Texas League of Conservation Voters—We elect conservation champions because conservation is a Texas Value.

LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES PRESENT WORKABLE SOLUTIONS TO HELP BRIDGE STATE’S BUDGET GAP

AUSTIN, TX (March 29, 2011)—The Alliance for a Clean Texas outlined $1 billion in “green revenue” that could be available to state lawmakers as they work to craft a budget that bridges a $27 billion shortfall for the next biennium.

“Green revenue sources could generate at least $1 billion in general revenue for the state’s budget,” said David Weinberg, Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters and ACT Executive Committee member. “We have an opportunity to help balance the budget, limit draconian cuts to essential state services and improve our environment. That’s a combination we feel is worthy of lawmakers’ consideration.”

As the Senate Finance Sub-Committee on Fiscal Matters works to find additional savings and state revenue, ACT and its statewide allies outlined several proposals that make up $1 billion green revenue for the state:

1)  Generating revenue from coal could raise $475 million for Texas for the biennium. Placing a fee on coal imported to Texas would generate about $190 million in revenue per year for the state.  Placing a severance tax on coal mined in Texas would raise an additional $48 million per year.  Currently, Texas taxes domestically drilled oil and gas.  Placing a fee on coal could help the state offset the adverse public health impacts from coal generating power.  State Representative Lon Burnam has filed HB 355, which would place a fee on imported coal.

2)  Creating a Recycling Refund for Beverage Containers in Texas could generate an estimated $350 million for the biennium.  Placing a refundable deposit on beverage containers would increase recycling and decrease litter.  Unclaimed bottle deposits could generate revenue for the state, money that could be used to fund waste prevention and reduction programs.  Such a program would also create thousands of recycling and reuse jobs in Texas.  State Senator Rodney Ellis has filed SB 1119 and State Representative Garnett Coleman has filed HB 2114, which would create a refundable bottle deposit program in Texas.

3)  Placing a surcharge on inefficient vehicles could generate $115 million for Texas for the biennium. Fuel-inefficient vehicles pollute our urban air, increasing rates of ozone and asthma, and increase our dependence on foreign oil.  The Legislative Budget Board has recommended a $100 surcharge on fuel-inefficient vehicles as a way of generating revenue for Texas.  State Representative Lon Burnam has filed HB 3067, which would create a surcharge on fuel-inefficient vehicles in Texas.

4) Strengthening clean-air rules at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to ensure that polluters pay could generate $56 million in revenue for Texas for the biennium. Raising the maximum per-day penalty for air quality violations to $25,000 per day could raise an estimated $40 million for the biennium, while requiring the agency to recover the economic benefit of non-compliance that polluters gain would add additional revenue to these totals. All of these funds go to General Revenue and can be used for schools. Removing the 4,000 tons per day cap on emissions could raise an additional $16 million for the biennium.  These measures would create an incentive for industry to reduce pollution, and this revenue could be used to fund clean-air programs.  State Senator Joan Huffman has filed SB 657 and State Representative Wayne Smith has filed HB 2694 to strengthen air-pollution rules in Texas though neither bill addresses the 4,000-ton cap as had been recommended by the Sunset Advisory Commission.

“We import 60 million tons of dirty coal per year for electrical power generation, sending $19 billion of our hard earned dollars out of state when that money could be better spent developing clean energy jobs in Texas. Coal is a fuel source that’s both harmful to the environment, detrimental to public health and doesn’t contribute a dime to the state in the form of severance taxes,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, of Public Citizen “By imposing a coal import fee and a severance tax, we could generate $475 million.”

“The majority of Texans support a recycling refund on cans and bottles because the financial incentive for recycling would clean up our communities, save on pollution control costs and have money left over to meet other pressing needs of the state,” said Robin Schneider of Texas Campaign for the Environment

“Dirty gas guzzling cars and trucks not only pump out unnecessary pollution that costs us our health, they also exacerbate our dependence on oil,” said Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. “A fee on these vehicles could help fund clean air programs and provide incentives for Texans to purchase fuel efficient cars and trucks.”

