Through the federal Clean Air Act, the EPA is granted authority to require the state of Texas to take steps to protect public health by reducing ground-level ozone levels in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area.  The EPA gives Texas two goals for cleaning up the region's ozone problem:  1) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has to come up with a plan to lower ozone levels, 2) Then TCEQ has to implement the plan and ultimately lower ozone levels. 

The Houston region is currently classified by the EPA as moderate for ozone, and Governor Rick Perry asked the EPA in June 2007 to reclassify the Houston area as severe. 

The EPA is now looking at two aspects of the reclassification of the Houston area.  First, at what level should the region be reclassified?  Second, when should the deadline be set for the TCEQ to submit their new clean air plan? 

Facts on reclassifying the ozone problem for Houston-Galveston-Brazoria:

• Areas are classified in graduating order of severity for ozone: marginal, moderate, serious, severe, extreme.
• Governor Perry requested a reclassification, from moderate to severe, in June, 2007.
• The most recent ozone measurements taken over the past 3 years justify a reclassification to serious, not severe.
• A severe reclassification means the Houston area will not have to attain ozone reductions until 2019.
• According to the Clean Air Act, the EPA must grant a reclassification if requested, but the reclassification must be justified. Houston should be reclassified as serious, not severe.
• We are requesting that the EPA grant a reclassification only to the serious level.

Facts regarding the deadline for submitting the clean air plan

• This will be the fourth deadline extension granted since 1975.
• In May 2007, Texas submitted a plan that was inadequate.
• Texas was suppose to attain ozone reductions by June 2010.
• The EPA wants to know how long the TCEQ should be given to submit a new plan. The EPA is looking at deadline dates ranging from December 15, 2008 to June 15, 2010.
• The TCEQ has requested that the plan deadline be set for April 15, 2010.
• Given that the reclassification request was made in June 2007, one month after the state submitted an inadequate plan, it is not unfair to expect that the TCEQ would have already completed much of the work needed for a new plan.
• The scientific research and analysis needed for a clean air plan will never be final or finished. There will always be new data or studies. But real work at reducing ozone levels will not begin until a workable plan has been submitted.
• We are requesting the TCEQ be given until June 15, 2009 to have a new plan submitted. This is 24 months from the date of Perry's request and considerably more time given by the EPA in similar situations, given the Houston region's size.

What do we need from the TCEQ?:

• TCEQ to implement some control strategies now and not wait until the end of the planning process.
• TCEQ help in assuring adoption of the California Clean Car Standards.
• TCEQ and EPA to pursue more measuring and fence-line monitoring of industrial facilities.