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EPA may tighten ozone standard
On Thursday, June 21, the U.S. EPA announced proposed revisions to the federal health standards for ozone. Though the proposal would make the ozone standard slightly more stringent, it doesn't go as far as recommended by the EPA's science advisors. It also leaves open the possibility of leaving the standard as is.
EPA staff recommend lowering ozone standard
At the TCEQ hearing the end of January, I noted EPA likely will lower the ozone standard in the 11 years TCEQ claims it will take to attain the current standard. Sure enough, EPA just announced its staff agree with scientific recommendations to tighten the standard below the current 85 ppb to between 60 and 80 ppb. EPA has agreed to propose revision or retention of the current standard by June 20th.  Sadly, TCEQ will have just submitted its clean air plan under the current standard; a plan that won't pass muster, EPA has already said. See more local comments in the Chronicle..Â
Appellate court rejects EPA attempts to weaken ozone standards
On the Friday just before Christmas, a federal appeals court rejected attempts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Â to weaken requirements for attainment of federal ozone standards. http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200612/04-1200a.pdfÂ
The court deferred to the EPA's expertise in determining that a new 8-hour standard is more protective of public health than the old 1-hour standard, and allowed the agency to revoke the 1-hour standard. However, the court also determined that the agency could not weaken Congressional mandates for steady, sustained progress toward attainment of federal air quality standards. Specifically, the court ruled that the agency cannot weaken or eliminate:
Latest Editorials
Hope is a real thing
As someone who works on air pollution issues, I get to hear stories from a lot of people. People have shared stories about kids with asthma, parents who got cancer from exposures at work, neighbors who got nauseous from the unavoidable accident at the plant down the street, employees who participated in illegal dumping, and just questions from average people about whether or not it is safe for them to take a walk in the morning.
Fresh ideas - and a fresh attitude, too?
Texas environmental officials are once again planning . . . to clean Houston's air.
Meetings will be held on March 22 and March 27 to discuss traffic, rail, construction and other such sources. Pollution from industry and smaller fixed point sources will be discussed at meetings on April 19 and May 24.
Don't stay inside
- submitted to the Houston Chronicle (but not published)Â
"Stay inside until the smell is gone, or until the air isn't so heavy." That's what Rosaria Marroquin, one of our constituents, tells her children when they want to go outside to play with squirt guns. Parents should be urging their children to go outside, but in the industrial east end of Houston, the toxic air creates a daily parenting challenge.
Similar concerns have been voiced in a project sponsored by Mothers for Clean Air and funded by EPA. The Southeast Houston Project is addressing the problem of air quality by bringing together elected officials, universities, regulatory agencies, residents and local industry at monthly meetings. Residents are monitoring the air using organic vapor monitoring devices at 23 stations.
Texas News
Texas asks for another extension of ozone deadline
Houston's first deadline to meet federal health standards for ozone was 1975. Now, 32 years later, we still haven't reached that goal, and Governor Perry is asking the EPA to extend our deadline (yet again) to 2018, according to a Houston Chronicle article by Dina Cappiello.
Texas officially asked the federal government Friday for an extra nine years to meet health standards for ground-level ozone, saying that it would be "practicably impossible" for the eight-county Houston-Galveston region to comply with the law by 2010.
Bills to reduce toxic pollution fail to pass Texas Legislature
The 80th session of the Texas Legislature ended on Monday, May 28, and ultimately, none of the 20 or so bills that could have reduced toxic air pollution in the state passed.
In recent weeks, our biggest hope hung on SB 12. That bill passed the Senate and was amended during the House debate to include language that would have improved air quality policies in Texas. The bill passed the House with the amendments, but they were stripped out over the weekend during the conference committee hearings.
Rep. Dennis Bonnen was the chair of the House conference committee, and Sen. Kip Averitt was the chair of the Senate conference committee.
Passage of Jackson's bill a setback for air quality
Despite strong opposition from 11 Texas Senators, SB 1317 (Jackson)Â passed the Senate on Wednesday after the third vote. The purpose of the bill is to prevent Texas cities from using nuisance ordinances to address air pollution that impacts their residents, if the pollution originates outside the city limits.
The bill was developed in direct response to the pollution reduction efforts of Houston Mayor Bill White. There's a blog on the Texas Observer that gives his reaction to the passage of the bill.
Local News
Houston has another tool for detecting pollution sources
A new mobile chem lab, which will be used to monitor toxic air in Houston, was unveiled on Jul 12 by the city's Bureau of Air Quality Control. This is positive step forward in the fight for cleaning up our air.Â
 In a report by the Houston Chronicle, Mayor Bill White said chemists will have actual proof of where the toxic air is located, and the mobile lab will be able to collect real-time data on air pollutants.Â
We will be seeking out offenders," Mayor Bill White said at the Thursday unveiling. "We can know who is responsible and not just do finger-pointing and guesswork."
Texas asks for another extension of ozone deadline
Houston's first deadline to meet federal health standards for ozone was 1975. Now, 32 years later, we still haven't reached that goal, and Governor Perry is asking the EPA to extend our deadline (yet again) to 2018, according to a Houston Chronicle article by Dina Cappiello.
Texas officially asked the federal government Friday for an extra nine years to meet health standards for ground-level ozone, saying that it would be "practicably impossible" for the eight-county Houston-Galveston region to comply with the law by 2010.
Let's move forward with the Mayor's plans
An editorial in the Sunday, June 10 edition of the Houston Chronicle noted that while state legislators failed to improve air toxics laws this spring, not all the news is bad.
It could have been worse. A bill to prevent cities from using nuisance laws against polluters outside their borders failed to pass muster, leaving Houston free to use that strategy.
Good point. Now that the legislative session is over, let's get back to work. Mayor Bill White has outlined a plan for reducing toxic air pollution in Houston, and we need to move forward with it.
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