“Giving our state environmental agency the ability to charge fines more in line with major pollution events and charge an emissions fee for those spewing out more than 4,000 tons of a pollutant couldn’t come at a better time for Texas,” noted Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.  ”Making sure those businesses that break the law pay for any economic benefit they gain will provide a financial disincentive for companies that pollute our air and poison our water, and reward good behavior for those that play by the rules.”

Cutting Pollution-Related Health Care Costs Would Save GR

In addition to generating new “green” revenue, advocates said the state could save more than $320 million in general revenue spending on health care by reducing air pollution. Texas Impact released an analysis of air pollution-related costs in Medicaid, CHIP and the state employee health insurance program showing that Texas currently spends $300 million per biennium on the state’s share of Medicaid and CHIP costs for air pollution-related diseases and conditions, and $23 million per biennium for the same costs in the state employee health insurance system. Altogether, the three programs are estimated to account for $1.9 billion in general revenue spending over five years.

“Medicaid is the most important budget driver after public education, and we simply can’t afford to be creating extra health cost burdens,” said Bee Moorhead of Texas Impact. “Clearing the air for all Texans not only would reduce unnecessary suffering—it would save taxpayers money as well.”

ACT was joined by representatives from the Texas League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Environment Texas, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Texas Impact to urge lawmakers to look for greener, cleaner ways to generate revenue.  The green revenue could lessen the cuts that the Legislature is pondering for public education, higher education and health care.

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Media contact: David Weinberg, (512) 477-4424

LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CALLS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING DISCLOSURE BILL “A POSITIVE STEP FORWARD FOR TEXAS”

Public disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids used in natural gas production is vital to ensuring health, safety of every Texan

AUSTIN, TX—The Texas League of Conservation Voters pointed to House Bill 3328 (Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland), that would require disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids used in natural gas production, as proof positive that the public, environmental groups and the state’s energy industry can work together to ensure the health and safety of Texans.

“Rep. Keffer’s bill is a positive step forward for Texas,” said David Weinberg, Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters.  “Texans expect transparency, especially when it comes to their public health and safety.  HB 3328 provides necessary disclosure to provide scientists, researchers and the public with information they need to determine the impact of these chemicals on human health, while being mindful of a business’ confidential proprietary interests.”

HB 3328 calls for the disclosure of the composition of the hydraulic fracturing fluids and additives used by natural gas service companies and operators while ensuring reasonable trade secret protection for companies.

“A number of natural gas service companies are leaders in their approach to disclosure.  TLCV obviously hopes more companies would voluntarily disclose the chemical composition of their fracturing fluids,” said Weinberg.  “With HB 3328, there are no longer any excuses for operating in the shadows when it comes to matters that potentially impact the public’s health and safety.”

HB 3328 was filed on Friday.  Since its filing, Rep. Myra Crownover (R-Lake Dallas), Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth), Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) and Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin) have signed on as co-authors.

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The Texas League of Conservation Voters works to preserve and enhance the quality of life of Texans by making conservation a top priority with Texas elected officials, political candidates and voters.  Find us online at http://www.tlcv.org and follow us on Twitter @tlcv.

Media contact: David Weinberg, (512) 477-4424

All Texans who share TLCV’s and Alliance for a Clean Texas’ (ACT) concerns about our health, our environment and our state’s future are invited to participate in the ACT Lobby Day on March 15. The goal of lobby day is to educate our representatives about the public health and environmental challenges facing our state and important legislation that will address these problems.

To register, learn more about the day and for a full schedule visit ACT lobby day at the Texas Capitol online.

4 p.m. – 9 p.m. Monday March 14th: Training, Networking and Community Building
First United Methodist Church (downtown Austin, 13th & Lavaca)

8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Tuesday March 15th: ACT Lobby Day
Legislative Conference Center–Texas Capitol Extension (E2.002)

Please join the Texas League of Conservation Voters in honoring conservation champion George L. Bristol on Wednesday, March 9th, 5:30-7:30 PM,  at a benefit reception at the home of Philip Bobbitt in Austin. Click here to support TLCV as an event sponsor or to RSVP.

