Bill would limit public's input in TCEQ decisions (Texas,environment)

[Judi Lynn]

March 23, 2005, 12:43AM

Bill would limit public's input in TCEQ decisions
Legislator says he wants to speed the process for permit decisions
By JEFFREY GILBERT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - A House committee heard testimony Tuesday on a bill that could limit the public's right to participate in environmental permitting decisions at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, chairman of the committee on environmental regulation, filed the bill and said he wants to shorten the time it takes the agency to evaluate air-, water- and waste-permit applications and issue decisions.
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But if passed, the bill would expand the authority of the agency's commissioners to make permit decisions without giving affected landowners the right to request public hearings, said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the advocacy group Public Citizen's Texas Office.

"(This bill) eliminates rights of the public to participate in decisions that affect the air they breathe and the water they drink," Smith said.
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3098400
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