Texas Challenges EPA Ruling in Court

HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas has asked a federal court to intervene in its fight with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how the state regulates emissions from oil refineries and other petrochemicals plants.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday to review the EPA’s rejection of a 1995 state law. That law allows refineries to be modified without being subject to additional regulation, provided the changes don’t increase a facility’s overall emissions.

The issue is part of an ongoing disagreement Texas and the EPA have over how pollution is regulated in the state, which includes the use of so-called flexible permits.

Abbott’s office said the EPA threatens a state program that successfully reduces harmful emissions, as well as thousands of jobs in the petrochemical industry.

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