, judge, permit, Public Citizen, soah, TCEQ, tenaska, Texas on October 4, 2010 |
The Administrative Law Judges (The Judges) who heard the case against the proposed Tenaska Coal Fired Power plant ruled Friday that Tenaska’s air permit should not be granted as it stands!
“The Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) have concluded, based on their review of the evidence and applicable law, that Tenaska failed to meet its burden of proof to demonstrate that the emissions limits proposed in its Draft Permit will meet the requirements for Best Available Control Technology (BACT) and Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT). The ALJs recommend that the Commission adopt more stringent emissions limits as indicated below. Alternatively, the ALJs recommend that the Commission deny the Application or remand the matter for further evidence regarding BACT and MACT.”
While we all know there is no such thing as “clean coal” Tenaska claims that they would be one of the cleanest around, yet the judges recommended lower limits for almost every pollutant that Tenaska would emit.
The proposed Tenaska coal plant, if built, would be a 900 MW coal plant that would emit:
Citizens pack a town hall in Abilene - the majority are against the proposed plant.
Sulfur Dioxide: 2,183 tons/year; Nitrogen Oxide (forms Ozone):1,819 tons/year;Particulate Matter:1,092 tons/year;Mercury: 124 lbs/year.
We commend the Judges for following the law and working to make sure the Clean Air Act is followed. The important thing to remember, folks, is that this is a “recommendation” to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), not a binding ruling. So when the TCEQ commissioners make the decision on the Tenaska air permit they will have the opportunity to do the right thing for the health of Texans and deny the air permit!
We don’t need another coal plant in Texas. Instead we should be investing in renewable energy technology like wind and solar which Texas is so ripe for!
###
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 arePublic Citizen Texas.
Perry Banks on Texas Politics through Appointments
Posted in Campaign Finance, Global Warming, Good Government, tagged appointments in Texas, bill white, parry patronage, PUC, Rick Perry, rick perry campaign, TCEQ, texans for public justice, Texas on September 30, 2010 |
If you didn’t think the Governor race in Texas can get any crazier, you were mistaken. Texans for Public Justice released a report today which shows the Governor receives contributions from his political appointees. (This we knew, but in these amounts?) According to the report, Perry’s campaign has received more than 17 million dollars in contributions from his appointees and their spouses since 2001. These contributions come from entities like the A&M Board of Regents to the Texas Tax Reform Commission.
Perry’s hands are in every government agency in the state. His appointees rank from commissioners of big agencies like the PUC or the TCEQ to smaller ones like the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority. The report points out that almost a quarter of his appointees have given money to his campaign fund. This is not the first time news about Perry’s shakedown of his appointees come out, in 2005, the Houston Chronicle published a story about Perry collecting 5 million dollar from his appointees. The contributions averaged about 18 thousand dollars but if you look at the chart below (From TPJ) , you can see that the governor received hundred of thousands of dollars from some appointees.
This explains Perry’s fierce defense of his appointees when something bad floats to surface and it also explains how he has been the longest-serving governor in Texas. In a country that prides itself on a check-and-balance type of government, those kind of reports and numbers should be staggering to people.
For fairness sake, many would say Bill White is just the same, he also receives contributions from his political appointees. According a Texas Tribune article, they are right, but the scale is entirely different. Since White started being in public life in the 90’s, he has collected about 2 million dollars. This is on a much lower scale than the 17 million dollars Perry received in less than ten years, and the fact that this 17 million represents between one-quarter to one-fifth of the money raised by Perry.
It is dangerous to our state that our governor is banking on the shaping of policy in Texas. But here in Public Citizen, we always say, “the only thing that beats organized money is organized people, ” so it is our turn to look at the facts, learn about the issues, and reject the status quo of money having an undue influence in politics. We call on all candidates for public office to support REAL reform of our campaign finance system, including bans on raising unlimited money from appointees and especially by moving to a system of public financing for all offices.
###
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.
