The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling on June 26, 2012, upholding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) various rulemakings regulating greenhouse gases is a significant blow to the numerous oil and gas, electric generating, chemical, and refining companies operating in Texas that hoped to see an end to the state's dual permitting scheme, under which EPA Region 6 is the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting authority for greenhouse gas emissions and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issues PSD permits for all other pollutants.
The Court's ruling is not the end of the challenges to EPA's greenhouse gas permitting program, however, as other challenges filed by the State of Texas and industry are still ongoing. Even so, it is possible that the June 26 ruling could initiate calls from industry for the State of Texas to take over greenhouse gas PSD permitting from EPA because of the growing backlog of applications pending at EPA Region 6.
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