Texas Officials Cheer As Court Reverses EPA Pollution Rule

You could call it a win for Texas officials in their ongoing battle against the Environmental Protection Agency.

A federal appeals court decided this morning the EPA went beyond its authority with a cross-state air pollution rule. The rule would have clamped down on power plant pollution that affects air quality in neighboring states. It was set to go in effect in January but several states, including Texas, sued to stop it.

Attorney General Greg Abbott is leading the charge for Texas against the EPA. He issued this statement about today's ruling:

Yet another federal court has reined in an overreaching EPA for violating federal law and intruding on Texas sovereignty. Texas challenged the Obama Administration’s burdensome and unlawful regulations because they jeopardized electric reliability in the state, threatened job losses for hard-working Texans, and exceeded the limits of the EPA’s authority. Vindicating the State’s objections to EPA’s aggressive and lawless approach, today’s decision is an important victory for federalism and a rebuke to a federal bureaucracy run amok.

The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club calls the cross-state air pollution rule 'life-saving.'

Mary Anne Hitt, Director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign says the club is disappointed with the court's decision and that it "further delays the Clean Air Act's promise of safe, breathable air for our children."

The Sierra Club is encouraging the EPA to petition for a rehearing.

The ruling comes just a week after another court victory for Abbott against the EPA, when the court overturned the rejection of Texas's 'Flex Permit Program.'

You can read more at StateImpact Texas.