Houstonians are justifiably proud of our vibrant
energy industry, one of the mighty engines of
the area's economy.
But we need also to be mindful that Houston and
its eight-county environs, with more than 260
oil refineries, chemical plants and other large
industrial facilities, make up one of the worst
air-polluting areas in the country. And while
we've made great strides in recent years, we
still have a long way to go to rid the air we
all breathe of health-threatening, even
life-threatening, toxic emissions.
So it is distressing to see that the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality, whose
mission it is to achieve that goal, too often
sides with the polluters. Most recently, TCEQ
has come to the defense of the area's industrial
facilities - now faced with tens of millions of
dollars in fines for failing to meet federal
clean-air standards - with a novel idea for
dodging those fines. The commission is asking
the Environmental Protection Agency for
permission to waive the fines, and to consider
the fees and taxes it already charges motorists
and equipment operators as a substitute, since
those monies already support smog-fighting
programs. It says it would not increase those
fees and taxes, nor would it demand any new
pollution controls from industrial companies.
Motor vehicles are indeed responsible for much
of our air pollution: As reported last Saturday
by the Chronicle's Matthew Tresaugue, ("State
wants drivers to foot pollution bill," Page 1),
local cars, trucks, trains and other vehicles
produce about half the area's nitrogen oxides,
while industrial sources account for 40 percent.
But those industrial facilities produce nearly
double the amount of the most dangerous
pollutants than vehicles produce. And that's
using current measures - measures that air
experts agree tend to grossly undercount certain
dangerous pollutants.
As reported by Tresaugue on the Chronicle's
front page Monday ("Effort could clear air on
pollution miscount") next spring the University
of Houston will receive an eagerly anticipated
shipment of sophisticated air-pollution
measuring tools from Sweden, part of a
trans-Atlantic collaboration of engineers and
scientists to better gauge the extent of the
undercount.
These undercounted pollutants, called volatile
organic compounds, are a major contributor to
poisonous air, particularly in the Houston area,
with its heavy concentration of chemical plants.
Studies consistently show that when advanced
measuring technology is used, emissions are
discovered to be much higher than is shown on
reports to the government. Houston area
measurements in the last decade have all shown
emissions that dwarfed official counts.
So while EPA acceptance of the proposal would be
a most attractive deal - a gift - for industrial
facilities, it's not much comfort for the rest
of us, particularly in light of the probability
that our pollution problems are far worse than
currently reported. Even by current standards,
these facilities are the major source of the
most dangerous pollutants, and TCEQ should
impose the fines they have incurred.