Gov. Perry Responds To New EPA Guidelines For Texas
LUBBOCK, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Texas has to cut its carbon emission by 39 percent by 2030 under new federal requirements.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday the state has at least three years to develop a plan to reach the reductions. The plan is part of a national effort to reduce the country's carbon emission from the power sector by 30 percent below 2005 levels.
The EPA outlined several options, including making power plants more efficient, reducing reliance on coal and investing in more renewable, low-carbon energy sources.
The state environmental agency did not have an immediate comment.
The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club says that the five most polluting plants in Texas contribute 25 percent of the state's emissions.
Gov. Rick Perry called the new regulations the "most direct assault yet on the energy providers that employ thousands of Americans, and fuel both our homes and our nation's economic growth."
Perry's statement cited that Texas air is cleaner now than in 2000, despite a surge in population by more than 5 million people.
The statement goes on to say, "Americans have seen the disastrous results of federal mandates with Obamacare, and these rules will only further stifle our economy's sluggish recovery and increase energy costs for American families. If President Obama is truly interested in an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy, he would do well to look to states like Texas that have seen tremendous success at diversifying energy sources while protecting the environment from harmful pollutants."
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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