Hold Texas Coal And Power Plants Accountable For Their Pollution

Target: Environmental Protection Agency  (EPA)

Goal: Ensure power plants use pollution controls, thereby restoring Texas’s air quality and removing the blanket of pollution called the “Texas Haze.”

Coal and power plants contribute to the Texas Haze, a term used to describe the state’s thick pollution that hovers in the air, making parts of Texas unhealthy to live in. However, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a rule stating these plants do not need to comply with The Clean Air Act, and can continue using outdated and harmful machinery. If the EPA passes this rule, it will override Texas’s Regional Haze Rule, which holds coal and power plants accountable for their pollution.

If power plants were held accountable for the pollution they produce, then they would need to update themselves with pollution controls—an implementation that isn’t exactly new or far-fetched among plant machinery. The state’s bad air quality is hitting national parks such as the much-loved Big Bend, and the Guadalupe mountains, which for many means the pollution has gone too far. The haze prevents residents and tourists from viewing the natural beauty of these landmarks, turning cherished places into duller and darker versions of themselves.

The Texas haze affects more than the beautiful view, as it damages the health of those that breathe it. Rectifying the blanket of pollution would better many people’s health and quality of daily life. Tell the EPA not to give coal and power plants special treatment, hampering Texas’s efforts to create a cleaner, healthy state. Texans should not have to wait years, maybe decades, to enjoy reasonable breathing air.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),

The haze of pollution lingering over Texas is affecting the health of residents as well as the visibility of the state. Texas is making efforts to clean the state’s air, but if the EPA passes the proposed rule exempting coal and power plants from updating their machinery, the Texas haze will likely be too heavy to lift.

By overriding Texas’s Regional Haze Rule, you will be undermining the best interests of Texas residents who must breathe this dirty air every day. Power plants have the option to switch to pollution-controlled machinery, and in a state with such high pollution that people cannot view clean air in even the national parks, this should be a priority.

Please do not allow coal and power plants to get away with pollution. These plants should not be exempt from The Clean Air Act. It is obvious that if the air has turned gray, it is not safe to breathe. I urge you not to prevent clean air, but to help support it.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]