EPA goes head to head with Texas over emissions

Texas is making more noise about the threat of tougher emissions standards than a trampled rodeo clown.

The Lone Star state filed a petition in federal court this week, arguing the government has no right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The message is loud and clear: Don’t mess with big business in Texas, or you’ll have a fight on your hand.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the regulations will sacrifice jobs and hurt the energy industry. According to the EPA, Texas and other Region 6 states are responsible for 35 percent of greenhouse gases emitted by industrial sources. But that doesn’t mean much in Texas.

“The unelected bureaucrats at the EPA have effectively and unilaterally ended any honest debate on this vital issue,” Gov. Perry said. “A cap and tax system would force Texans to bear more than their share of negative effects, including an average increase in annual living costs of approximately $1,200 per household and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. I’m a firm believer that Washington’s one-size-fits all approaches don’t work, whether you’re talking energy policies, health care reform or economic development."

EPA’s new Region 6 Director, Dr. Al Armendez, who is credited with standing up to the powers at be in Texas, says Texas officials should be leading the charge on emissions standards.

“Instead, Texas officials are attempting to slow progress with unnecessary litigation. EPA is confident the endangerment finding, which was issued as a result of a 2007 Supreme Court decision, will withstand legal challenge,” he said.

The Supreme Court ruling Armendez refers to was a 5-4 decision against the EPA, then run by the Bush administration. The ruling said the EPA violated the Clean Air Act by not regulating emissions. Now, three years later, Bush’s home state is still fighting the same battle.