YOU READ IT HERE FIRST (MAYBE)

The EPA's action to get Texas refineries in compliance with the Clean Air Act will give the wingnuts something else to whine about.

EPA Overturns 16-Year-Old Texas Permit Program
EPA rejects 16-year-old Texas air permit program, leaves nation's largest refineries in limbo
By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON June 30, 2010 (AP)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday officially overturned a 16-year-old Texas air permitting program it says violates the Clean Air Act, leaving some of the country's largest refineries in a state of limbo.

The EPA's decision, announced in a statement, will force some 125 refineries and petrochemical plants to invest millions of dollars to get new permits. Many of the plants may also have to invest in updates to comply with federal regulations.

The decision did not come as a surprise to Texas or the industries. EPA regional director Al Armendariz has said for months he would disapprove the permits if Texas did not comply with the Clean Air Act.

The EPA's move on Wednesday addresses Texas' so-called flexible permits, which set a general limit on how much air pollutants an entire facility can release. The federal Clean Air Act requires state-issued permits to set limits on each of the dozens of individual production units inside a plant. The EPA says Texas' system masks pollution and makes it impossible to regulate emissions and protect public health.

Texas has been issuing the permits since 1994 even though it never received the required federal approval. The EPA made clear at least five years ago it believed the permits violated federal air laws, warning Texas and the refinery and petrochemical industry it would take action. The industry, uncomfortable with the uncertainty, sued the EPA in 2008, demanding the agency take action on this and several other programs that remained in limbo.

The EPA was under a court-ordered deadline of June 30 to either approve or disapprove the flexible permit program. On Wednesday, a federal court rejected a last minute appeal by the industry to extend the deadline.