Add the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) litigation to the list of lawsuits filed by the Texas Attorney General containing merit less claims.  In lawsuits attacking federal health care reform and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott drew criticism for loser litigation. [i] The Texas Attorney General's February 2010 legal challenge complaining of the EPA's findings of endangerment begins with the claims of an "acclaimed record" of working to enforce environmental laws and that "Texas has aggressively protected air quality."[ii]

After seven long years of the Texas Attorney General's tenure, Texas is number one in: air pollution emissions, amount of volatile organic compounds released into the air, amount of toxic chemicals released into water, amount of recognized cancer-causing carcinogens released into air, and amount of carbon dioxide emissions.[iii]

The Attorney General further claims in his legal pleadings to have teamed "in a successful enforcement effort" against the mining and refining company ASARCO.  The Attorney General even claimed "as a result, ASARCO will spend $1.8 billion remediating 80 hazardous waste sites in 19 states...$52 million was allocated to Texas to fund the environmental remediation of a lead smelter in El Paso."[iv]

In truth, the Texas Attorney General was unsuccessful in the litigation in achieving a fair result for Texas, El Paso and its citizens.  State Senator Elliot Shapleigh specifically asked the Attorney General to renegotiate the settlement, on April 7, 2009, since the $52 million was inadequate to cover $250 million minimum of cleanup including an arsenic plume in groundwater of 233 million cubic feet, following a century of ASARCO deposited lead and arsenic on the Rio Grande.[v]  State Sen. Shapleigh gave specific notice of vast inadequacies in the $52 million settlement negotiated by the Bush Administration, for which the Texas Attorney General now proudly takes credit as his "success" in his pleadings to the EPA.  The Texas Attorney General, in April 2009, was asked to renegotiate after $6 billion additional funds became available in ASARCO's estate, which could fund the minimum $250 million/El Paso remediation needs.

Texas does not have an acclaimed record of air quality and has not aggressively protected air quality.  And the Texas Attorney General's refusal to reconsider his position on the inadequate so-called "successful" ASARCO case robbed Texas of the opportunity to correct the massive water and air problems created by a century of pollution.

"More than any other state in America, almost twenty-four million Texans now live with the highest levels of volatile organic compounds, toxic chemicals in our water, and carcinogens and carbon dioxide in our air.  In terms of ozone pollution, Houston and Dallas are now the fourth and seventh worst cities in the United States, respectively.  If Texas were a nation it would rank seventh in the world in total carbon dioxide emissions...the Texas commission [on Environmental Quality] has a history of disregarding scientific opinion on permits." [vi]

And, the Environmental Integrity Project report released in March 2010 revealed that five coal fired Texas power plants are among the nations top 10 emitters of mercury, with 90 percent of emissions reducible with proven technology, little or no downtime, and capital cost of $1 to $3 per megawatt hour of capacity.[vii]

For over a century the ASARCO El Paso Smelter fouled Mexico and the United States with thousands of tons of lead, arsenic and sulfur.  Faced with $11 billion in national cleanup claims, ASARCO filed bankruptcy in 2005, then sought air pollution permits renewal.  Over massive objections, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) voted to approve air permit renewal, engendering appeals and controversy.  When EPA disputed TCEQ's argument "grandfathering" the permits, forcing ASARCO to start anew, ASARCO gave up, voiding its permits.

The Attorney General of Texas is wrong to file a legal pleading at taxpayer expense claiming the TCEQ's $52 million remediation plan, part of the Bush Administration's negotiated settlement, as a "success".

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During her 30 year legal career, Barbara Ann has represented retirees, life-saving doctors, blood banks, children burned by lighters, families of murder victims, unfairly treated businesses: a wide variety of persons entitled to protection. Barbara Ann graduated with honors from the University of Houston and the University Of Texas School of Law.   She was honored as the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas in 1988 and for the past 17 years she has been listed in "Best Lawyers in America".

Prior to 2006, she was a partner at the law firm of Vinson & Elkins in Houston, where she served as head of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Section.  She was the first woman at Vinson & Elkins to have children as an associate and later attain partnership.  Texas has never had a woman Attorney General.

Media Contact:

Katie Floyd: 713-357-3360(office)

katie.floyd@radnofsky.com

[i] Houston Chronicle, "Sore losers: Health care lawsuits are a misguided continuation of partisan fight." March 23, 2010.  Barbara Ann Radnofsky campaign press release, As Abbott Sues, Texans Suffer. March 23, 2010. Lone Star Project, Texas Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott: Partisanship and Hypocrisy Define Texas Republican Official (on website as of March 25, 2010).

[ii] EPA Docket No, EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171.

[iii] Texas On the Brink: How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States.  Senator Eliot Shapleigh, January 2009.

[iv] EPA Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171

[v] Press Release Texas State Sen. Shapleigh Feb. 27 2009.

[vi] Getting Out of Grover's Tub by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, 2009 P. 31-34.

[vii] Houston Chronicle, March 20, 2010.