Posted on 05/27/2010 5:14:19 AM PDT by dufekin
HOUSTON — The Environmental Protection Agency may take over the entire job of regulating air quality in Texas if the state keeps violating the Clean Air Act, an EPA official told The Associated Press on Wednesday — intensifying a dispute over regulating pollution from the largest U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants.
The comment by regional EPA chief Al Armendariz comes a day after he said the federal government would issue the operating permit for one refinery in Corpus Christi and planned to take over 39 other permits.
Now, Armendariz said, the agency is studying how to federalize what has always been a state job and hiring eight permitting engineers and attorneys — partly to deal with Texas.
"Do we also think the deficiencies are serious enough to go that route? The answer is yes," Armendariz said. "If we have to, we will. The takeover of a state program and the federalizing of a state program is a lengthy process and doesn't happen overnight."
Armendariz had said the EPA wanted assurances by July 1 that Texas will comply with federal law.
The EPA's plan is sure to set off fireworks in Texas.
State regulators have consistently said they disagree with the EPA's conclusion that Texas allows the petrochemical industry to spew out an unmeasured amount of toxins as it refines one-third of the nation's gasoline and produces thousands of other chemical products and plastics.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA effectively must approve almost every state environmental statute, rule, or other law related to air quality, and states must maintain and enforce whatever body of environmental law EPA demands of them. As a matter of law, EPA must issue its approval (or disapproval) of a state implementation plan containing its laws within 1 year plus 60 days. But EPA is allowed to define the terms "year" and "days" to mean something entirely different than the revolution and rotation periods of the planet Earth. In this case, EPA dithered for 16 years (since 1994) before disapproving a rule in Texas. This dilatory behavior on the part of EPA generally reflects their operating practice and does not represent an extreme outlier.
Every major source of air pollution (any which emits 100 tons per year of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxides, or an appropriate quantity of each of many other pollutants) must receive an operating permit from the state; the permit allows them to operate for five years. With EPA planning to take over the permitting process in Texas and given their dilatory example, one can expect that most permits simply will lapse, which could lead to widespread industry shutdowns although lawyers likely will find a way to extend existing permits pending the outcome of the application to issue a new permit. New or modified sources must obtain permits to begin construction; these innovations simply will not happen.
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA must approve measures that Texas takes to reduce air pollution. Texas likely legally must take various measures that will not reduce actual air pollution and even may increase it but will impose a great burden on businesses (and sometimes on their own bureaucrats too). This is in part because EPA relies on very outdated accounting methods and decades-old technical work to determine which measures reduce air pollution. Meanwhile, Texas also must reduce actual air pollution, which requires taking other measures.
Besides potentially ruining the economy of Texas, squelching industrial innovation in Texas, and causing high-stakes legal confusion in Texas, this move from EPA sets precedent for EPA bureaucrats to take over air-pollution programs nationwide, bringing their characteristic sloth and outdated accounting methods.
And that doesn't include their CO2 standards...coming soon to kill any actually productive economic activity near you.
And there goes the economy...straight down the toilet...
Reads: “Government to take over refineries”
40 paces at high noon
The Cloward-Piven writ large on the worlkd has many aspects ... get your head ready for the massive federal oligarchical move coming as a result of the sonofabitch exploiting the oil disaster in the Gulf. Rahm meant what he said, a crisis is an opportunity to do what you normally cannot do.
The mere existence of the EPA is unconstitutional! The enumerated powers in Article 1 Section 8 does not specifically list regulating the environment as a power granted to Congress. The EPA must be abolished!
The EPA needs to be denutted and it is on my list of things to raise cain about once we get a Congress that will listen.
I’m ready to volunteer for the new Alamo.
Islamic militants do not need acts of domestic terror to bring this country down just a friend in the White House.
“The Cloward-Piven writ large on the worlkd has many aspects ... get your head ready for the massive federal oligarchical move coming as a result of the sonofabitch exploiting the oil disaster in the Gulf. Rahm meant what he said, a crisis is an opportunity to do what you normally cannot do.”
...and THIS is why the government is doing “nothing” about the oil spill...at great cost to the environment and people.
Or see life through the crosshairs of a rifle...it seems to be quickly approcaching that solution...
Wow, there's nothing like unbiased reporting, is there???
Of course, this is bullshit, because the Texas equivalent of the EPA is measuring all sorts of pollutants on a daily basis, AND requiring reportage of such analyses by the companies themselves.
For the first time in my adult life, I’m afraid and ashamed of my government.
The EPA is the real reason so much industry has left the US.
I wonder how many Texas dims voted for Obummer, the Marxist now posing as a Fascist.
When the shooting starts, I’ll be sure to use smokeless powder.
The hippies, nancy boys and women’s softball league in Austin will absolutely love this.
Any move by the EPA to control the pollution emitted by the maquiladoras along the Mexican side of the border? Or is this just a move to harass Texas?
One word: SUCEDE.
“For the first time in my adult life, I’m afraid and ashamed of my government.”
I was very ashamed during Bill Clinton’s administration but i just recently became scared, not for me but for my children and grandchildren.
Not THAT word!
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