AUSTIN, Texas — The state's environmental agency approved an aggressive clean-air plan for the smoggy Houston metropolitan area that includes a 55 mph speed limit and unprecedented reductions in emissions from industrial plants.
"If it isn't the most aggressive, it's got to be up there with the top few," said Robert Huston, chairman of the three-member Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, which approved the plan unanimously on Wednesday.
Houston, with its refineries and petrochemical plants, is the nation's smoggiest city.
The plan — designed to bring the area into compliance with federal clean air standards by 2007 — is subject to approval by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Gov. George W. Bush must submit the plan to the EPA by the end of the year. Without a plan, the state risks the loss of federal highway money.
The largest single pollution cut requires Houston-area industrial plants to reduce their smog-causing nitrogen-oxide releases by an average of 90 percent.
A coalition of 120 companies already has argued that cuts in industrial emissions of more than 75 percent are not technically or economically feasible.
"If you are overhauling a plant that was built in the '70s, the best you can do . . . is a 50 percent reduction," said Jim Royner, chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership, which had asked Texas regulators for a reduction target of 80 percent.
Also under the plan, speed limits would be reduced to 55 mph in the eight-county area. The speed limit on interstate highways in the Houston area is as high as 70 mph, though drivers often go over 80 mph or 90 mph.
"I'll lose half my income," complained Roberto Saldano, a Houston cab driver. "I have to drive fast, fast, fast to get places. If I have to go slow, I won't be able to get fares. It is impossible to drive less than 60 or 70 mph, at least, in Houston."
Other provisions call for stricter tailpipe tests for cars and trucks; a morning ban on the use of diesel construction equipment during part of the year; the sale of cleaner diesel fuel; and the retirement or replacement of off-highway diesel equipment.
The restrictions would be phased in through 2007.
The EPA has until October to approve the plan or implement a federal plan.
"Houston has a serious ozone problem. To come in with reductions to meet this problem is quite significant," said Becky Weber, associate director for clean air programs at the EPA.
Based on the number of days in violation of federal air quality standards, Houston has been the smoggiest U.S. city for the past two years, surpassing Los Angeles, a distinction that was used against Bush during the White House campaign.
TNRC Commissioner Ralph Marquez warned that he expects lawsuits to be filed over the plan. But he added: "I believe we are doing the right thing for the people of Texas and we will succeed in defending those challenges."
Some said the plan does not go far enough.
"It doesn't add up to clean air," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, Texas director of the advocacy group Public Citizen. "There are far too many proposals that should have and could have been included in a mandatory package."
Struck from the plan were a proposal for "no-drive days" for motorists and a requirement that homeowners spend hundreds of dollars to overhaul ozone-eating air conditioners to make them more energy efficient.
Pam Berger, director for environmental policy for Houston, said Mayor Lee Brown applauds the plan but is concerned about the morning bans on construction machinery and commercial lawn mowing equipment.
Separate clean air plans for the Dallas/Fort Worth and Beaumont/Port Arthur areas already are pending before the EPA.
On the Net:
TNRCC: www.tnrcc.state.tx.us