El Paso Community Groups Intervene in DC Appeals Court

EL PASO, TEXAS / LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO – On Friday, a coalition of environmental and community groups filed a motion to intervene in Texas’s challenge to the EPA's designation of El Paso County as being in nonattainment under the 2015 ozone standard for air quality. The motion – which follows years of community outrage about degraded air quality in the El Paso region – seeks to allow Sierra Club, Familias Unidas del Chamizal, Chaparral Community Coalition for Health and Environment, and Earthworks to defend EPA’s designation of the region as out of compliance with the Clean Air Act in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the nation’s second-highest court. 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recently doubled down on its refusal to implement EPA’s safeguards for ozone pollution, filing a lawsuit attempting to overturn EPA’s decision to designate the El Paso area as failing to meet the ozone standard. TCEQ blames Mexico for the region’s high ozone levels. However, TCEQ’s own analysis shows that Texas is contributing more than Mexico to El Paso’s ozone problem. 

Hilda Villegas, a mother with Familias Unidas del Chamizal, said, “I feel so outraged and undignified that TCEQ refuses to advocate for the interests of us and our children. We struggle to feed our children, to provide a roof, and then now we’re overburdened with their health. The environmental effects on children's health is something that lasts forever.” 

Miguel Escoto, an organizer with Earthworks who lives in El Paso, said, "TCEQ acts like our terrible air quality is one big complex puzzle which they'd like to keep blaming on Juarez. It's no mystery at all: There are three massive fracked gas plants and an enormous refinery pumping toxins into our atmosphere, and the ever growing presence of semi truck traffic on El Paso’s highways. TCEQ must start regulating these El Paso polluters instead of playing the blame game."

David Baake, a local attorney who represents the coalition, said, “TCEQ is spending taxpayer money on a meritless lawsuit instead of spending that same money on looking for solutions. It’s time for Texas to stop dragging its feet and take responsibility for cutting emissions, so that everyone in the borderlands can breathe easier.”

Attorneys for the coalition said they expected it would take more than a year for the parties to brief the challenge and for the Court to hear oral argument. In the meantime, the nonattainment designation for El Paso will remain in effect, and the coalition will continue to advocate for reducing air pollution in the greater El Paso area.