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Thursday, July 25, 2002

More money needed for clean air plans

By NATALIE GOTT
Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - The federal Environmental Protection Agency will give conditional approval to a plan to clean up the air over Dallas but money must be found by September 2003 to plug a shortfall created when expected funding fell through, a state regulator said Wednesday.

The EPA also said the Houston clean air plan will remain approved as long as additional money is found to fill the same shortfall by the same date, said Jeff Saitas, executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.

If the money is not found, the Houston plan will be classified as a "failure to implement," Saitas said. He did not know what the next step would be.

The September 2003 deadline gives lawmakers one more legislative session to try to work out details so that areas can be brought into compliance with federal clean air standards.

The clean air plans have been in jeopardy because a major source of funding from legislation intended to help clean the air fell through, cutting off some of the funding for programs needed to help the plans work.

Gov. Rick Perry's office said further emission reductions also could be used as a substitute for some of the money needed to plug the shortfall.

Earlier in the day, Saitas had said he expected the EPA to soon say that Houston has failed to implement its clean air plan because of a lack of money.

"This is a very positive approach the EPA is taking," Saitas said.

Tom "Smitty" Smith of the Texas chapter of Public Citizen said the news from the EPA was more grave than state officials were making it out to sound.

"This is a warning that unless you fix the funding or come up with additional ways to reduce pollution, these programs are not going to be approved," Smith said.

Saitas said the lack of funding is a problem that needs to be fixed.

"We have talked about how it is a fatal flaw in the clean air plans and unless you fix it, the clean air plans will fail," Saitas said.

An EPA spokesman did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press late Wednesday but said earlier that an announcement would be made soon regarding the plans. He would not give any other details.

Air quality is a significant obstacle facing the state because several cities no longer meet federal air quality standards. State officials are working to fix that through several measures including reducing the speed limits on Houston-area highways and ordering emissions cuts from industrial plants.

If the state fails to produce an adequate clean air plan, the federal government will step in to draft the proposal. The state also stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal highway money if it does not come into compliance with federal standards.

"Failing to meet clean air standards in Texas is simply not an option," Perry said Wednesday in a statement that praised the EPA's move to conditional approval.

The lack of funding issue comes from a lawsuit filed over legislation approved last year meant to help the Houston and Dallas regions come into compliance with federal clean air laws.

The legislation, Senate Bill 5, was expected to raise an estimated $137 million a year. About $94 million was to come through increasing the out-of-state vehicle registration fee from $1 to $225.

But automobile dealers sued, alleging the fee was unconstitutional because it would affect interstate commerce. In a February letter to the attorneys, Judge Lora Livingston agreed with the dealers.

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, vice chairman of the House Environmental Regulation committee, said he would like to draft legislation during the next legislative session, which starts in January, so that the fee would affect only people who move into the state but would not affect car dealers.

"Enough burden is being put on Texas residents to begin with," said Bonnen, R-Angleton.

Smith said the state should require diesel equipment users to pay a license fee to come up with some of the money.

"Why not ask them to pay a fee for every gallon of dirty fuel they burn," Smith asked.

from the Reporter-News