Texas faces real harm from EPA’s Invisible Haze rule

William Yeatman, Tyler Morning Telegraph

Texas recently got a temporary reprieve from an ineffective, staggeringly costly mandate imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit late last month put a halt on the EPA’s new air visibility plan rule.

Texas went to court after EPA rejected the state’s own air visibility improvement plan and imposed a federal plan in its stead. The state’s utilities were facing the prospect of having to commit billions of dollars in unnecessary investments before the legal challenge ran its course. By the EPA’s own admission, its plan would cost $2 billion more than the state’s plan. Thus, Texas “demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits, because they are likely to suffer irreparable injury,” the judge explained.

It’s a pity the state had to fight the federal government over a rule that costs billions to achieve nothing. At issue is an air visibility plan that doesn’t make the air visibly better. ....To Read More....