Wise County in, Hood Left Out: EPA Declares New Non-Attainment Area for Smog in North Texas

At around closing time came news that the EPA had finalized the boundaries of the new “non-attainment area” for smog in North Texas that corresponds to enforcement of the “new” 75 ppb ozone standard approved last year. The 9 counties that were already in violation of the older standard are still there: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant. The only new addition is Wise County, but it’s a huge one given its prodigious amount of gas industry pollution and commuter traffic to Tarrant and Denton Counties. It also means that Wise County will be getting an ozone monitor. If it’s placed correctly by TCEQ – and that’s a big if – it could be giving us a much truer understanding of how high or low ozone levels are really going. Since predominant winds during “ozone season” (April -November) are from the southeast to northwest, much of DFW’s dirty air gets pushed into Wise County, where it then officially falls off the map because there’s no air monitors there to record it. TCEQ likes it that way because ozone readings in Wise – where DFW dirty air meets gas patch emissions – could be significantly higher than in most of the rest of DFW. And that would dampen the Austin happy talk about improving DFW air quality. Also coming to Wise are things like those Vapor Recovery units on gasoline pumps, and other stricter pollution control requirements – although the impact on the entrenched gas industry infrastructure already there is unclear. Hood County was also singled out by EPA for inclusion in the non-attainment area but is left off this final order. It also has a number of gas industry facilities, including compressor stations, although most have shown up over the last ten years as opposed to Wise, which has seen decades of oil and gas production. There was no explanation for Hood exclusion in EPA’s letter. DFW wil be classified as a “Moderate” non-attainment area under the new standard while Houston will get a more severe “Marginal” classification. Why? Because the EPA uses a formula based on percentage above the new standard and Houston has traditionally had higher readings – think Ship Channel “upsets” and belches, even if DFW had just as many.  Dallas and Houston remain Texas’ only non-attainmenta areas for smog, although that could certainly change over time. Next up is EPA’s determination of the compliance timeline for all non-attainment areas. The good news is that DFW’s deadline should be sooner than Houston’s because it’s not as severely ranked. The worse the air, the more time a region has to clean it up. The bad news is that it could still mean officials don’t have to get serious about cleaner air until around 2015 for a 2017-18 deadline. That”s been the pattern up to now – keep waiting until the last minute to think about how to dig yourself out of a multi-decade deep hole. And believe us, with this process, 2 years is “the last minute.” There could be all kinds of useful planning and researching going on right now but they’ll be none of that.  Because insuring receipt of federal highway dollars, not protecting public health, has been the primary motivating factor behind the clean air machinery in North Texas. Until those priorities are reversed and clean air is sought for its own worth, we’re likely to always be behind the curve, chasing “unattainable” smog standards.

Lisa Jackson in Town to Rally the Troops

That’s the word according to at least one EPA Region 6 employee. No reports yet on what kind of pep talk she gave the staff after just witnessing the four-day public lynching of their former boss, but one wonders whether she might be handicapped by her tepid response. Despite internal assertions that she wanted Dr. Armendariz to stay, her public remarks were less than supportive. She’s no stranger to disappointments from this Administration – she was mugged by the OMB over the new ozone standard – but so soon after the events in question, it’s hard to tell whether, or how much, she contributed to this heartbreaker, and also hard to have any confidence in this administration’s ability to stand up for itself. Strange for a White House that’s boasting what guts it took to pull the trigger on Osama, to be so cowed, so fast, by a bunch of old guys without a clue.

Dr. Al Resigns

We learned this morning  that Dr. Al Armendariz has resigned as EPA Region 6 Administrator. He made the decision himself, because he believed it was best for the causes that he continues to serve. Reportedly, EPA Administrator Jackson wanted to keep fighting, but Dr. Al said no, he didn’t want an investigation by the likes of Smokey Joe Barton and Company taking up the Agency’s time and resources and involving so many people in and outside of the agency. The resignation is effective immediately today. Sam Coleman, head of the Region 6 Superfund program, and former head of Enforcement for Region 6 becomes Acting Regional Director, a position he’s likely to remain in until after the November election. Words cannot convey the very deep sorrow, or the immense anger this resignation generates. Sorrow that such a hard-working public servant will no longer be able to do the job he loved, and that we loved him doing. Anger that a handful of powerful polluters and their friends can so easily smear such a good person. Dr. Armendariz isn’t sure what he’s going to do now, but  will undoubtedly keep doing the work he was doing before he got to EPA.  As must we. If there’s any lesson we’ve learned over the last 20 years, it’s that you can’t let setbacks like this deter you. This is a hard one to take, but we have to pick ourselves up and adapt and keep going. This is the statement he released today to the Dallas Morning News……..”Dear Friends, I have been honored to serve as your regional administrator for EPA’s region 6 office the last 2 and ½ years. I never once forgot that the reason I was appointed was to serve you, to act as your voice, and to work day and night to better protect the environment and your safety.Today I am resigning my position as regional administrator. This was not something that was asked of me by Administrator Jackson or the White House. It is a decision I made myself. I had become too much of a distraction, and no one person is more important than the incredible work being done by the rest of the team at EPA. I leave with an incredible sense of pride for the things the Agency accomplished and it was fantastic to be a part of the effort. Administrator Jackson has overseen a renaissance in the Agency and it is again the global leader in environmental protection. President Obama has been incredibly supportive of me and my work and the Agency. He’ll undoubtedly go down as the most environmental president we have ever had. Thank you all for letting me into your homes and communities, and showing me the challenges you face every day from pollution and lack of infrastructure. Your stories are now part of my fabric and the fabric of the Agency. Best always, Al Armendariz.”