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Posts Tagged ‘Texas’

Memorial Day Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday!!

Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, tagged , , , , , , , on May 27, 2010 |

I’ve told my parents and now I’m telling you. ¡Si se compran una lavadora o un aire condicionado marcado Energy Star este weekend, no tienen que pagar sales taxes! If you buy an Energy Star appliance this Memorial Day weekend you won’t have to pay a sales tax! Representative Veronica Gonzalez announced the third annual Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday and encouraged Texans to lower their utility bills and conserve energy with more energy efficient appliances. Gonzalez went on to say:

Many of use see our utility bills go up during the hot summer months…energy efficient appliances are better for our environment and our wallets, and even small changes like switching to fluorescent light bulbs can make a difference. I encourage Texans to take advantage of this weekend.

If there’s no room for a brand spanking new energy efficient appliance in your budget here are some tips on how to prep your home for the coming summer heat as presented by Ed Begley Jr.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=497852292298798919#]

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas

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Cap Metro’s debut at the Sunset Commission

Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, Renewables, Transportation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 26, 2010 |

Cap Metro’s hearing at the Sunset Advisory Commission on Tuesday wasn’t the public flogging many might have expected, given the mass transit authority’s myriad problems over the past several years. It came as a shock to no one as Sunset staff delivered testimony that centered on the financial crisis the transit authority faces. Several commissioners, however, none of whom represent Austin, were surprisingly engaged and cognizant of recent reforms at Cap Metro and gave them credit for their responsiveness to the Sunset Commission’s Staff Report which recommended several changes ranging from financial management to labor contracts to rail safety.

For those who have not followed the story from the beginning (include me in that), Cap Metro’s Sunset review began with the passage last session of Sen. Kirk Watson’s (D-Austin) SB 2015. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin). In addition to calling for the review “as if the authority were scheduled to be abolished”, it changed the structure of the Cap Metro board and called for another review in 2016. (more…)

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EPA taking over permitting of Texas facilities: TCEQ’s permitting process doesn’t follow Clean Air Act

Posted in Toxics, tagged , , , , , , on May 26, 2010 |

The other shoe has finally dropped.

Back in September 2009, we let you know how the EPA had issued rulings that condemned TCEQ’s air quality permitting practices. And today, the EPA stopped asking nicely and took some action.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Objecting to how Texas regulates air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is taking over the issuance of an operating permit for a Corpus Christi refinery and could step in at some 39 other major facilities across the state.

“I think the writing will be on the wall — unless we start seeing better permits that address our objections, we are very likely to begin federalizing others,” EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz said in a telephone interview. “The state is not following federal Clean Air Act requirements.”

At issue here is the process TCEQ uses to permit new industries that contribute to air pollution.  Specifically, these are called “flex permits” and have been roundly criticized by environmentalists and others for being insufficient in protecting human health and safety from dirty air.  During the Bush Administration, the EPA turned a blind eye to these practices, but now are finally giving TCEQ and flex permitting the scrutiny they deserve.

Of interest here is the Sunset Review process that TCEQ will undergo this year and next, giving the Legislature the opportunity to reform the state agency. With EPA showing they are not going to allow the loopholes that flex permitting creates, it is time for TCEQ and lawmakers alike to sunset these specific practices and go about permitting new facilities based on things like… oh, the Clean Air Act.  Because if TCEQ won’t, it certainly looks like EPA will.

Now if only EPA will ask TCEQ to regulate or at least measure emissions of greenhouse gases like the Texas legislature asked TCEQ to do and which they have promised to do in the past?

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Texans Written Out of the Process by Supreme Court of Texas Rule Changes

Posted in Good Government, tagged , , , on May 26, 2010 |

Take a look at this op-ed submitted by Public Citizen, EDF, and Sierra Club as commented upon by Burnt Orange Report

The scales of justice may tip toward monied interests

File under “hugely important issue to everyday Texans that most of us know nothing about.” Three prominent pro-citizen activists have been working hard to draw attention to a proposed rule change by the Supreme Court of Texas that would actually increase the ability of anti-consumer special interest groups to influence legislation and regulation here in Texas. SCOTX has proposed allowing lobbyists and special-interest groups to meet privately with state agencies before companies file applications for permits. In other words, Big Money will be able to enter through the back door and make sure they get their approval before the public even knows what’s going on.

This comes at a time when lax regulation and enforcement have led to an unprecedented oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, when TCEQ has all-but-refused to follow EPA standards, and when state environmental agencies are refusing court orders to provide lawmakers with documents about the very back-door deals the SCOTX is trying to make fair game.

