Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Texas counties are weighing in after a lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in efforts to block the EPA's new federal air quality standards.
The new federal climate policy was announced Feb. 7 and aims to lower the amount of fine particulate pollution emitted by power plants, vehicles and industrial facilities by a 2032 deadline.
What happened
Paxton filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration March 8 and said in a news release that the EPA's new air quality standards are not based on sound science and will impose significant economic harm on Texas. He said the new rule will result in the closure of manufacturing and industrial facilities, and put workers out of jobs.
"This new rule improperly imposes a huge environmental burden with no scientific basis. I will always use every available avenue to block Biden's extremist climate agenda, especially when federal policy undermines Texas industry and destroys Texas jobs," Paxton said in the news release.
The other side
In an email to Community Impact, officials from the EPA's administrator's office reiterated background information from the original Feb. 7 announcement, stating the updated federal air quality standards will save lives and prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost work days, resulting in up to $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032—which is likely the earliest year states would need to meet the revised standard.
According to the EPA's Feb. 7 announcement, since 2000, fine particulate matter concentrations in the outdoor air have decreased by 42% while the U.S. gross domestic product increased by 52% during that time.
EPA officials also stated because this is pending litigation, the EPA has no further information to add.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee told Community Impact in an email the attorney general's lawsuit is part of "his overall playbook to disrupt the EPA's efforts to address a critical issue: providing our citizens with clean air."
"Because we are the petrochemical capital of the world, these enhanced standards will have a tremendous impact on the health of Harris County residents. My office will continue to support the EPA's efforts to ensure that everyone has access to clean air," Menefee said.
Lisa Lin oversees Harris County's Office of Sustainability and will be working with the Houston-Galveston Area Council for the region's climate action plan.
Officials from the H-GAC and environmental entities across the state, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, submitted the first phase of their climate action plans to the EPA on March 1. It aims to develop aggressive strategies, programs and policies over the next three years to reduce air pollution, emissions and greenhouse gases that are being emitted in the region.
"We understand the damaging effects of poor air quality, which have negative health impacts. Harris County will continue working to have more energy efficient buildings, use cleaner power, and pilot more low-emission vehicle technologies because it helps improve the environment and reduces our operating costs," Lin said in an email.
Miranda Jaimes and Katy McAfee contributed to this report.
