DALLAS, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Texas officials say they are refusing to implement a federal policy regulating the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Texas state regulators assert that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lacks the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.
The EPA has previously stripped Texas' authority to issue permits, saying the state didn't comply with the Clean Air Act.
The act requires permit writers and businesses to consider the "best available control technology" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions when building a plant or modify an existing one.
"We are disappointed that Texas hasn't engaged in this process," Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, said.
Texas has filed several lawsuits against the EPA, claiming the federal agency unlawfully modified the Clean Air Act to justify regulation of carbon dioxide and other gases.
"We won't see any environmental benefits from this," Bryan W. Shaw, the state's top environmental regulator, said.
"We'll just see the additional bureaucracy associated with permitting in this state and across the U.S.," he said.
Several other states have joined Texas in a lawsuit over climate rules but have nevertheless taken steps to begin the permitting process, the Morning News said.
