Environmentalists Sue EPA Over Houston's Weak Air Pollution Plan

Environmental organizations and Houston citizens filed suit today charging the clean air plan for Houston has been so weakened by industry pressure tactics that it fails to protect public health. Petitions for review were filed today, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The petitions were submitted by the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) and the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCPA) and on behalf of Houston-area members of Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club.

“What could have been a good clean air plan for Houston has been nickel-and-dimed to death by industry lobbyists and lawsuits,” said George Smith of the Houston Sierra Club. “The EPA and TNRCC have bowed to industry pressure, but we’re going to stand up for kids with asthma and other vulnerable people who suffer from Houston’s dangerous ozone smog.”

Houston’s air pollution plan allows, by the state’s own admission, the generation of 56 more tons per day of pollution than the state determined were needed to comply with the health standards of the U.S. Clean Air Act. This dangerous pollution helps form ground level ozone, or smog. Thousands of Texans a year suffer asthma attacks, miss work or school, are hospitalized, or die prematurely because they breathe polluted air. A City of Houston analysis places the economic benefit of meeting air pollution standards in the region at $3 billion. During the most recent three-year compliance period (1999-2001), Houston surpassed Los Angeles as the city with the most frequent and most hazardous level of smog in the United States.

“Not only have some business interests won further delays, but now the state is considering relaxing regulations on industry at a time when its own reports indicate that more pollution control is needed,” said Jane W. Elioseff, an individual plaintiff. Ms. Elioseff has medical issues related to smog.

“We want public health protected, not just promises,” said John D. Wilson, Executive Director of GHASP. The legal challenge is based on the failure of EPA and TNRCC to enact measures to control the amount of pollution necessary to clean the air. Although the Clean Air Act calls for penalties like a loss of federal transportation funds when the state fails to submit an adequate plan, Wilson explains that, “Our real goal is to get the plan fixed and clean the air, quickly.”

“Smoggy air causes real health problems for children, the elderly, and people in poor health. It’s unfortunate that their right to clean healthy air must be secured in court,” said Ramon Alvarez, Ph.D., an air quality expert with Environmental Defense. “There are a number of readily available solutions to Houston’s air problems that can give Texans cleaner air without adverse economic impacts. In fact, cleaning up the air will make Houston more attractive to companies considering relocation, and will make it easier to attract employees looking for a high quality of life.”

The state?s plan is already seven years late. Houston environmental attorney James Blackburn explains, “If the state had met the original 1994 Clean Air Act deadline to complete a plan, there would not be so much pressure now.”

Background supporting documents are available on request and at GHASP?s website (www.ghasp.org).