| Houston, Texas — Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee is formally petitioning the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to update its air quality rules to comply with federal law. The TCEQ’s current standard permitting program for numerous facilities that emit harmful contaminants is based on outdated standards that have been changed by the Environmental Protection Agency multiple times since the TCEQ’s analysis was last updated and are therefore unlikely to be protective of human health. County Attorney Menefee is asking the TCEQ to implement a new rule requiring that when the EPA publishes new air quality standards, the TCEQ must update its modeling within one year. "Texas officials should be following national standards for protecting people from air pollution. Our Harris County communities are filled with concrete batch plants, asphalt plants, and other facilities that spew thick dust in our air and cause people health issues. State officials allow these permits to go decades without updating to comply with federal air standards," said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. “We all know that these harmful facilities tend to be in predominately Black and Brown communities, like Fifth Ward, Aldine, Sunnyside, and Carverdale. Our neighbors in these communities matter and their health should be protected. No community should have to suffer because the TCEQ is ignoring science.” The TCEQ has 60 days to consider the proposed rules and either initiate the updates or deny the petition in writing. "Every single person living in Harris County should be able to know that they are breathing clean air. We're asking the TCEQ to update these standards and make sure people are not breathing in toxic chemicals. I'm hopeful that the state will see this as an opportunity to step up and solve a real problem faced by our communities,” added County Attorney Menefee. |