THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to change its rules for permits issued to so-called minor air polluters by handing states greater power to decide how much notice and public input residents receive before such permits are approved or denied.

For Texans, the rule change could limit their right to speak out about a type of pollution permit that’s commonly issued to concrete batch plants and rock crushers, but is becoming increasingly used by massive data centers coming to the state.

It would allow the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — the state’s environmental regulator — the authority to rewrite its own rules, which could include scaling back opportunities to protest or challenge permits before they are issued.

PUBLIC HEALTH WATCH

Nearly two decades had passed since the storm. For many, the memory of what had happened on Goat Island had largely vanished into the Gulf of Mexico. 

Instead, what residents remembered that year were the piles of boats and cars washed up along the highway to Galveston and the twisted mounds of debris where homes once stood. It was late summer 2008, and Hurricane Ike had just struck, decimating parts of the upper Texas Gulf Coast.

On Monday, May 11, 2026, Fenceline Watch formally submitted a public comment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop planned revisions of the Risk Management Program. A regulation under the Clean Air Act for facilities that handle the most hazardous substances and chemicals. Read the full comment.

TEXAS TRIBUNE

“It’s not just an immediate impact, but a multigenerational toxic harm that we experience because of emissions like benzene and all of these other petrochemicals,” Srivastava said.