The EPAs proposed action is unlawful on multiple fronts.
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The EPAs latest attempt
to infringe on Texas state sovereignty is yet another example of an overreaching federal government run amok"
said Gov. Greg Abbott submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)s Air Planning Section on
the agencys proposed regional haze" rule and the its unlawful attempt to force
a federal implementation plan on Texas in place of an already-developed state implementation plan.
The EPAs proposed action is unlawful on multiple fronts and perhaps most egregiously it would impose a $2 billion burden in compliance costs and threaten the reliability of Texas energy grid without any discernable benefits" Abbott said..
Governor Abbotts comment was submitted to the agency in addition to comment from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) after the EPA proposed to partially disapprove Texas state implementation plan and instead force Texas to adopt a federal implementation plan carrying a price tag of $2 billion.
In his comment Governor Abbott exposed numerous reasons the EPAs proposed action is unlawful and unjust including:
The EPA does not have the authority to regulate invisible haze yet that is what they are attempting to do: EPAs proposed decision…would do nothing to improve visibility…The Clean Air Act gives EPA authority only over the impairment of visibility…The statue obviously does not give EPA the authority to regulate invisible haze."
The EPA oversteps its statutory authority by imposing a $2 billion compliance cost on Texas: Cost alone renders the FIP unlawful. EPA has a statutory obligation to take into consideration the costs of compliance."
The EPAs proposed action arbitrarily discriminates against the State of Texas by imposing a different standard on Texas than it has on California. It appears the EPA has devised one set of rules for States it likes and another set for States it dislikes…EPAs capricious discrimination violates the fundamental norm of administrative procedure that requires an agency to treat like cases alike."
The EPAs proposed action violates the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution:
EPA concedes that the majority of regional haze in Big Bend and the Guadalupe Mountains comes from non-regulated conduct…EPA cannot then turn around and regulate regional haze on the theory that regulated conduct like carbon emissions from coal-fired power plans will have some effect on interstate commerce."
The EPAs proposed action is based on outdated data from 2009. Because EPA took almost six years to act on Texas proposed state implementation plan EPA did not have the up-to-date facts…if EPA had bothered to look it would have discovered that the haziness conditions in Big Bend and the Guadalupe Mountains are much better today than Texas projected way back in 2009."
To view the full text of Governor Abbotts comment click here.
