Barring a court decision striking down the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) actions regulating greenhouse gases or without federal legislative intervention, Texas facilities will be facing new permitting requirements and standards in the coming years.

On January 12, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Texas’ motion to stay EPA’s permitting of greenhouse gas(GHG) in Texas.1 While the case will continue in the U.S. Court of Appeals, denying the stay means that for now, unless Texas agrees to assume permitting for greenhouse gases, EPA Region 6, in Dallas, will proceed with issuing GHG permits for large sources in Texas.2