Founder and President of the Texas Coalition for Conservation, past Chair of the Texas Conservation Foundation, and a Director on the National Park Foundation Board to name only a few, George Bristol’s dedication to land and wildlife conservation in Texas and beyond has been extraordinary; his wealth of experience in business, politics, and lobbying was key, too, for the conservation community in recent years when he helped pass significant state legislation protecting Texas parks.

To join us in thanking a true icon in the world of Texas conservation and to support TLCV’s key priorities in 2011, including protecting parks and wildlife funding and improving how our state environmental agencies operate, visit us here or contact Emily Williams at ewilliams@tlcv.org, or 512-477-4424.

LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CRITICIZES SENATE PASSAGE OF
VOTER ID BILL

State Government should encourage, not discourage, civic participation

AUSTIN, TX—The following should be attributed to David Weinberg, Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters.

“The Texas Senate’s passage of Voter ID legislation is bad public policy for Texas.

“This legislation, if enacted, would likely depress voter turnout in some of Texas’s most polluted urban neighborhoods, specifically in Houston and Dallas.  These neighborhoods are home to middle and lower income Hispanic and African American communities who need a strong voice in government, including how their elected officials craft environmental policy.

“Texas state government should be encouraging civic engagement in these areas, not creating obstacles to participation in voting and elections.”

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The Texas League of Conservation Voters works to preserve and enhance the quality of life of Texans by making conservation a top priority with Texas elected officials, political candidates and voters.  Find us online at http://www.tlcv.org and follow us on Twitter @tlcv.

LT. GOVERNOR’S PROPOSALS SIGNAL SOME HOPE FOR CLEANER ENERGY, AIR
Leading state environmental group pledges to watch developments closely

AUSTIN, TX–The following statement Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s recently announced interest in pursuing incentives for natural gas production and retirement of coal-fired power plants in Texas should be attributed to David Weinberg, Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters.

“It’s welcome news to hear a Texas leader – the second highest ranking statewide official and a Republican, no less – signal it’s time to move away from dirty coal-fired generating power plants in favor of cleaner, domestic energy sources.

“Texas energy shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it’s what’s best for all Texans. We’re anxious to learn more about Gov. Dewhurt’s specific proposals this session, but the right path forward is one that finds ways to transition our state from old, dirty coal plants toward cleaner, greener Texas energy sources.

“TLCV and our members are unwavering in our commitment to cleaner air and to ridding the state of dirty coal plants that are negatively impacting public health.  With a focus on Texas natural gas production, we not only get a cleaner energy source, but also the state will benefit from increased revenue from natural gas severance taxes during difficult budgetary times.  In Gov. Dewhurt’s proposal, we may finally have not only hope, but also substantive action and a solid commitment, on fueling Texas with cleaner energy.”

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Testimony before the Environmental Protection Agency on
Proposed Actions on GHG Permitting Program in Texas
Submitted by David Weinberg
Executive Director, Texas League of Conservation Voters
Jan. 14, 2011
Dallas, Texas

Mr. Administrator (Al Armendariz) and EPA staff, thank you for the opportunity to come before you today and provide my thoughts on the Texas permitting programs.

My name is David Weinberg, and I am Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters, a statewide organization whose broad-based membership believes firmly that conservation in policy and practice can enhance Texans’ quality of life, improve our health and preserve some of our state’s most precious natural resources and landmarks.

As those gathered here today well know, Texas is the only state in the Union that refuses to comply with federal law to address and control dangerous and harmful carbon air pollution.

The Clean Air Acts requirements as they relate to carbon pollution are both reasonable and clear, yet Texas Governor Rick Perry and his appointed commissioners at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality thumb their nose at federal law, placing the Texas economy and jobs in jeopardy and putting every Texan’s health at risk.

