"Did Texas Illegally Relax Rules on Coal Plants?"

"When Texas regulators bypassed the EPA to ease air pollution regulations on 19 coal plants, they violated the federal Clean Air Act, a new petition says".

"Texas regulators quietly worked with the coal industry to illegally exempt 19 coal-fired power plants from parts of the Clean Air Act, environmental groups claimed in a petition filed today with the Environmental Protection Agency.

The petitioners said Texas had acted illegally by loosening a federal law that restricts toxic emissions without obtaining––or even seeking­­––EPA approval. The petition asks the EPA to force Texas to tighten the coal plants' air permits. It also asks EPA to step in with a federal implementation plan if the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)—the state's environmental regulator—fails to fix the issue within two years.

If the allegations are true, then the petitioners have "a good case" for their complaint, said Thomas McGarity, a University of Texas law professor who studies administrative and environmental law."

Lisa Song reports for InsideClimate News May 27, 2015.