EPA Approves the Texas Air Permitting Program
(DALLAS – October 11, 2012) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved revisions to the State’s permitting program for major air pollution sources under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) program. The changes, submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, increase regulatory certainty and efficiency while ensuring public health and the environment are protected.
The revised plan provides industry with operating flexibility by establishing site-wide emission caps known as “Plant-wide Applicability Limits,” or PALS, for existing sources. These PALS require continuous monitoring for each of the units included in the cap.
This final action is the result of many months of work by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and EPA. The final approval of the State’s revised plan not only enhances the clarity and enforceability of State issued permits but also provides industry with flexibility to meet Clean Air Act requirements, while ensuring environmental protection. These rules adopted today are fully consistent with federal requirements and consistent with NSR reform rules approved by EPA for other States in the country.
Congress established NSR permitting program as part of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments. NSR is a preconstruction permitting program that protects air quality while allowing for industrial growth. In Texas, NSR permits are legal documents issued by the TCEQ that facility owners/operators must abide by. The permit specifies what construction is allowed, what emission limits must be met, and often how the emissions source must be operated.
More about New Source Review regulations is available at http://www.epa.gov/nsr/
More about the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is available at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us
EPA Region 6 News and Events is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/newsevents/index.html
More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html