Statement by Gov. Perry on Federal Court Ruling Directing EPA to Reconsider Disapproval of Texas Permitting Process

Statement

Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement regarding a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) disapproval of TCEQ's Pollution Control Project Standard Permit. The court ruling directs the EPA to quickly reconsider its disapproval, after determining that the EPA acted "arbitrarily and capriciously":

"Texas has long maintained the EPA is vastly overreaching in unchecked efforts to seize control of matters that are best left to the states. Our state has developed a system that protects the environment and promotes a nationally-leading business climate that generates investment and creates jobs. We remain confident that when it's all said and done, the EPA's actions in this case will be just another example of failed federal overreach."

The Obama Administration disapproved one component of Texas' standard permits in 2010. The state's entire standard permits program had been approved by the Bush Administration in 2003. The court's ruling affirmed that while air quality standards are set by the federal Clean Air Act, each state has the right to implement its own processes to achieve those standards, and that the EPA clearly overstepped the boundaries of the Clean Air Act in disapproving Texas' submission.

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