Texas to sue EPA over clean air standards?

It looks like Texas might join other states in suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency over its new, more stringent ozone standards. Ozone, a lung-damaging irritant, is basically smog.
An email obtained by the American-Statesman that was sent this morning from Jeffrey Hunter at the National Association of Attorneys General asked chief deputies of attorney generals the following question:

“Mississippi would like to know if any other state AGs are looking into a possible suit against the EPA to stop enforcment of the new, more stringent Clean Air Act standards for ozone? They have been told that several states’ governors, possibly, AL, LA, TX, ARK, GA, SC, IN, may be interested in filing such a lawsuit.”

I asked Gov. Rick Perry’s office whether it would join in on a lawsuit: “We always keep our options open,” is the response I got from spokeswoman Allison Castle.
Perry is on the record opposing the new standards (announced in Mid-march), which it says will saddle businesses with higher costs.

On March 12 he issued the following statement: “The EPA’s decision to change ozone air quality attainment standards has Texas and other states chasing a moving target at the expense of taxpayers and our economy,” he said. “These new standards are particularly onerous on Texas and punish the state because it includes one of the most comprehensively controlled industrial complexes in the world.”

“Texas will continue to work toward meeting clean air standards through innovations in alternative fuels, technology and other improvements,” he continued. “I think it’s important, though, that federal standards balance a sound environmental policy with Texas’ growing economic engine that has produced the best business climate in the country.”
We’ll let you know more as this story develops.

The sort of interesting thing to me is that no one is that happy with the new standard, which could take years to go into effect, is 75 parts per billion ozone. (The old standard is 85 parts per billion.) Businesses say they’re too onerous, and environmental groups say they are not low enough. (An EPA science advisory panel had recommended even lower standards.)

Click here for the full article on the Austin American Statesmen.