Texas has sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency for the second time in six weeks. State Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed a petition with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to block the EPA from disapproving the state’s so-called flexible permits.
State officials argue the federal agency had no legal or technical justification for rejecting the 16-year-old permitting program. The arguments mirror those filed in a June 14th petition on the EPA’s disapproval of Texas’ qualified facilities program.
To read the July 26th petition in its entirety, please visit: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2010/072610epa.pdf
Governor Perry issued a statement in regards Texas’ legal action stating, “This legal action is the next step in our ongoing commitment to fight back against the Obama Administration’s ever-widening effort to undermine our air quality initiatives and force a heavy-handed federal agenda on the people of Texas.”
“The EPA’s overreach is as potentially devastating as it is unnecessary,” Perry said.
