Posted on 12/13/2010 11:51:43 AM PST by EBH
The EPA has threatened dozens of Texas refiners and chemical and plastic makers with penalties if they don't begin taking steps to bring their air pollution permits into compliance with federal law by late December.
The blunt threat was made in a recent letter by the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator in Texas, heightening tensions in a standoff that has already reached the courts.
Texas has sued to block the EPA from rejecting its so-called flexible permits. On Tuesday, Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a brief in the case, fleshing out his arguments in a July petition that the agency had no legal or technical justification for disapproving the 16-year-old program.
The EPA's rejection of the Texas permitting regime in June is "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law," Abbott wrote in the brief for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The EPA has defended the decision, saying the Texas rules fall short of the federal Clean Air Act's requirements. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issues the permits on behalf of the EPA, but the federal agency decides whether they are in compliance with the law.
The flexible permits cover 130 industrial facilities across the state, but most of them have made no attempt to fix their permits, the EPA said.
Last week, the agency sent letters to 74 companies, giving them until Dec. 22 to explain
(Excerpt) Read more at beaumontenterprise.com ...
Maybe they should stop selling fuel for AF1.
Yep. They don’t have the authority to do any of what they do.
Period.
Time to stop the madness!
Texas may just tell EPA to go away & decide to secede from the union.
They have the right to do just exactly that.
The list, ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
The local fish wrap tossed a free copy on my driveway yesterday. Took a look to see if they had changed anything since I quite taking them years ago. Nope.
There in the “Opinion” section was a cartoon bashing “Big Oil” for driving up gas prices. Typical. Nothing about the EPA. Nothing about the Fed killing the dollar. Just typical class warfare.
Maybe I need to sic the EPA on them for littering my property.
Anyone else notice the likely ethnicity of the EPA’s regional administrator?
Perry should go to DC and attempt to get this postponed or stopped. When, inevitably, he fails, he should whip out this gem from Davey Crockett:
“You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.”
He should then let every federal employee in the State of Texas know that if they attempt to interfere with the operation of any Texas oil refinery, all of which are vital to the economic interests of the residents of this state, that they will be arrested. He should also let the public know that he is soliciting volunteers to augment the Texas State Militia, with all new members having to provide their own weapons. I’d estimate that Rick would get at least 1 million volunteers.
Let’s see what Obambi does about that, besides wetting himself.
“Texas may just tell EPA to go away & decide to secede from the union.”
I was thinking the same thing....
Texas should tell Washington to Go To Hell and secede from this corrupt union.
From your lips to God’s ears!
Well isn't that the Obama admin in a nut shell?
Wyatt's Torch is needed.
This has the makings of a landmark state’s rights case which has the potential to devastate the federal government’s ability to rule by imperial diktat. Fingers crossed.
Oh, yeah, I forgot that Perry authorizes all members of the Texas State Militia to not only own full auto weapons, but to have them in their homes (like the Swiss militia). We here in Texas have a LOT of gunsmiths and small manufacturing facilities related to guns - I'd be willing to bet that we could ramp up and produce 100,000 happy switches a month in very short order. It'd be a boon to industry here, and would dramatically increase demand for underwear in every federal building, newspaper office, television studio and university campus.
Then again, maybe hanging out with Mark LaRue of LaRue Tactical has rubbed off on him in a good way.
Time for Texas to vote to recind the treat upon which it was annexed. I believe the state is very self sufficient. Tell Santa Ana (o)bama to GFH.
That’s one reason the EPA is trying to stop them—so they comply with the law, not just arbitrary approvals.
Of course, it could devolve all enforcement to the EPA, taking away any state agency power.
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