To read more, click here.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Ramming Nuclear Power Subsidies Into War Appropriations Bill Is Inappropriate and Should Be Blocked

Posted in Energy, Nuclear, tagged , on May 24, 2010 |

A Deal is Struck to Add $9 Billion in Risky Nuclear Loan Guarantees for Failing South Texas Nuclear Project.   

In a deal between the Obama administration and House of Representatives leadership, struck last week behind closed doors, taxpayers would be on the hook for lending $9 billion to build two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project site in Bay City, Texas. 

Nuclear Power in War Appropriations BillIt is highly inappropriate for the Obama administration to stuff subsidies for nuclear power into an emergency war appropriations bill and lawmakers should strip this nuclear utility pork out of the war funding bill.  Subsidizing new reactors that will take a decade or more to build cannot be considered an emergency and it is a stretch of the imagination to see how exactly it is related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Public Citizen and the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition are challenging the South Texas nuclear reactors’ license before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, and Karen Hadden of the SEED Coalition said, “It is clear that the only emergency here is the fact that the South Texas plant doesn’t have sufficient investors to make this a viable project.”  

After the estimated cost of the project more than tripled in three years to a whopping $18.2 billion, the city of San Antonio wisely pulled out of 85 percent of its investment. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has since offered a measly 10 percent investment.  NRG, the primary stakeholder in the Texas project, has been financially shaky in recent years and filed for bankruptcy in 2003, making it incomprehensible how the U.S. government can justify backing this lemon of a project with $9 billion of taxpayer money. (more…)

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New study shows jobs from Kerry-Lieberman mostly in Nukes, CCS

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, Nuclear, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 21, 2010 |

One point we often forget when debating climate change strategies is the major economic case for changing our economy to new, clean technology.  A new study has been released on the impacts of the Kerry-Lieberman bill, which we’ve never been so hot on, but it shows that despite what the chicken littles at the Chamber of Commerce might spew about how a carbon cap is a jobs killer, it’s anything but.  From the NY Times articles on this story:

The Peterson Institute for International Economics said in its 18-page report that the bill from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) creates the new jobs between 2011 and 2020 because of its mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, which will prompt $41.1 billion in investments per year as the nation shifts away from traditional fossil fuels like coal and oil and toward new nuclear power and renewables.

So, good news, right? 

Looking closer at the study itself, we see something very interesting.  Michael Levi of the CFR points out that it looks more like this is a nuclear jobs bill than a climate bill,  echoing what Public Citizen’s Tyson Slocum has said repeatedly about this bill.

And indeed, here is average ANNUAL net job creation by industry from 2011-2020 according to page 12 the analysis:

  • Nuclear: 165,000
  • CCS: 96,000
  • Renewables: 19,000

Yikes.  Overall, this is a bad deal. And, this assumes that carbon sequestration is economical, safe, and practical.  But more on that later.

The sad thing is, we know what we need to do to create more jobs in renewable energy.  (more…)

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Week in Review

Posted in Coal, Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, green jobs, Nuclear, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , , on May 21, 2010 |

Busy, busy, busy. Public Citizen staff have been making the rounds this week, traveling all over Texas in order to educate, empower, and organize citizens. From Beaumont to Dallas. From tar sands to the Public Utility Commission, we are working to protect the economic and environmental well-being of all Texans.

The Week in Review: (more…)

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Participate in the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission’s Review of the PUC

Posted in Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , , on May 19, 2010 |

In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them.

The Commission holds public hearings on each agency under review. These hearings offer the public an opportunity to testify about an agency and comment on the Sunset staff’s recommendations. Witness affirmation forms are available at the meeting if you would like to testify before the Commission Public hearings are webcast and archives are available. (more…)

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ERCOT Chair Steps Down Citing Personal Reasons

Posted in Energy, tagged , , on May 19, 2010 |

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) just announced board of directors’ chair, Jan Newton, has resigned citing personal reasons.  Ms. Newton served on the ERCOT board since 2006 and became the chair in 2008.

Her resignation is the second major departure from ERCOT in the past eight months. In September of 2009, CEO Bob Kahn submitted his and ERCOT is still in the process of a nationwide search for his replacement.  Conjecture about the possibility that the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) chair, Barry Smitherman, (who also serves on the ERCOT board of directors as a ex-officio member) had thrown his hat in the ring for the position was cut short when Chairman Smitherman announced publically that he had decided not to pursue the job. 

