The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday offered an option for companies worried about their pollution permits as the state and federal government continue discussions over regulation of Texas’ air quality. EPA is proposing an audit program to help companies with Texas flexible permits obtain an air permit that meets the protections of the Clean Air Act. The program will be published in the Federal Register later this month starting a 15 day public comment period. EPA is making available an advance copy of the notice and program to allow the public additional time to begin developing their comments.
Officials at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have expressed concern over the proposal.
“While we support innovative approaches, we do have concerns with the efficiency of the audit concept and how it would overlap the state’s permitting processes. We look forward to studying the proposal and seeing subsequent comments,” the agency said in a statement.
Flexible Permit Audit Program – Federal Register Notice (14 pages, PDF, 50 KB)
Texas Flexible Permit Audit Agreement (50 pages, PDF, 196 KB)