Tag Archives: TCEQ

The cost of fighting the inevitable

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Trib headline: Anti-Regulation Politics May Have Hurt Energy Industry. Oh, the irony. Businesses in energy-related industries in Texas say they have been unable to take full advantage of the natural gas boom that is roaring across the state because of … Continue reading →

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EPA and TCEQ settle lawsuits over flex permits

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One less court fight for us and the feds. The EPA and Texas on Wednesday said they have reached a deal over state permits for industrial air pollution, ending a four-year fight that to some had become a symbol of … Continue reading →

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That pollution isn’t our fault!

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the creativity. Harris County’s problem with tiny, lung-damaging particles in the air can be blamed partly on African dust and crop-clearing fires in Mexico, the state’s environmental agency has told federal regulators. If the Environmental Protection … Continue reading →

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Texas loses another lawsuit against the EPA

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Getting to be a habit. A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a legal challenge by Texas and Wyoming to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

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“An accident waiting to happen”

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t even know what to say. There were no sprinklers. No firewalls. No water deluge systems. Safety inspections were rare at the fertilizer company in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week. This is … Continue reading →

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Protecting polluters

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ridiculous. It’s never been easy fighting powerful polluters in Texas. A bill approved by a Senate committee today would make it even harder. With a big push from the Texas Chemical Council and the Texas Association of Business, the Senate … Continue reading →

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Still fighting the Waller County landfill

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written before about a battle in Waller County over a proposed landfill that would be built there. While the landfill has moved closer to being approved, it’s not yet a done deal, and its opponents are still fighting against … Continue reading →

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Adventures in water marketing

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The headline on this story is about Texans’ increasing interest in recycling water. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? But there’s another way of describing it that maybe isn’t so appealing. Experts say recycled wastewater will play a key role in … Continue reading →

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Houston loses air pollution permit lawsuit

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston may not effectively void a state air pollution permit. The justices agreed with Southern Crushed Concrete that Houston’s 2007 law restricting the location of concrete-crushing facilities violates state statute by nullifying … Continue reading →

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Who gets the water?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This will be worth watching. A simple idea has guided appropriations of Texas water for decades: First come, first served. Now, with drought conditions returning to almost the entire state, the principle is being put to the test by a … Continue reading →

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Recycling pollution

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is unfortunate. The calls to the city of Houston’s 311 help line came in the early morning and the middle of the night – complaints of red smoke, yellow smoke, explosions, fire, a child having trouble breathing. Reports like … Continue reading →

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EDF report on school buses

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Environmental Defense Fund: Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) [Monday] released a report titled “Review of Texas’ Clean School Bus Programs: How Far Have We Come and What Is Still Left to Do?” This report evaluates each of the clean … Continue reading →

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CSAPR knocked down by federal court

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for the polluters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority with the new regulation. Led by Texas, 14 states and several … Continue reading →

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Count tells EPA to review flex permits

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Texas. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s disapproval of Texas’ Flexible Permits program was not supported by the Clean Air Act. Under the Flexible Permits program, which had been … Continue reading →

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More on the landfills of Waller County

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Last July I wrote about a proposed landfill in Waller County near Hempstead and the residents who are fighting against it. The Statesman has an update on the story. In many ways, the landfill fight in this rural Texas town … Continue reading →

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Who gets to use the water?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot more demand for an increasingly limited supply. More than miles separate the rice farms of the Texas coast and the Highland Lakes, where the outward march of Austin is marked by each new house, strip mall and … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit rules for EPA against Texas

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always a pleasure seeing our litigious Attorney General get slapped down by whatever court he’s bothering this week. In the latest turn in a saga pitting environmental regulators in Washington against those in Austin, a panel of federal judges … Continue reading →

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Can ban lawsuit moves back to Comal County

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins removed two state agencies from a lawsuit filed against New Braunfels by a coalition of businesses over the law banning disposable containers on the rivers — popular tubing routes. Jenkins dismissed … Continue reading →

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Can ban lawsuit moves to Travis County

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some new plaintiffs, too. A group of river-related businesses has sued the City of New Braunfels, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Mark Vickery , executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, over a ban on disposable containers … Continue reading →

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Matagorda smog

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like there are some pieces missing in this discussion. The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to add Matagorda County to the list of Texas’ smog violators because Gulf breezes that blow through the area send air pollution toward … Continue reading →

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Sierra Club sues over coal permits

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how four coal plants were granted permits to pollute more in December? You probably don’t, because it basically happened under cover of darkness. The Sierra Club found out about it and has filed a lawsuit to call a halt … Continue reading →

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How gassy are we?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m talking about greenhouse gases, of course. And the answer is, now you can find out for yourself. The greenhouse gas wars are about to heat up again in Texas. Next month, a federal court hears oral arguments in lawsuits … Continue reading →

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Valero will not appeal tax break decision

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Valero Energy Corp. has decided not to appeal the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s rejection of its request for a controversial property tax exemption. […] Valero spokesman Bill Day said the company no longer would seek the exemption because … Continue reading →

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CSAPR stayed

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There was some bad news at the end of the year. A federal court ordered [last] Friday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s controversial cross-state air pollution rule be stayed — to the delight of Texas officials and the chagrin of … Continue reading →

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Fix those leaks

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We lost a lot of water this year, which seems like an especially undesirable thing during a record drought. At the peak of this year’s record drought, the city of Houston lost more than 18 billion gallons of water through … Continue reading →

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County sues over dioxin

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. Harris County has filed a lawsuit in state court to recover hundreds of millions of dollars from local waste management companies and a Pasadena paper factory responsible for storage of a human carcinogen that has leaked … Continue reading →

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TCEQ denies Valero tax break

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas environmental regulators have rejected Valero Energy Corp.’s request for a tax break that cities, counties and school districts feared would lead to devastating cuts to their budgets. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality denied the request because the … Continue reading →

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Giving tax breaks to those that don’t need them

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You can add this to the list of things schools might have to pay for that they don’t have the money to pay for. Three environmental commissioners appointed by Gov. Rick Perry are considering whether to grant some of the … Continue reading →

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TCEQ a no-show at EPA hearing

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They’d rather sue than engage. At the hearing in a hotel ballroom, Al Armendariz, the EPA’s regional administrator for Texas and five adjacent states, said the federal agency prefers to let the state issue the permits, as it does for … Continue reading →

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Here comes the EPA

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The EPA has seized control of the permitting process in Texas for refineries, power plants, and the like. In a letter sent this week to state regulators, an EPA official wrote that 167 facilities in Texas – many of them … Continue reading →

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Two environmental issues for your attention

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Are you familiar with tar sands? The Sierra Club would like to acquaint you with them this Thursday, December 16, on its Houston Frontlines tour. Elected officials and community members will gather at Hartmann Community Center on Thursday, December 16th … Continue reading →

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Bay City coal plant gets TCEQ approval

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Texas’ environmental agency granted air pollution permits for a proposed coal- and petroleum coke-fired power plant in Matagorda County over the objections of local officials and residents Wednesday. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted 3-0 in support of … Continue reading →

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EPA-TCEQ agreement in the works

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A compromise is in the works between the EPA and the TCEQ over the controversial “flex permits” that the EPA has deemed not in compliance with the Clean Air Act. “We’re very close,” said Richard Hyde, deputy director of permitting … Continue reading →

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Lawmakers ask TCEQ to help plants comply with EPA

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good idea. After a lobbying push by oil giants, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators have asked state environmental regulators to quickly solve a permit dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that has left some of … Continue reading →

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