By Brown                                              S.C.R. No. 22
         77R1745 NBH-D                           
                                CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The reduction of pollution and the protection of the
 1-2     environment is of great concern to both the federal government and
 1-3     the Texas Legislature; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, To protect its natural resources and environment as
 1-5     effectively as possible, Texas needs greater flexibility in its
 1-6     implementation of federal regulations; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, The current command-and-control approach instituted
 1-8     by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit pollution at
 1-9     the state level through the use of a federally mandated permitting
1-10     process has proven to be moderately successful at reducing
1-11     pollution, but it is also an overly prescriptive process that is
1-12     unduly burdensome and costly to both the states and the regulated
1-13     facilities relative to the results achieved; and
1-14           WHEREAS, Alternative paradigms are available, including
1-15     outcome-based assessment methods that allow the state to measure
1-16     the actual reduction of pollution rather than simply monitoring
1-17     each facility's compliance with its permit; and
1-18           WHEREAS, States should be given greater latitude to implement
1-19     innovative regulatory programs and other pollution reduction
1-20     methods that vary from the current model, which requires states to
1-21     adhere strictly to the federally mandated permitting process; and
1-22           WHEREAS, Providing this flexibility would allow states such
1-23     as Texas to tailor appropriate and effective approaches to
1-24     state-specific environmental problems rather than expending
 2-1     resources to ensure compliance with one-size-fits-all regulations
 2-2     that place an inordinate emphasis on procedural detail; now,
 2-3     therefore, be it
 2-4           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-5     hereby respectfully urge the United States Environmental Protection
 2-6     Agency to provide maximum flexibility to the states in the
 2-7     implementation of federal environmental programs and regulations;
 2-8     and, be it further
 2-9           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state  forward official
2-10     copies of this resolution to the administrator of the U.S.
2-11     Environmental Protection Agency, to the president of the United
2-12     States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the
2-13     president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all
2-14     members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request
2-15     that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional
2-16     Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of
2-17     America.