News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

EPA Ready to Review North Texas Clean Air Plan

By Suzanne Sprague

Dallas, TX – Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90. Reporter: Last August, under a threat from the federal government to cut off highway funds, a group of local officials and business leaders began crafting a plan to clean up the air in North Texas by requiring reductions in nitrous oxide, or NOx, emissions. After nearly nine months of meetings and public hearings, the state's environmental agency, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, turned the plan over to the EPA. Yesterday, the EPA's regional administrator, Gregg Cooke, said the plan is complete and ready for review.

Gregg Cooke, Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator: The significance of this is that a year ago the state failed to submit to EPA the correct plan with all the component parts. Today they have remedied that and, as a result, the sanctions that loomed over Dallas Fort Worth a year ago have now been resolved.

Sprague: The EPA has one year to accept or reject the North Texas clean air plan; and there are several obstacles in its path, such as six lawsuits. The litigants include cement manufacturer Texas Industries, the Air Transport Association and Texas Utilities, among others. Rand Lavon is a spokesperson for TXU.

Rand Lavon, Texas Utilities Spokesperson: Under the State implementation plan, we would reduce emissions from nine percent down to about one percent of total NOx. No one else is doing that much. With that plan, you essentially have to turn off power plants when you need them the most, on a hot summer day, for example.

Sprague: TXU decided to go to court after three other lawsuits had been filed. The city of Grand Prairie followed soon after, challenging emissions regulations on industrial equipment at its landfill. Both parties say their lawsuits are the only way they can ensure a seat at the negotiating table if the earlier suits result in changes to the clean air plan. Don Postell is the city attorney for Grand Prairie.

Don Postell, City Attorney, Grand Prairie: While we weren't totally happy with the plans that required changes in our landfill, all those changes were proposals we felt we could live with. When we became aware that other industrial groups and other industrial companies had filed suit against the state, we became very concerned.

Sprague: All these lawsuits could delay the EPA in approving the clean air plan. And any subsequent changes to the plan could also lead to its rejection and the reinstatement of sanction threats. The first court hearing in the suits is scheduled for Monday in Austin. For KERA 90.1, I'm Suzanne Sprague.