TCEQ Proves Incompetent Once Again, Approves White Stallion Coal Plant
Posted in Air Quality, Coal, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, TCEQ, tagged approves, Carbon Dioxide, climate change, Coal, coal plant, Electricity generation, Energy, matagorda county, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Public Citizen, regulate, regulation, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, white stallion on September 29, 2010 |
Today the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) continued their decades-long campaign of ineptitude and inadequacy as they approved the air quality permit for the White Stallion Coal Plant proposed for Matagorda County on the Texas Gulf Coast. Their ruling was unanimous despite the fact that the administrative law judges, who spent weeks presiding over and then deliberating the aspects of this case, recommended that this permit should not be issued. On top of that the TCEQ’s own staff at the Office of Public Interest Council (or OPIC) reiterated their position that this permit should be denied.
"Clean coal" is about as realistic and honest as this image.
It seems simple things like common sense and logic are completely absent from the regulatory fantasy world the TCEQ commissioners live in. It is their opinion that the thousands of tons of toxic pollution they have permitted this coal plant to emit are “acceptable,” even though they are likely to lead to the deaths of over 600 Matagorda County residents over the plant’s estimated lifetime, at a price tag of over $5.4 billion in health care costs (according to a report from MSB Energy Associates). Also “acceptable” to these TCEQ commissioners is an air monitor White Stallion used for their air modeling report (a vital part of the air permitting process), despite the fact that it is located outside of Corpus Christi, 100 miles downwind of the proposed site. They may as well have used a monitor in China, as the emissions from White Stallion would likely never head in that direction.
TCEQ commissioners have also completely ignored the fact that the EPA has set new standards for National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and they are not requiring White Stallion to adhere to them, despite the fact that this plant would be on the doorstep of the existing Houston non-attainment region. In fact, once the new EPA ozone standards come into effect, Matagorda County is slated to be included in the Houston non-attainment region. By that time, however, thanks to the expedient and enthusiastic permitting approval by the TCEQ, White Stallion will be “grandfathered” and its effects on a non-attainment region will stand.
The most egregious assault on common sense and logic, however, is this plant is completely unnecessary and dangerous to all of Texas, and in fact the entire world. At a time when we need to be shifting our infrastructure and development to renewable and sustainable forms of energy generation, a CO2 and toxin-belching coal plant is the last thing we should be permitting in Texas. This plant represents not only an assault on the health of Matagorda County citizens, but a furthering of reliance upon these dirty, old methods of power generation. We have the technology now to be shifting to responsibly generated electricity. To fail in this is not just a failure by the TCEQ towards the people of Matagorda, but the failure of the state of Texas to lead this country in the direction we desperately need to go.
In the end, however, we can all take heart in the fact that the ultimate decision on whether this plant gets built or not is not only in the hands of the TCEQ. That power lies in the hands of the people – both those who are opposing the project and those attempting to build it. This plant still requires a waste water permit from TCEQ, a water contract from LCRA, and another permit from the Army Corps of Engineers before it can operate. It is also expected that this decision from the TCEQ will be challenged at the state courts. Ultimately, as long as the people of Matagorda continue to say “NO” to this plant, and as more and more people rally to help them in their cause, this plant will be defeated.
Go to NoCoalCoalition.org for more information and to get involved in the fight against White Stallion.
###
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.
EPA’s New Program to Fix Texas’s Broken Flexible Permits Program
Posted in Air Quality, TCEQ, tagged Air Quality, clean air act, Federal Government, federal register, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, United States, United States Environmental Protection Agency on September 22, 2010 |
It has been about half a year since the battles started between the EPA and TCEQ over the Texas’s flexible air-permitting program. Unfortunately, the Governor has taken advantage of this issue to use to attack the Federal Government in his bid for the Governor post. Many have us have forgotten that the EPA started questioning the state’s permitting program during the Bush administration, long before Obama took office, but since this is an election year, Perry will do anything within his reach to cling on that chair.
The EPA finds the 16 year permitting program incompliant with the Clean Air Act. The program makes it difficult to monitor the pollution and reduce emission from Texas facilities because, rather than having to disclose pollution for each individual smokestack at a facility, they aggregate them all together. The Governor and the Attorney general have already sued the EPA protesting the latter’s “overstepping its authority.” The TCEQ says the program is just fine and gives permits to Texas at a cheaper cost.