These reasonable and clearly defined requirements set forth by the EPA require the largest, new industrial facilities, as well as those existing industrial facilities undergoing major renovation, to receive permits and demonstrate that they are using the most advanced, available technology to control carbon pollution before they begin operating.  In many cases, this requirement is as simple, cost-effective and reasonable as installing energy-efficient boiler systems or using cleaner-burning fuel sources.

Yet, Texas has filed a dozen legal challenges of EPA regulations over the past year.  For a state with an estimated budget shortfall of $27 billion for the next biennium, Gov. Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott and the TCEQ are doing a grave disservice to Texans by both wasting taxpayer dollars and threatening air quality and public health.

And, to date, adding insult to injury, most of their legal challenges have been rebuffed, including this week’s ruling on the state’s GHG program by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court that concluded that Texas officials have not met “the stringent standards required for a stay.”

But, the Texas Attorney General and our Governor will not relent, placing jobs, the state economy and clean air at great risk.

And, they stand as the minority, even in their own Republican Party.   Twenty-five other Republican governors are complying with the law on EPA requirements for greenhouse gas emission reporting and permitting.

Governor Perry has charged that the requirements are anti-business and unnecessary Washington regulation.  His anti-Washington rhetoric may stir his political far-right base, but it is out of line and out of step with his own Republican counterparts across the U.S., as well as many of the businesses that fall under the flexible permit or greenhouse gas requirements.

Businesses simply want clarity, not the legal limbo that Governor Perry and Attorney General Abbott are subjecting them too.

For a state that prides itself on its pro-business climate and record-setting job creation prowess, its move against the EPA couldn’t be more anti-business and anti-jobs.

Texas businesses are not able to get the legal pollution control permits they need to expand business, hire more workers and quite literally fuel the Texas economy until this state takes responsibility to revise its outdated rules and come into compliance with federal law.

The Texas League of Conservation Voters believes the EPA does have a responsibility to help states ensure public health and protect the public from harmful pollution, especially when a state refuses to comply.

Texas could be moving toward a greener, cleaner energy mix, and TLCV and our members will continue to advocate in favor of cleaner fuel sources and, ultimately in due time, an abandonment of more highly polluting coal and petroleum coke for our state’s power generation.

We have an opportunity to move the state further forward on job-creation and a clean energy economy by following the lead of 49 other states, including 25 led by Republican governors and complying with reasonable federal law.  Instead, political posturing has hamstrung us, and costly lawsuits and appeals will further strain the state’s perilous budget situation.

TLCV and our members believe that conservation and clean air are not partisan values, but Texas values, and we will remain steadfast in our commitment to educate and empower Texas voters and elected officials on a path forward that ensures continued prosperity while protecting public health.

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide testimony today.

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Dear TLCV Supporter:

The 2011 Legislative Session has begun.  This session will be particularly challenging.  The state is facing a budget deficit estimated to be as high as $27 billion.  Significant cuts to state agencies like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department pose a serious threat to public parks and wildlife habitat.  The State will also be conducting a Sunset review of its major environmental agencies, including the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality.  This presents a once-in-a-decade opportunity to improve how state environmental agencies deal with polluters and the public.  Fighting to protect parks and wildlife funding and improving how our state environmental agencies operate will be two of TLCV’s top priorities in the 2011 Session.  We will also continue to advocate for building green jobs and the clean energy economy in Texas.

The Texas League of Conservation Voters will be a leader at the Legislature in support of pro-environment policies.  We will continue to hold politicians accountable.  And, we will work tirelessly to deflect threats to the progress we have made with existing policies that safeguard our critical resources and natural world for us and for generations to come.
As part of our strategic campaign we will:

Broaden support for a pro-environment agenda and mobilize supporters.

• Mobilize environmentally concerned Texans to contact their elected officials prior to key votes, letting them know that clean water, clean air, wildlife and open spaces are a priority to their constituents.  We also utilize online organizing tactics, including various social media tools, to recruit and engage a new generation of environmental advocates.

Lead and engage pro-environment allies across the state.

• Help lead and organize the Alliance for a Clean Texas to engage environmental and conservation groups from across the state to work collaboratively toward common goals at the Legislature.

