1-1 By: Brown S.C.R. No. 22 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 8, 2001; February 12, 2001, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; 1-4 April 30, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4, 1-5 Nays 0; April 30, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, The reduction of pollution and the protection of the 1-8 environment is of great concern to both the federal government and 1-9 the Texas Legislature; and 1-10 WHEREAS, To protect its natural resources and environment as 1-11 effectively as possible, Texas needs greater flexibility in its 1-12 implementation of federal regulations; and 1-13 WHEREAS, The current command-and-control approach instituted 1-14 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to limit 1-15 pollution at the state level through the use of a federally 1-16 mandated permitting process has proven to be moderately successful 1-17 at reducing pollution, but it is also an overly prescriptive 1-18 process that is unduly burdensome and costly to both the states and 1-19 the regulated facilities relative to the results achieved; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Alternative paradigms are available, including 1-21 outcome-based assessment methods that allow the state to measure 1-22 the actual reduction of pollution rather than simply monitoring 1-23 each facility's compliance with its permit; and 1-24 WHEREAS, States should be given greater latitude to implement 1-25 innovative regulatory programs and other pollution reduction 1-26 methods that vary from the current model, which requires states to 1-27 adhere strictly to the federally mandated permitting process; and 1-28 WHEREAS, Providing this flexibility would allow states such 1-29 as Texas to tailor appropriate and effective approaches to 1-30 state-specific environmental problems rather than expending 1-31 resources to ensure compliance with one-size-fits-all regulations 1-32 that place an inordinate emphasis on procedural detail; now, 1-33 therefore, be it 1-34 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-35 hereby respectfully urge the United States Environmental Protection 1-36 Agency to provide maximum flexibility to the states in the 1-37 implementation of federal environmental programs and regulations; 1-38 and, be it further 1-39 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-40 copies of this resolution to the administrator of the United States 1-41 Environmental Protection Agency, to the president of the United 1-42 States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the 1-43 president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all 1-44 members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request 1-45 that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional 1-46 Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of 1-47 America. 1-48 * * * * *