Posted on 05/25/2010 10:27:17 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Objecting to how Texas regulates air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is taking over the issuance of an operating permit for a Corpus Christi refinery and could step in at some 39 other major facilities across the state.
“I think the writing will be on the wall — unless we start seeing better permits that address our objections, we are very likely to begin federalizing others,” EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz said in a telephone interview. “The state is not following federal Clean Air Act requirements.”
Tuesday's unprecedented action affected a Flint Hills Resources refinery in Corpus Christi. The EPA's action means the facility must submit an application with detailed information to the federal agency, which could approve or deny a permit.
The company said it was evaluating a letter from the EPA notifying plant officials of the move.
The list of facilities that could come next the include chemical plants, refineries and other facilities, such as the Goodyear Tire & Rubber plants in Bayport and Houston, the Motiva Enterprises Houston terminal, Rhodia Inc.'s Houston plant, the Chevron Phillips Cedar Bayou facility and Valero's Texas City facility. Other company permits that have drawn scrutiny from the EPA include Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical Co. and Formosa Plastics.
“We've never objected to 40 permits issued by a state permitting authority, and we've not federalized a permit in a state in this manner before unless we were requested to do so by a state or a particular facility,” Armendariz said. “The action we're taking today, together with the 40 objections, is unprecedented.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
ARE there any Ellis Wyatt’s in America?
Where’s Rick?
The commies are a bit full of themselves.
It's not worth most people's time to sue. Much less prove that they've exceeded legal discharge limits. You need government for that kind of operation. But never ever should you have any "all-powerful" federal agency. That would be unconstitutional.
My entire point. Most torts are too small to bother with and inconsequential anyway. Let big problems be managed aggressively, but small ones will work themselves out.
I'm sorry but is this story about Texas or Venezuela?
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