By Shelley Kofler, KERA
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-904350.mp3
Dallas, TX – The standoff over air pollution regulations in Texas is growing hotter. Earlier this week the EPA seized the state's authority for permitting one refinery and it's threatening to go further. KERA's Shelley Kofler reports Governor Perry says the state may fight this in court.
In Dallas Wednesday Governor Perry accused "an increasingly activist EPA" of treading on state's rights.
Perry: The EPA is on the verge of killing thousands of Texas jobs and derailing a program that has cleaned Texas air. I'm calling on President Obama to rein in the EPA.
The EPA's second in command for this region, Layla Mansuri, defended her agency. She says it took control of the refinery's operating permit because Texas refused to follow federal law.
Mansuri: The deadline has long since passed and yesterday we took action
At issue is how Texas regulates industrial air emissions that include cancer-causing pollutants like benzene.
The flash point involved the Flint Hills refinery in Corpus Christi which processes up to 300,000 gallons of crude each day, producing gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products.
In December the EPA told the state's environmental agency, the TCEQ, its operating permit for Flint Hills was unacceptable. The EPA requires individual limits on air pollution coming from each unit within a plant. The state issues a "flexible" permit which sets a plant-wide limit for all refinery emissions.
Critics say flexible permits allow industry to hide pollution.
The EPA's Mansuri says Flint Hills has until Sept 15 to submit an acceptable application or face consequences.
Mansuri: EPA would have the authority to request them to stop operating at this point.
Texas has issued flexible permits for almost two decades. EPA has issued warnings but Perry says he was surprised by this crackdown.
Perry: We were working in good faith with the EPA and we thought we were making progress. We were taken aback that they took this action at this point in time.
And there may be more action to come. The EPA told Texas to mark July 1 on its calendar. That's when it may take over permitting for other Texas plants if the state doesn't bend and comply.
The EPA says its already hiring staff and preparing to takeover the state permitting process if Texas continues to violate the Clean Air Act.