Hold elected officials accountable for their environmental votes.

• Publish the 2011 Texas Environmental Scorecard, our longstanding yardstick for measuring Texas political leaders’ environmental records and holding them accountable for the votes they cast during each legislative session.  When it’s time for Texans to return to the polls in 2012, we will make sure they know which candidates share their environmental values.

We know our efforts will be met with fierce opposition and the deep coffers of some of the state’s worst polluters. I hope you will consider financially supporting the Texas League of Conservation Voters in 2011. Please help us ensure that our elected officials are held accountable for their actions on environmental policy.  We have our work cut out for us, and we depend upon your support for our successes.  Once again, thank you for making our efforts possible.

CONTRIBUTE

Sincerely,

David Weinberg
Executive Director

Testimony – Sunset Public Hearing
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Texas Railroad Commission
9 a.m., Dec. 15, 2010
Senate Finance Committee Room (E1.036, Capitol Extension)

On TCEQ and RRC Sunset Review
By David Weinberg, Executive Director
Texas League of Conservation Voters

Thank you, Chairman Hegar, Vice Chairman Bonnen and distinguished members of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

My name is David Weinberg, and I am Executive Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters, a statewide organization whose broad-based membership believes firmly that conservation in policy and practice can enhance Texans’ quality of life, improve our health and preserve some of our state’s most precious natural resources and landmarks.

I appreciate the opportunity to share my organization’s thoughts with you on critical reforms that must be made to the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in the interest of every Texan, not just the regulated industries these two state agencies serve.

Our opportunity to modernize, reform and ensure public interests – including public health and the preservation of our state’s natural resources – are protected by state agencies comes but once every 12 years.

And, in the case of the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, that opportunity couldn’t come at a better, more crucial time.

Today, Texas energy and environmental regulatory agencies are a disparate, unwieldy mess of elected and appointed officials with too many contradictory or competing roles in environmental regulatory matters. It’s a patchwork quilt of regulatory bodies that should be transformed.

The Sunset process presents an opportunity to make both energy regulation and utility regulation more streamlined, transparent and effective—serving the best interest of all taxpayers and the public at large, not just the companies that are regulated.

In both the TCEQ and the RRC, we can and must seize the opportunity to add teeth to enforcement and muscle to their regulatory roles.

The Sunset Advisory Commission aptly points to the RRC’s ineffectiveness on enforcement actions and the need to shift enforcement hearings to the State Office of Administrative Hearings while revamping the agency’s tracking of violations and enforcement actions to ensure clear, consistent and transparent sharing of information with the public and other regulatory bodies on violation data, trends, complaints and actions taken.

It is important to note that no amount of legislative changes to the RRC through Sunset review can overcome the fundamental issue of its effectiveness being tied to the adequate funding of the agency. The RRC oversees a vast oil and gas infrastructure in Texas. The RRC must have sufficient staffing to enable the agency to enforce its own rules and regulations.

On the TCEQ front, we believe the most vital reforms involve updates to the agency’s compliance history measurement system, permitting process and air fee caps. As a fundamental starting point to revamping TCEQ’s air permitting program, the agency needs clear-cut authority to turn down a bad actor’s permit or the renewal of its permit.

One size fits all rarely fits right or well, and in the case of the TCEQ’s compliance history measurement system, it’s a rigid approach that doesn’t allow the state to identify good actors from bad actors and protect the public, our health and environment.

Sunset Commission cites a good example of the current limits in TCEQ’s regulatory oversight. TCEQ applies the same system to their regulation of small car lots and of large complex chemical plants. Just one example where one size fits all fails most egregiously.

Lawmakers need to remove the roadblock that effectively blocks TCEQ’s ability to effectively and appropriately tailor permit conditions, enhance administrative penalties or deny permits to perennial bad actors.

As the state struggles with an anticipated $25 billion shortfall, it’s worth noting that reforms like this have no fiscal note tied to them. It won’t cost taxpayers a dime, but it will vastly improve the state’s ability to punish those who cause the most public harm while ensuring incentives go to those who earn them.