But we and most other environmental groups, find flex permits severely lacking. All we (and the feds) are asking for is some basic transparency. If flex permits do work, simply tell us what your emissions are, and let’s have a debate about the efficacy of the program. Buit we can’t do that while industry and TCEQ hide the data from the public.
After the many twists and turns this battle has taken, the EPA has set in place a new rule to start a voluntary Audit Program under which refineries and other facilities in Texas can hire a third party auditor. If businesses fail to meet the standards after being audited, the EPA promises not to penalize them but to work with them to acquire a federal air permit.
TX facilities should find this program reasonable. According to the EPA’s website, “The Audit Program is available for 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. Participants who sign up in the first 45 days can take advantage of a reduced penalty incentive for potential violations.”
The TCEQ has protested the new rule, “he state of Texas vigorously defends its flexible permits program and expects to prevail in court. Flexible permits are legal and effective,” said Terry Clawson, the Spokesman for the TCEQ.
Well, if that’s so– show us the data. They won’t, because they know that it won’t stand up to scrutiny.
Finally, Texas facilities will follow the Clean Air Act, just like facilities in every other state.
Meanwhile, tax dollars Texans pay are being wasted on a state agency that refuses to do its job of protecting the state’s environment, and are being wasted by our governor and attorney general on meaningless lawsuits. The EPA is not out to get Texas and just like Al Armedariz said, “Our objective is to get good permits.”
That’s our goal, too. TCEQ is undergoing Sunset Review by the Texas Legislature. Let’s hope we get an agency that follows the law.
###
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.
TCEQ POSTS INTERACTIVE BARNETT SHALE MAP
Posted in Air Quality, Energy, natural gas, tagged Air Quality, Barnett shale, dallas, dfw, environment, environmental quality, fort worth, natural gas, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on August 27, 2010 |
Live downwind from the Barnett Shale ?
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality posted an interactive map of the Barnett Shale on its website that allows you to see the latest data from the various air quality monitoring sites near natural gas drilling and pipeline facilities.
Barnett Shale Air Sampling Map Viewer
Be forwarned however that the information contained on this website is not for the faint of heart or the casual internet surfer. Those who venture through the maze that is the TCEQ website, without much beyond a basic familiarity of the terms associated with measuring the sundry compounds that can escape from gas operation facilities, might find themselves challenged to understand what the map offers.
TCEQ has been under pressure from North Texas lawmakers and from various interest groups to provide the public with as much information as possible about how gas operations in the urbanized Barnett Shale might be affecting air quality. And the introduction of the map comes just four days after the chairmen of the House and Senate committees that oversee environmental regulations prompted the agency to more than double the number of air monitoring sites in the Barnett Shale.
TCEQ also announced today that it plans to hold an open house in the Barnett Shale area in October that will feature interactive displays and presentations where residents can learn about specific regulatory activities in the area. Details about when and where the open house will take place are not yet available but we will let you know as soon as we know.
TCEQ has said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluated its monitoring operations in the tiny town of Dish and found no reason to doubt the validity of the test results.
Feeling adventurous? Want to to spend part of your weekend wandering around virtually through the new interactive map? Click here.
###
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.
Federal Investigation of Texas’ Radioactive Waste Dump Urged
Posted in Nuclear, tagged environmental, EPA, NRC, Nuclear, nuclear waste, public citizen texas, TCEQ, Texas, waste control specialists, WCS on August 11, 2010 |
NRC and EPA called upon to examine radioactive waste site and licensing process, risks of groundwater contamination and potential risks to the Ogallala Aquifer, which lies beneath eight states
AUSTIN – Environmental groups today asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate the radioactive waste storage and disposal programs administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the West Texas radioactive waste site owned by Waste Control Specialists (WCS). The groups say the TCEQ has failed to protect public health, safety and the environment by repeatedly and brazenly abusing its legal authority and disregarding warnings of its technical staff about the site’s hazards. Further, citizens have not had adequate opportunities to participate in the licensing processes.
