Federal Agencies Slam, Approve Houston Road Plans

Federal transportation and environmental officials voiced concern that air pollution from the Houston-Galveston transportation plan jeopardizes the ability of Texas to achieve healthy air quality, but reluctantly approved the plan on Friday. Environmentalists said that Texas officials could avoid a legal challenge to the plan only if they quickly adopted the conditions identified by federal officials in their plan approval. This would include immediate identification and adoption of transportation control measures to reduce traffic growth and reconsideration of major capacity-enhancing road projects that will contribute to traffic and pollution growth.

The approval of the transportation plan for metropolitan Houston-Galveston was denounced by Environmental Defense and Sierra Club as harmful to public health and a clear violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Jim Marston, director of Environmental Defense’s Texas office, said, “Texas transportation and environmental officials have a responsibility to assure that billions in transportation spending won’t delay the day when Texans can breathe healthful air again. The plan approved commits hundreds of millions of dollars to road projects that exacerbate air pollution and endanger the health of our children, elderly, and those with respiratory disease in the Houston-Galveston area.”

Texas officials have submitted air quality plans showing that total emissions of Nitrogen Oxides, which form ozone smog, must be reduced to less than 230 tons per day from all sources of air pollution for the Houston area to meet the existing federal health standard for ozone. The regional transportation plan approved today will cause the region’s emissions to substantially exceed that limit for many years to come.

“This transportation plan approval violates the Clean Air Act. However, the environmental community wishes to avoid litigation, if at all possible, and to allow federal transportation money to flow to Houston. Texas officials can avert litigation, if they immediately agree to the conditions proposed by the federal agencies. This requires commitments to stop digging the region into a deeper hole of unhealthful air quality and sprawl and instead work with communities to expand flexible travel choices and funding to support transportation projects that reduce air pollution,” said Michael Replogle, Environmental Defense’s transportation director.

“If litigation is to be avoided State and local officials must rethink many projects, like the Grand Parkway, that exacerbate sprawl, dependence on motor vehicles, and related air pollution which has given Houston the dirtiest air in America,” said Frank Blake, Chair of the Houston Group of Sierra Club.