EPA Says All Texas Plants Will Get New Air Permits

Associated Press ^ | 7/13/11 | Staff

[Nachum]

HOUSTON– Nearly 140 Texas plants, including some of the nation’s largest refineries, have reached a deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to receive new permits even though a long-standing battle between the Lone Star State and the federal agency is far from over.The EPA’s announcement Tuesday that it reached a deal for all 136 companies to apply for new permits came more quickly than initially expected when the agency ruled last year that Texas’ so-called “flexible permits” violated the federal Clean Air Act. At the time, Texas blasted the EPA ruling, challenging it in court and saying

[Sequoyah101]

I think, do not deceive yourself. EPA was in trouble here and made a deal these plants can’t refuse in order to preserve the precedent for EPAs authority to regulate. For the plants it was cheap, for EPA it is power preserving.

[bigbob]

and most likely, no permit will be required for cannabis-type plants...

[TigersEye]

Actually growing marijuana has required a permit to grow since the Marijuana Stamp Act of 1937. The only catch is that they won't issue anyone any tax stamps. In the states that now have MM they also are in effect issuing permits by requiring that you have a MM Card to grow your own or sell back to the co-ops.

Tobacco has long been restricted to only certain permitted growers in certain states. There are numerous other crops that can only be grown if the gooberment allows you a permit. There is a growing body of regulations that is now restricting the growing of any non-GM crops near any field that is growing Monsanto GM crops. In addition to that there are a lot of plants that are on a list of non-native species that are flat out prohibited from being imported and grown and a lot of them have no potential for becoming invasive or otherwise becoming a problem.

So the truth is that loads of botanical plants are regulated in a myriad of ways.