Environment To Lose A Friend In Texas

It is well known that Texas dumps far more pollution into the air than any other state. In fact, if Texas was a country, it would be the seventh largest polluter in the entire world. There's no secret why this is true. It's because the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is populated entirely by Bush and Perry appointees.

The TCEQ has final authority over air permits and environmental quality for the state, and the commission has repeatedly sided with businesses and corporations and against environmental interests. If a corporation wants a permit to dump tons of new pollution into Texas air, you can bet it'll be approved by the TCEQ.

At least two of the three commissioners will vote that way. The third commissioner is a bit of an anachronism. He is attorney Larry Soward. Even though he was appointed by Rick Perry, he has not sided with either the corporate interests or the environmental interests. Instead, he has tried to follow the laws and regulations as they are written.

That has frequently put him at odds with the other two commissioners (who are solidly on the corporate team and usually in opposition to federal guidelines). It has also made Soward a hero with environmental groups, who see him as a commissioner who does his job fairly and impartially.

But the Texas environment is losing that friend. Larry Soward (pictured) has officially retired from the agency. Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, said, "It's a big loss to have the one independent thinker and environmental advocate that we had on the commission leaving."

You can bet that Rick Perry won't make the same mistake twice. I'm sure the person he appoints to replace Soward will be thoroughly vetted and known to be a corporate supporter.

This is just one of many good reasons why our state really needs a Democratic governor. I don't know how much more the Texas environment can take from these Republican appointees.