1-1     By:  Brown                                            S.C.R. No. 23
 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 are matters of great state and national concern, and
 1-9     both the state and the federal government bear responsibility for
1-10     actions in this regard; ideally, this mutual concern and shared
1-11     responsibility should manifest itself in a collaborative
1-12     partnership to reduce pollution and protect natural resources; and
1-13           WHEREAS, However, while both state and federal governments
1-14     share these goals, differences have arisen regarding the most
1-15     effective approach to environmental problems and specific pollution
1-16     reductions and environmental protection efforts; and
1-17           WHEREAS, These differences reflect a state-federal
1-18     relationship that relies less on mutual development of policy and
1-19     coordination of agency efforts and more on a command-and-control
1-20     approach that focuses exclusively on state implementation of
1-21     federal regulations, thus denying Texas the flexibility it needs to
1-22     protect its natural resources and environment as effectively as
1-23     possible; and
1-24           WHEREAS, The current approach instituted by the United States
1-25     Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit pollution at the
1-26     state level through the use of a federally mandated permitting
1-27     process has proven to be moderately successful at reducing
1-28     pollution, but it is also a process that is burdensome and costly
1-29     to both the states and the regulated facilities; and
1-30           WHEREAS, In Texas, the burden of enforcing federal
1-31     regulations and monitoring compliance with required permits falls
1-32     primarily on the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
1-33     (TNRCC); however, the overly prescriptive approach that the federal
1-34     government has taken gives TNRCC no input in the development of
1-35     these regulations and little flexibility, either in interpreting
1-36     regulations or in the way it must enforce them; and
1-37           WHEREAS, Alternative paradigms are available, including
1-38     outcome-based assessment methods that allow the state to direct its
1-39     efforts to measuring the actual reduction of pollution and
1-40     identifying and targeting offending facilities rather than
1-41     expending limited agency resources simply monitoring each
1-42     facility's compliance with its permit; and
1-43           WHEREAS, States should be given greater latitude to implement
1-44     innovative regulatory programs and other pollution reduction
1-45     methods that vary from the current top-down model that requires
1-46     states to adhere strictly to the federally mandated permitting
1-47     process; and
1-48           WHEREAS, TNRCC should take a leadership role in these efforts
1-49     and work as closely as possible with the EPA and other national
1-50     environmental associations to establish a working relationship that
1-51     would give states a greater voice in the decision-making process
1-52     and allow them greater flexibility in the implementation of federal
1-53     environmental programs; and
1-54           WHEREAS, Such a relationship would benefit individual states
1-55     and the federal government by streamlining current environmental
1-56     programs, making them more effective and reducing the overall costs
1-57     of environmental regulation; now, therefore, be it
1-58           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-59     hereby respectfully urge the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
1-60     Commission to expand its coordination efforts with the United
1-61     States Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Council
1-62     of the States, and other national associations to increase
1-63     flexibility for the states in the implementation of federal
1-64     environmental regulations; and, be it further
 2-1           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an
 2-2     official copy of this resolution to the executive director and to
 2-3     the chairman of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
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