For air caps, by allowing TCEQ to administratively adjust the annual emission cap and tonnage fees, the agency can ensure it meets the requirements of an important provision of air quality requirements.

Facilities that emit air contaminants must already pay either an Air Emissions Fee or an Air Inspection Fee – whichever is greater – and those dollars go directly toward the state’s air permitting program.

If we don’t update state law and ensure TCEQ can meet the funding requirements of the air permitting program, we all stand to lose.

It could result in penalties from the federal government, the loss of federal transportation funds, and it would negatively impact the agency’s ability to protect public health through air quality monitoring.

And, here again, during tight budgetary times, the change would give flexibility and ensure additional revenue (to General Revenue, Dedicated Fund) that would help us meet our Title V Air Permit program budgetary needs. It would not increase individual families’ taxes nor add to or decrease the state’s budget shortfall.

Let me close by emphasizing that in spite of the significant reforms that I’d urge state lawmakers to make, we cannot, nor should not turn a blind eye to the substantial role these entities, along with the Public Utility Commission, can play in advancing a clean energy policy that serves Texas’ long range interests well.

In particular, we should continue to look for ways through statute and agency rulemaking to ensure that cleaner fuel sources are fully embraced and that we move away from our state’s stubborn and wrong-headed insistence to use more highly polluting coal and petroleum coke to generate its electricity. The TCEQ, in particular, has become nothing more than a rubber stamp for the coal industry, a commodity that largely is imported into Texas, provides few jobs to Texans and even less in terms of revenue through severance taxes.

As we look for ways to address revenue shortfalls in the state budget and as we work to ensure the state’s energy and environmental regulatory bodies are serving and protecting the interests of every Texan, we would be wise to look for ways to improve and diversify the state’s energy mix.

Converting coal plants to natural gas fired facilities or turning away outright from new coal plant approvals is a reasonable and responsible action. Couple those moves with appropriate regulation of and safe production of natural gas in Texas, and we’ll truly be on a bridge to a cleaner, greener Texas energy mix.

TLCV and our members are committed to ensuring that conservation is not a partisan value, but a Texas one, and we will continue to advocate for conservation and clean energy as a top priority for Texas.

Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony. I hope the commission will seize this once-in-twelve-years opportunity to make meaningful reforms to the RRC and TCEQ that benefit Texans, not just the industries that stand before them.

Every 12 years, state agencies come up for sunset review, a process that determines if a state agency lives, dies or is reformed to better serve the public and taxpayers.

Ten years ago, the agency then-known as the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, survived a significant overhaul and review as part of the Legislature’s renewal of the agency back in 1999.

Many of the same criticisms of the predecessor to today’s Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) resurfaced in the much-anticipated initial report released yesterday by the Texas Sunset Commission. You can read the full report online here.

Sunset Commission staff found that the TCEQ performed “reasonably well,” but it did make a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening the state’s environmental agency, including increasing the caps on penalties for some polluters.

Perhaps the area of TCEQ that needs the most substantial reform is a topic that the Sunset Commission outright refused to address: Texas’ air permitting program. Citing pending lawsuits and looming implementation of Environmental Protection Agency rules, Sunset staff concluded, the controversy surrounding Texas air permitting program were “high-level political and policy issues that do not easily lend themselves to objective staff-level analysis or solution.” In other words, Sunset punted on an issue that has profound impact on our state’s air quality and public health.

On the whole, however, Texas League of Conservation Voters is pleased that the Sunset Commission staff recommends improvements in the agency’s enforcement, transparency, compliance history and public participation. We’ll watch how these recommendations play out in the weeks and months ahead as the agency’s sunset review progresses.

Up next, be sure to mark your calendar for the public hearing Dec. 15-16 where TLCV, other conservation advocates and the general public can make their voices heard.

Details regarding the December public hearing on TCEQ will be posted online soon, and if you follow TLCV and the TLCV Education Fund on Twitter and Facebook, we’ll keep you updated throughout the process.