EPA may federalize Texas air program (to HUGE economic detriment)

Associated Press ^ | 26 May 2010 | Ramit Plushnick-Masti

[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.

[Mrs.Z]

Let’s see...zero WILL NOT send NATIONAL GUARD to the border, even though we HAVE A TERRORIST ALERT.

But zero WILL send EPA brownshirts down to shutdown refineries?

Usual lib logic.

[lonestar]

I was more ashamed of Clinton personally than of the gov't and while I didn't agree with his politics, I never thought he hated the US or was trying to bring our country to its knees.

I think O hates the US...and multiply it by 10 and that's how I feel about the traitor POTUS and his administration.

I loathe Obama!

[Desron13]

We need to tell the EPA and the Obummer administration to go pack sand. DON”T MESS WITH TEXAS! The time is rapidly approaching to lock and load.