At the time, while energy watchdogs agreed that Smitherman was highly qualified for the ERCOT job, they were also concerned that such an employment bid posed a conflict — first as a PUC commissioner charged with establishing the rules for ERCOT’s operation and, second, as a board member (albeit a non-voting one) of the agency he was asking to hire him. It was also unclear whether the laws governing the PUC would allow a commissioner to seek the ERCOT job.  Texas’ Public Utility Regulatory Act says commissioners can’t seek employment with a “public utility” while serving on the PUC.  ERCOT doesn’t technically qualify as a public utility, however industry insiders felt it was a gray area, and the spirit of the law looked prohibitive.  So the search goes on.

Michehl Gent, who also joined the board in 2006, will step up as the incoming chair.  Gent was former president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp.

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Portland, TX Asks TCEQ to Deny Las Brisas Permit

Posted in Coal, tagged , , , , on May 19, 2010 |

Portland, Texas’ City Council members voted yesterday on a resolution to unanimously to support a State Office of Administrative Hearings’ judicial recommendation that an air permit sought for Las Brisas petroleum-coke fired power plant be denied or reviewed further.

Portland’s council has long-standing tradition of staying out of Corpus Christi and Nueces County matters, but back in March, after two administrative law judges recommended that the permit be denied or sent back to the state environmental agency for further review, City Councilwoman Cathy Skurow, a civil engineer specializing in environmental permitting, requested it be put on the agenda.

More than 50 people packed the City Council Chambers and the council heard twenty four-minutes of testimony from a couple of Portland residents and dozens of Corpus Christi residents, all against the project, because of concerns that the plant would be detrimental to residents’ health and harmful to the economy should the region fall out of compliance with air pollution limits.

Portland Mayor David Krebs told the crowd that he came into the meeting 100 percent against the resolution, but by the time the vote occurred, he and the others fully supported it.

Council members said the council is not for or against Las Brisas, but wanted to add its collective voice in asking the state agency to make sure the project meets environmental regulations before it is built.  Basically the Portland council put TCEQ on notice that they expect TCEQ to do what they are supposed to do to protect the health and environmenal wellbeing of citizens in the region.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Proposed Rules Could Allow Disconnections for Some Critical Care Customers

Posted in Consumers, tagged , , , , , , on May 18, 2010 |

The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) is considering proposed rules changes that will in many ways improve consumer protection, but contains some provisions that could allow retail electric providers (REP) to disconnect medically vulnerable customers who rely on electricity to sustain their lives.  Other rules being considered could make it impossible for a consumer who is in debt to a retail electric provider to switch to lower cost services, eliminating their right to choose.  (more…)

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Tar Sands May be Coming to Texas

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , on May 17, 2010 |

The U.S. Department of State will be hosting public hearings this week, May 17-20th in Beaumont, Liberty, Livingston, and Tyler on the proposed tar sands pipeline. Canadian oil and gas giant TransCanada needs U.S. Department of State approval in order to expand the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The public hearings are key opportunities for local residents to make their voices heard and communicate their concerns about the project directly to State Department officials. (more…)

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Arkansas Supreme Court Rules Against Turk Coal Plant

Posted in Coal, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, tagged , , , on May 13, 2010 |

Upholding a state court ruling made last year that found the hearing process was not conducted propery, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled against the Turk coal-fired power plant in Southwest Arkansas.  This is great news for the People of Arkansas, surrounding states, and the planet in general. Perhaps SWEPCO will take this as a hint that coal power is the past and start investing in the energy of the future with efficiency and renewables. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard on this issue including Audubon Arkansas, Sierra Club, and many others.

For more details, here are links to stories at Arkansas Matters and Forbes.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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The Nuclear Energy-Promoting, Oil Drilling-Championing, Coal Mining-Boosting Gift to Polluters Bill

Posted in Coal, Efficiency, Global Warming, Nuclear, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , on May 12, 2010 |

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After half a year of delay, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are set to release their nuclear energy/cap-and-trade bill today. Until we see legislative text, we can comment only on the broad outline made available yesterday and an additional summary being circulated among legislative staff.

It’s not accurate to call this a climate bill. This is nuclear energy-promoting, oil drilling-championing, coal mining-boosting legislation with a weak carbon-pricing mechanism thrown in. What’s worse, it guts the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) current authority to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

Here’s our take on what we know is in the new bill: (more…)

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Thanks for your donations to EarthShare of Texas through HEB’s in-store coupon promotion

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , on May 12, 2010 |

PUBLIC CITIZEN’s TEXAS OFFICE is a

Public Citizen is an Earthshare of Texas MemberApril is Earthday, give at HEB to Earthshare

Public Citizen’s Texas office would like to thank all those who made donations to Earth Share of Texas through HEB’s in-store coupon promotion for April. Your donations will go toward supporting environmental work in Texas including the Texas office of Public Citizen.

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