Texas filed a petition for review of the EPA's - the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule - in a federal appeals court, the Houston Chronicle reports, saying the state doesn't have enough time to comply with the January 1 effective rule. The rule requires power plants in 27 states to install modern pollution controls to cut sulfur-dioxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions in neighboring states. Texas says it was not given the opportunity to comment on its inclusion in the list of states that needs to cut sulfur-dioxide emission, The Chronicle reports. More background on the running battle between Texas and the EPA here and here. Dallas-Based Luminant Generation, part of Energy Future Holdings Corp., has also filed suit to block the EPA rules, saying the company will have to shut down coal mines and two power plants to comply with the rule. The EPA said in a statement that in Texas each year alone the rule will save 1,700 lives and bring $5.8 billion to $14 billion in health benefits. The filing comes as the Obama administration threatened to veto a House bill that would delay the cross-state rule and a separate mercury-pollution rule.
The Hill reports that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says the EPA will soon advise states on implementation of 2008 ozone standards, a move that follows the recent White House decision to shelve tougher rules that EPA had planned to impose.
