Rick Perry among "Dirty Dozen" by League of Conservation Voters

Slater:
Rick Perry is on the inaugural list of "Dirty Dozen" statewide lawmakers and governors in the country as picked by the League of Conservation Voters. The environmental group has long named a "Dirty Dozen" in Congress , but is expanding this year to statewides as prospects dim on Capitol Hill for climate change legislation. Perry was included for bucking the EPA on pollution control and supporting coal-fired power plants in the state. In the case of the EPA, Perry's administration is suing the EPA for rejecting the state's air-quality program.
http://dallasne.ws/clmfNk

Dish mayor's outcry on gas drilling brings big buzz to tiny town

Wendy Hundley reports:

As mayor of Dish, Calvin Tillman presides over a two-square-mile patch of Denton County flatland and about 180 residents. But this small-town mayor has become a central figure in the national debate over gas drilling.
http://tinyurl.com/2csdv9l

EPA takes control of Collin County power plant's state-issued permit

Randy Lee Loftis reports:

A fight between the Obama administration and Texas over industrial air pollution intensified Tuesday when the EPA took over two more state-issued permits, including one for a Garland Power and Light plant in Collin County.

http://tinyurl.com/34j5bfr

Most Barnett Shale facilities release emissions

"There are toxic air emissions being released by the majority of the facilities that we have looked at." Randy Lee Loftis reports:

Plumes of toxic, smog-causing chemicals from Barnett Shale natural-gas operations are so common that inspectors find them nearly every time they look, a Dallas Morning News examination of government records shows.


What's more, the inspectors have rarely looked.

Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The News under federal and state open-records laws, plus other reports and studies, reveal a pattern of emissions of toxic compounds, often including cancer-causing benzene, from Barnett Shale facilities.