E.P.A. Tells Texas It Will Take Over Some Permitting
Gov. Rick Perry is being obnoxious again. Tell me again why it is that the Tea Party people think politicians like Perry have the best interests of the common working class at heart?
Sometimes I wish Texas would jut go ahead and secede.
HOUSTON — The feud between Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency reached a new level this week, with federal officials saying that they will take over the granting of permits for new power plants and refineries in the state because Texas refuses to regulate its emissions of greenhouse gases.
The showdown centers on Texas’ opposition to the Obama administration’s program to rein in heat-trapping emissions, which has become a symbol of a broader struggle by industry and some Republican politicians to thwart such regulatory efforts.
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With less than two weeks left before the regulations take effect, Texas is the only state that has flat-out refused to enforce the new emissions rules through its state permitting program. It is also the state that produces the most carbon dioxide because it has scores of coal-fired power plants, refineries and factories.
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Gov. Rick Perry, a conservative Republican who is a firm ally of business leaders, has railed against the E.P.A.’s attempts to crack down on industrial polluters in his state. He claims the federal government is overstepping its constitutional authority.
Mr. Perry has also disputed the argument undergirding the new rules, that the heat-trapping emissions that contribute to global warming threaten public health. He has argued that the regulations will cost jobs in the energy and agricultural sectors without better protecting health.
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