Texas Gets Reprieve on EPA Emissions Rules Takeover as Court Reviews Case

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from taking control of Texas’s carbon-emission rules while it considers the state’s bid to fend off federal intervention.

Texas filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington yesterday, saying the EPA didn’t give adequate notice or allow for comments on a proposed federal takeover of the state’s air permitting program on Jan. 2. Last night, the court ordered the agency to hold off on its plan while the court considers whether to delay the move until the case is resolved.

The appeals court ordered the EPA to respond to Texas’s motion by Jan. 6. Challenges to federal rules are brought directly to appeals courts.

“The EPA is both unlawfully commandeering Texas’ environmental enforcement program and violating federal laws that give the state and its residents the opportunity to fully participate in the regulatory process,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a Dec. 30 statement.

Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

The case is Texas v. Environmental Protection Agency, 10- 1425, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporters on this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net; Tom Schoenberg in Washington, at tschoenberg@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net.

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