Texas asks for review of EPA regulations
AUSTIN -- The Texas attorney general has asked a federal appeals court to review new air pollution rules, which some state leaders think could lead to power outages, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Attorney General Greg Abbott asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to review regulations for coal-fired power plants announced July 27. The state planned to file another petition on Wednesday to block enforcement of the rules, said Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for Abbott.
"The EPA's latest overreaching and unlawful regulations jeopardize the availability of reliable electricity in Texas, imperil hundreds of jobs for hard-working Texans, and violate federal law," Abbott said in a statement. "Inexplicably, the [Obama] administration is determined to advance its aggressive agenda despite the risk of power outages in the heat of the Texas summer and unemployment for hard-working coal miners and power plant employees."
The EPA had no immediate comment on the petition.
Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican presidential candidate, has made the Environmental Protection Agency a major campaign issue, insisting that new air pollution rules are hurting the economy. He has promised to minimize federal regulation if elected president.
The new rules at issue in this case would require states to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, which mostly come from coal-fired plants.
Texas has 19 coal-fired power plants -- more than any other state -- and plans to build nine more. It is one of the few states still adding coal-fired plants and releases more air pollutants than any other state. Most other states are building generation plants that use sources other than coal, particularly natural gas.
On Sept. 12, Texas' largest electricity producer, Luminant, said it would shut down two coal-fired power units and lay off hundreds of workers if the new rules were enforced, even after the EPA offered to help the company meet the tougher standards.
The next day, the Republican-controlled Texas Senate held a hearing on the new rules, blasting them as "job killers."
State Sen. Troy Fraser, a close political ally of Perry, suggested the Obama administration was unfairly targeting Texas because it is heavily Republican.
Earlier this year, Texas filed a different suit to block rules designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is awaiting a court ruling in that case. The EPA has also taken away some of the state's authority to issue clean air permits to refineries, citing lax enforcement of existing air pollution regulations.
