Editor’s Note: This story, co-published here with permission, was produced by Public Health Watch, a nonprofit investigative news organization.
The all-Republican 15th Court of Appeals soon will begin hearing disputes involving the state’s environmental regulators. 'It’s BYOC — bring your own court — for polluters and powerful interests,' one critic says.A 2019 fire at the Exxon Mobil chemical plant in Baytown, Texas , injured dozens of workers. Over the objections of environmentalists, the plant is seeking permission to expand, a dispute likely to wind up in the new 15th Court of Appeals.
Those words sound fairly benign, but Texas environmental leaders see an ulterior motive: a maneuver that allows industries and state regulators to bypass the 3rd Court of Appeals, whose six justices are, at the moment, all Democrats. are elected by residents of 24 Central Texas counties. The most populous is Travis County, which includes progressive-leaning Austin.
“This is a way for Texas to create a very conservative court that I suspect the governor believes will be less friendly to environmental interests and probably very friendly to business,” said Ilan Levin, an Austin-based senior counsel with the, a research and advocacy organization.
Gov Greg Abbott Environment Pollution Oil And Gas Industry Federalist Society Public Citizen Exxon Mobil Valero 15Th Court Of Appeals
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