The groups are calling on the NRC to consider terminating or suspending the TCEQ’s authority to regulate the storage and disposal of low-level radioactive waste and radioactive byproducts in Texas. The groups also are asking the EPA to review the potential impact on the water supply and take action if necessary.
Read the full release, the request to NRC and EPA,and supporting documents online at www.TexasNuclearSafety.org. The request was filed by Public Citizen and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, along with State Representative Lon Burnam (Texas House District 90), and individuals from Andrews, Texas and Eunice, New Mexico, who live near the WCS facility in Andrews County. The matter is urgent because WCS has been pushing the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission to let it import radioactive waste from at least 36 other states.
Some of the hottest radioactive waste that exists, including nuclear reactor containment vessels and poison curtains that absorb reactor radiation, could be buried in the proposed radioactive waste dump. There is not a single radionuclide that can’t go to the so-called ‘low-level’ site, and many of them remain hazardous for literally millions of years.
Radioactive waste dumps around the country have leaked. Cleaning up contaminated groundwater is difficult and expensive. Texas taxpayers could be on the hook for clean up costs if the site and groundwater become contaminated or if there are transportation accidents.
Go to www.TexasNuclearSafety.org to learn more.
Texas sends Hot-headed letter to EPA on CO2: partisan political ploy at its worst
Posted in Global Warming, TCEQ, tagged bryan shaw, carbon regulation, clean air act, deregulation, Dr. Al Armendariz, EPA, greenhouse gas emissions, greg abbott, Lisa Jackson, Massachusetts v EPA, public citizen texas, Rick Perry, tailoring rule, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Attorney General on August 4, 2010 |
At a time when in much of the US we are facing the most significant heat waves in decades, global temperature averages have shown 2010 to be the hottest year ever in recorded history, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Climactic Data Center just released its most comprehensive report on climate change which may as well have been called “It’s Real and It’s Here: NOW!”, and droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires are causing Armageddon-like conditions around Moscow, causing even the global warming denying Russian government to capitulate to the scientific consensus….. Even with all of that, it would seem like an odd time for the state of Texas to send a shot across the EPA’s bow, insulting them and goading them into a fight over Texas carbon emissions and the Clean Air Act.
But yet they have.
Monday August 2nd the state of Texas sent a letter to the EPA (original can be downloaded here) informing them that we would no longer be complying with the Clean Air Act, specifically provisions relating to the regulation of greenhouse gases. This letter signed by Attorney General Greg Abbott and TCEQ Commissioner Bryan Shaw is full of bluster and short on reasoned legal arguments with any real merit.
What it really remind me of is one of my favorite paintings, Запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану or, Zaprozhe Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan by Ilya Repin. (For comparison’s sake, I would highly recommend following that link to read the text of the Cossack’s letter– it has language saltier than anything else I’ve heard this side of South Park) I just can’t help think of the unabashed joy that must’ve coursed through the veins of the Atty General and TCEQ Commissioner as they drafted this, using phrases like (more…)
Why Jeopardize Our Health for Dirty Energy Jobs when there are Clean Energy Jobs to be had?
Posted in Coal, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, natural gas, Renewables, solar, TCEQ, tagged Air Quality, cap and trade, drilling, drilling moratorium, EPA, TCEQ, Texas on July 7, 2010 |
It is frustrating that our local and federal governments are strained from taking action to ameliorate our air and water quality because once they try to do so, the other side recites loss in jobs as the result– but never do they mention any public health concerns and the effect that has on the economy. (more…)
Judges in the White Stallion Coal Plant Hearing Find Application “Deficient”
Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged Coal, EPA, TCEQ, Texas, white stallion on July 7, 2010 |
On Monday, when many of us were celebrating the 4th of July holiday, two State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) administrative law judges (ALJs) released their ruling in a controversial case over whether to permit the proposed 1,200 MW “White Stallion” coal plant near Bay City, Texas.
AJLs Kerrie Jo Qualthorough and Paul Keeper announced they could not recommend issuance of the permit, that they found the application to be deficient in several respects. In sending their proposed findings to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the ALJs recommended TCEQ gather more information from White Stallion to address specific deficiencies within the next 180 days.
