Clean Air In the News

The motto for the House Committee on Environmental Regulation ought to be “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here!” Chairman Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) runs his committee like a tinpot - or is it tinhat? - dictator whose primary function seems to be killing sensible environmental legislation by hook or by crook. (An exception or two notwithstanding.)

Last week he was berating City of Austin employees for filling out their witness affirmation forms incorrectly. Then yesterday, while hearing several bills addressing air pollution from vehicles, he got even more ornery. He repeatedly interrupted folks testifying; asked questions and then said he already knew the answer; and dropped sarcastic little “Interestings,” “Wows,” and “Hmmms” about every 30 seconds. The performance left many afterword muttering “Bully” and wondering how the fox could be extricated from the henhouse.

Bonnen’s own big bill yesterday was a resolution informing the federal government that Texas won’t meet EPA clean-air standards for the Houston non-attainment area by 2010, but “the state of Texas has done everything in its power to meet the current deadline.” Not that surprising of a move from a guy who also has a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to pull out of the United Nations.

When Luke Metzger of Environment Texas pointed to a letter written by Houston Mayor Bill White and former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels listing dozens of untried startegies, Bonnen acerbicly retorted “I’m glad to know they’re experts now.”

Maybe Bonnen was sore (or proud) that in 2005 Environment Texas gave him a zero percent voting record on green legislation.

Later, Bonnen really got on his high horse during testimony on Austin Democrat Mark Strama’s proposal to adopt California’s strict vehicle emission standards in Texas. He kept badgering witnesses to admit that auto manufactureres are already producing cars that are “near-zero emissions.”

Strama explained that while there have been drastic reductions in tailpipe emissions of ozone-forming gases, and while some car models will be near-zero in coming years, the fleet itself will still contribute considerably to urban air pollution, not to mention global warming. Strama said TCEQ modeling shows that by adopting California standards the state would see a 8-15 percent reduction in key ozone gases and a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. “It’s difficult when experts are giving you different sets of facts,” Strama told Bonnen, alluding to the fact that auto manufacturer lobbyists had rolled into Austin to squelch Strama’s bill.

“Oh, I don’t think the facts are that hard to sort through,” replied Bonnen. In other words he had already made up his mind and anything anyone was gonna tell him otherwise was pure bollocks.

Later, Bonnen cut off Environmental Defense’s Jim Martson (and a member of the Texas Observer board) to tell him that he was “too ignorant” to know that he, Bonnen, had worked on certain legislation the previous session. After Martson said indeed he did know about Bonnen’s role in passing a solid green bill, but that he hadn’t bothered to fund it, Bonnen told him, “I don’t care. Just finish your testimony on this bill.”

Eleven states have adopted Califoria’s emisson standards and Maryland is poised to be the twelfth. In light of this, Strama told the Observer later, the Legislature’s resistance is “counterintuitive because Texas has the most to lose from federal carbon dioxide regulations and therefore the most to gain from reducing CO2 emission from automobiles.” The CO2 standards for cars have to be put in now, says Strama, because it will take years to see any significant results. Doing nothing, on the other hand, will mean that carbon-intensive Texas industries will be hammered. “Texas starts out behind because we have more carbon emissions than any other state,” said Strama. No wonder the Houston energy sector and Chamber of Commerce types have come out in favor of Strama’s bill.

Strama said Bonnen has made it abundantly clear through his deeds and words that he dislikes Strama’s bill. That means in all likelihood that it is - along with many other decent proposals - D.O.A.

by Forrest Wilder