In the wake of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoing a bill and slashing state funding for local air quality programs, The Williamson County Commissioners Court unanimously voted Tuesday to pay more than $30,000 to the Capital Area Council of Governments’ air quality program.
In June, Abbott signed Texas’ two-year budget and slashed roughly $120 million in funding for various environmental programs in the process. About $6 million of that money was cut from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s air quality program, a portion of which was intended for CAPCOG’s Regional Air Quality Program.
CAPCOG Regional Services Director Andrew Hoekzema said Abbott vetoed the funding because it made references to bicycle use, awareness campaigns and other methods the governor thought would better be funded at the local level instead of using state dollars.
The drastic cuts led CAPCOG to ask its Central Texas members for funding, Hoekzema said. The organization has requested $287,000 from nearly two-dozen governmental entities, spanning from Williamson County to the city of Buda. The funds would allow CAPCOG to continue monitoring air pollution, conducting quality analysis and research, planning for the future and reaching out to the community through education.
Williamson County will pay $30,205, to be paid in two installments: the first, $3,473, must be paid before September, and the remaining $26,732 will be paid before October. The second installment will be fit into the following year’s fiscal budget, Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook said.
Commissioners said the clean air program is necessary to maintain both public health and the local economy.
“One of the reasons this region has been able to bring folks together across political and geographic boundaries around this issue is because there’s more than one reason to focus in,” Hoekzema said.
Communities lose money when their air isn’t clean, Hoekzema said. Poor air quality can prevent businesses from moving and expanding to an area. He said the Clean Air Act states areas found to not be in attainment of the federal minimum air quality standards must adhere to additional regulations for decades. This can be a hurdle in attracting businesses to the area and getting transportation projects funded. According to a CAPCOG study, the area could lose up to $42 billion in economic growth if air quality levels weren’t found to be up to par.
“Clearly there’s a [health] effect on all of us, especially those among us who are very vulnerable,” Cook said. “But it’s the business health that will just kill an area if we’re not in attainment.”