The Environmental Protection Agency has officially struck down air quality permits the state of Texas issued to industrial plants because they violate the federal environmental safety standards, the agency said. (read more here )
On december 9th, 2009 the commission had proposed changes to the public notice/public participation rules for the air quality permits. TAC, Title 30, Capter 39, Public Notice, proposed rule making revises the public notice procedures for the air quality permits. However now the Texas Commission on Enviromental Quality has issued flexible permits that set emission caps for all plants incorporated into the permit ruling.
The goals of putting forth such stipulations is hoping to reduce the highly reactive volatile organic (carbon-based) compounds (HRVOCs) and reducing the NOx, including improving the control over the large about of emissions being put into our atmosphere. Hopefully enabling them to improve the monitoring of specific sources to our ozone layer. The air quality has been a problem, especially centered around the Houston area.
Since 1999, Huston had been battling it out with Los Angeles to claim the title of "most polluted air in the United States" which is defined by the number of days each city violates federal smog standards. To better define what an emission, or smog, standard is we dive a little deeper. Emission standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. The United States emission standards are set forth and maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and both state and local governments play a subsidiary role.
"EPA has determined that the "Texas' Air Quality Permits" do not meet the several national Clean Air Act requirements that assures the protection of health and environment," the EPA said when asked about striking down the quality permits. The Clean Air Act is the law that defines the EPA's responsibilities for protecting and improving our nations air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer. It is just one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution in general. The use of such legislation to enforce clean air standards has helped increase the human health overall as well as increase the lifespan.
This decision made by the EPA will not be closing down any plants in the Texas area, but stricter guidelines will be put in place which will have to be followed in the future.
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