AAS 8/6/10Big oil presses state to work with EPA on pollution permitsHOUSTON — After a lobbying push by oil giants, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators has asked state environmental regulators to quickly solve a permit dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that has left some of the nation's largest oil refineries in operating limbo.
A letter signed by 46 legislators is the latest indication that while Gov. Rick Perry and his Republican supporters are ready and willing to wage war with Washington on everything from environmental regulation to education spending, some battles are wearing on the industries that have helped Texas weather the recession.
Now, the state is trying to navigate the line between its federal fights and the need to keep industry — especially the oil giants — happy.
Twenty-nine legislators who signed the July 23 letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are Republicans and support Perry's public battle against Democratic President Barack Obama's administration.
"This isn't a political issue for us. This is a jobs issue for our constituents," said Republican Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, who supports the state's challenges in court but wants decisive action that will allow industry to operate freely.
Ok so does this mean that these big oil companies are willing to clean up their act and comply with EPA rules and damn Rick Perry and his grandstanding?
:wow: