Environmental Groups Petition EPA to Take Control of Texas Water Pollution System

Twenty-one environmental groups filed a petition with EPA to take over and repair Texas’ broken system of issuing permits to control water pollution, which has made it too easy for industries to contaminate waterways across the state.

Water pollution is a major problem in Texas, with 9,711 miles of the state’s rivers, 590,214 acres of its lakes, and 1,248 square miles of its estuaries so polluted they are considered “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act, according to the petition filed by the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Public Citizen, and 17 allied organizations.

To control this pollution, EPA delegated authority to Texas to administer a federal permitting program that sets limits for polluters. However, polluters are not required to document the economic or social necessity of projects that harm downstream water quality and demonstrate that there are no viable alternatives.

 “It is time for the EPA to step in. For far too long, Texas has played around with rules designed to protect our water and health for the benefit of polluting industries,” said Kristen Schlemmer, legal director and waterkeeper for Bayou City Waterkeeper in Houston. “The state’s negligence has left us with sewer overflows that happen daily, bayous and bays that don't meet even Texas’ relaxed water quality standards, and real consequences for our collective health."

In addition, Texas is improperly barring court challenges of bad water pollution permits from people who use waterways for recreational purposes, such as fishing or kayaking, but do not own land nearby, according to the petition filed by the 21 groups.

To solve the systemic pollution control problem in Texas, the petition asks EPA to require Texas to start using the correct review and documentation process for issuing permits and allow court challenges of water pollution permits to the full extent required under the Clean Water Act.  If Texas fails to implement these corrective actions, the petition asks EPA to take over the state program and fix the problems itself.

"Delegating the authority to enforce the federal Clean Water Act to a state only works if that state actually implements the law,” said David Foster, Clean Water Action Texas director. “The TCEQ's failure to do this has exposed Texas waterways and the people and ecosystems that depend on them to enormous risk. It's time for EPA to take matters into its own hands."

For the full petition, visit 

Twenty-one environmental groups filed a petition with EPA to take over and repair Texas’ broken system of issuing permits to control water pollution, which has made it too easy for industries to contaminate waterways across the state.

Water pollution is a major problem in Texas, with 9,711 miles of the state’s rivers, 590,214 acres of its lakes, and 1,248 square miles of its estuaries so polluted they are considered “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act, according to the petition filed by the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Public Citizen, and 17 allied organizations.

To control this pollution, EPA delegated authority to Texas to administer a federal permitting program that sets limits for polluters. However, polluters are not required to document the economic or social necessity of projects that harm downstream water quality and demonstrate that there are no viable alternatives.

 “It is time for the EPA to step in. For far too long, Texas has played around with rules designed to protect our water and health for the benefit of polluting industries,” said Kristen Schlemmer, legal director and waterkeeper for Bayou City Waterkeeper in Houston. “The state’s negligence has left us with sewer overflows that happen daily, bayous and bays that don't meet even Texas’ relaxed water quality standards, and real consequences for our collective health."

In addition, Texas is improperly barring court challenges of bad water pollution permits from people who use waterways for recreational purposes, such as fishing or kayaking, but do not own land nearby, according to the petition filed by the 21 groups.

To solve the systemic pollution control problem in Texas, the petition asks EPA to require Texas to start using the correct review and documentation process for issuing permits and allow court challenges of water pollution permits to the full extent required under the Clean Water Act.  If Texas fails to implement these corrective actions, the petition asks EPA to take over the state program and fix the problems itself.

"Delegating the authority to enforce the federal Clean Water Act to a state only works if that state actually implements the law,” said David Foster, Clean Water Action Texas director. “The TCEQ's failure to do this has exposed Texas waterways and the people and ecosystems that depend on them to enormous risk. It's time for EPA to take matters into its own hands."

For the full petition, visit https://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TX-Water-Pollution-Petition-to-EPA-9-23-21.pdf

 

 

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