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RESOLUTION
URGING THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND
THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO
REACH A COMPROMISE ON THE ISSUE OF FLEXIBLE PERMITS IN A
MANNER THAT PROVIDES REGULATORY CERTAINTY TO OUR
LOCAL REFINING INDUSTRY IN THE INTEREST OF PROTECTING
HEALTH AND SAFETY, JOBS, AND FUTURE INVESTMENT IN OUR
COMMUNITY
WHEREAS, since 1971, the State of Texas began the current air permitting
program through the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission,
predecessor agency to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
WHEREAS, in the early stages of the State of Texas air permitting program, a
large number of pre-existing facilities were "grandfathered" into the program, a
practice which remains the case in many other states around the country to this
day;
WHEREAS, in an effort to incentivize grandfathered facilities to voluntarily enter
the State's air permitting and environmental regulation program, in 1994, Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) implemented the Texas Flexible
Permitting Program, an alternative mechanism for Texas industry to comply with
the Clean Air Act and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules;
WHEREAS, the Texas Flexible Permitting Program required facilities to install emission
control equipment along with Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) and
establish emission caps for entire sites using Best Available Control Technology
(BACT);
WHEREAS, since its inception, more than 120 Texas flex permits have been issued for
this model program, including participation by the Port Industries of Corpus Christi;
WHEREAS, the Texas Flexible Permitting Program provides significant benefits to the
environment and business through lower emissions in return for greater operational
flexibility that allows Texas industry to respond to the global marketplace and maintain a
competitive position;
WHEREAS, all Texas industries total air emissions for the State of Texas have
decreased by 41.3 % from 1998-2008, with petroleum industry alone achieving a 46.6%
emission reduction while adding billions of dollars to the Texas economy;
WHEREAS, since 1994, federal recognition regarding the practice of issuing
flexible permits has been sought through EPA;
WHEREAS, on July 15, 2010, the EPA summarily disapproved of the Texas Flexible
Permit Program as being noncompliant with federal law under provisions of the Clean
Air Act of 1990;
TCEQ-EPA Flex Permitting Resoiution 09082010
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WHEREAS, local industry is a key part of Texas and our nation's refining capacity and
provides tremendous economic benefit to our community by providing thousands of
jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, property taxes, local good purchases,
and charitable donations annually;
WHEREAS, in order to meet requirements of the Texas Flexible Permitting Program,
local industry invested hundreds of millions of dollars in emission control equipment
such as LoNox burners, scrubbers, vapor recovery systems for marine and truck
loading operations, and enhanced LDAR (Leak Detection and Repair) programs in order
to attain more than 60% in overall local emission reductions since the inception of the
program;
WHEREAS, these significant emission decreases were achieved at the same time
industry produced new cleaner burning transportation fuels that also enhanced air
quality by reducing tail pipe emissions;
WHEREAS, the petrochemical industry in Corpus Christi, which represents fifty percent
of our community's gross metro product, has been impacted by this flexible permit
dispute between state and federal agencies, which has called into question future
investment in our community and raised a high degree of regulatory uncertainty for the
future of our economy;
WHEREAS, our community has seen improvements in air quality over the last 15 years,
in large part through programs, such as the Texas Flexible Permit Program, and other
voluntary measures that exceed state and federal requirement, in an effort to maintain
our community's attainment status for ozone;
WHEREAS, these local flex permit program initiatives combined with above and beyond
efforts by businesses, such as the production of lower Reid vapor pressure fuels,
installation of air monitoring networks, and organizations such as the Corpus Christi Air
Quality Group and Pollution Prevention Partnership, who voluntarily work to identify
other emission sources and implement community -wide emission reduction programs,
such as ozone action day policies and school bus emission reduction retrofits; and
WHEREAS, the City of Corpus Christi, Port Industries of Corpus Christi, our local higher
education institutions, and other community organizations have demonstrated a shared
commitment to enhance air quality in the Coastal Bend in a manner that balances
economic and environment sustainability for future generations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS:
Section 1. The City supports a workable agreement between the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would bring
Texas in compliance with the Clean Air Act.
TCEQ-EPA Flex Permitting Resolution 09082010
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Section 2. The City supports a compromise being reached outside of the courtroom in
a manner which provides regulatory certainty for our local industry and protects existing
and future jobs and investment in our community.
Section 3. A copy of the resolution will be sent to the Executive Director of the TCEQ
and Region 6 Administrator of the EPA as a sign of our community's willingness to work
with our regulatory bodies at the state and federal levels to ensure our citizens are
protected and that the economic implications related to this dispute remain a point of
consideration throughout these negotiations.
ATTEST:
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
APPROVED: 8th day of September, 2010.
R. ming
First Assistant ity Attorney
For City. Attorney
TCEQ-EPA Flex Permitting Resolution 09082010
THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Joe Ad e a'°'-°4111/
Mayor
Corpus Christi, Texas
of
, 2010
The above resolution was passed by the following vote:
Joe Adame
Chris N. Adler
Brent Chesney
Larry R. Elizondo, Sr.
Kevin Kieschnick
Priscilla Leal
John E. Marez
Nelda Martinez
Mark Scott
Afr-
TCEQ-EPA Flex Permitting Resolution 09082010
Akf
Atr_
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028784
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