Specifically, the ALJs found White Stallion:
- relied upon unapproved ozone monitoring data,
- failed to conduct a health effects review for coal dust,
- failed to determine the appropriate emission limits for the hazardous air pollutants Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) and Hydrogen Fluoride (HF). (more…)
TCEQ Continues to Fail the People of Texas
Posted in Coal, Energy, Global Warming, TCEQ, tagged Coal, corpus christi, fail, hearing, judge, judges, las brisas, meeting, pet-coke, Petcoke, petroleum, pollution, Public Citizen, remand, soah, state office of administrative hearings, TCEQ, Texas on June 30, 2010 |
The TCEQ ruled today on the air permit for the proposed Las Brisas pet-coke plant in Corpus Christi. The good news is they didn’t grant the permit (yet), instead they remanded the permit back to the State Office of Administrative Hearings on a number of issues. However, they refused to acknowledge some of the most important aspects and requirements of the process (like a case-by-case analysis of the hazardous air pollutants) and practically ignored the recommendations of the administrative law judges and even their own staff – who have all recommended that this permit be denied.
TCEQ should have sent Las Brisas packing – they should have outright denied this joke of a permit, or at the least made them restart the permitting process from square one. Instead we have the same old story from TCEQ. They have shown once more that their primary interest is to allow industries to pollute irresponsibly and not, as it should be, to protect the people and environment of Texas from unnecessary pollution.
The video below is of the press conference held yesterday, which also talked about revisions to water quality standards – another mistake TCEQ is in the process of making. Visit Sierra Club’s website for more on that. Stay tuned to Texas Vox for more info on the Las Brisas case – the video footage of today’s proceedings will be up by tomorrow and will include responses from the protestants in the case including locals from Corpus Christi.
[vimeo 12988286]
###
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
EPA disapproves Texas “flex permitting” program at TCEQ- new programs must follow Clean Air Act, transparency standards
Posted in Energy, Good Government, TCEQ, Toxics, tagged ACT, asthma, clean air act, Dr. Al Armendariz, EPA, flex permits, TCEQ, Texas, Texas Sunset Advisory Commission on June 30, 2010 |
The EPA announced today that Texas’s much-discussed and derided flex permitting program does not follow the federal Clean Air Act (big surprise </sarcasm>). This was an action that began when the EPA under George W. Bush called into question the transparency and efficacy of the program which allows big polluters to skirt the federal Clean Air Act. From their press release:
EPA is disapproving the permit program after determining that it allows companies to avoid certain federal clean air requirements by lumping emissions from multiple units under a single “cap” rather than setting specific emission limits for individual pollution sources at their plants.
“Today’s action improves our ability to provide the citizens of Texas with the same healthy-air protections that are provided for citizens in all other states under the Clean Air Act.,” said Al Armendariz, Regional Administrator. “EPA will continue working closely with Texas, industry, environmental organizations, and community leaders to assure an effective and legal air permitting system.”
We’re chiming in on this, with a joint press release from the Alliance for Clean Texas (ACT), where you can go to read the full press release. Here’s the highlights: (more…)
Things to know about the TCEQ air-permitting controversy
Posted in Good Government, Sunset, tagged emissions, EPA, glenn shankle, Mark Vickery, Oak Grove, perry, Sunset, TCEQ, Texas, waste control specialists, WCS on June 16, 2010 |
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. (more…)
Support our work!
">spousalSubscribe by Email
Categories
Popular Tags
air pollution Air Quality Austin Austin Energy Barnett shale Carbon Dioxide clean air act Clean Energy climate change Coal coal plant CPS Energy Energy Energy Efficiency Environmental Protection Agency EPA eye on williamson Global Warming green jobs houston Keystone Pipeline natural gas Nuclear Nuclear Power Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Citizen public citizen texas radioactive waste renewable energy Renewables Rick Perry San Antonio SEED Coalition Sierra Club solar solar power south texas chisme South Texas Project TCEQ Texas Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Texas Legislature texas progressive alliance Tom "Smitty" Smith United States Environmental Protection Agency
Citizen Vox Blog-
350 Challenge
Pages
November 2024 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Archives
Meta