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AUSTIN (AP) – Twelve Texas counties have recently exceeded federal air quality standards for particulate matter, commonly known as soot. But Texas environmental regulators are proposing that only four of them be required to take action to improve their air quality.

In its proposal to exclude eight counties from stricter federal pollution rules, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality cited either bad air monitoring data or “exceptional events” — unusual or naturally-occurring events that can temporarily affect air quality such as wildfires, dust storms or emissions from outside the state.

The agency looked at air quality data from 2021-23 and proposed that four counties — Dallas, Harris (which includes Houston), Tarrant (Fort Worth), and Bowie (Texarkana) — be declared out of attainment with new federal air standards. But it’s recommending that eight other counties — Travis (which includes Austin), Montgomery (Conroe), Kleberg (Kingsville), Harrison (Marshall), Ellis (Waxahachie), Webb (Laredo), Hidalgo (McAllen) and Cameron (Harlingen and Brownsville) — be allowed to avoid the tougher standards.

Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency slashed the level of particulate matter permitted in the air from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter annually, marking the first update to the standard since 2012. It was one of the most ambitious parts of the Biden administration’s environmental agenda.

Particulate matter comes from diesel engines, wildfires, construction site dust, coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources. Some researchers have labeled particulate matter the deadliest form of air pollution.

The new standards came in response to growing evidence of the severe health impacts associated with particulate matter, which can penetrate deep into the lungs, aggravating respiratory issues and increasing the risk of premature death.

State agencies are responsible for enforcing the federal standards. The TCEQ initially determined that all 12 counties exceeded the new standards, then dropped the number to four in a new assessment released in November.

“I was surprised when TCEQ claimed so many exceptional event days,” said Neil Carman, a former TCEQ investigator who is now clean air director for the Sierra Club in Texas. “I thought more counties would fall under nonattainment.”

Harris County, home to much of the state’s massive petrochemical industry, has the highest particulate matter levels in the state at 12.5 per cubic meter on average over three years, followed by Cameron, Bowie and Dallas counties.

Cameron County, on the Texas-Mexico border, was removed from the nonattainment list because TCEQ determined its air quality levels were heavily influenced by international emissions, including wildfires and agricultural burns in Mexico and Central America. Similarly, Kleberg County, which includes Kingsville, was excluded due to particulate matter from Saharan dust and smoke.

TCEQ also ruled out Harrison, Travis, Hidalgo and Webb counties using the exceptional events rule. For Ellis and Montgomery the agency cited bad air quality data.

Nonattainment designations trigger stricter controls on pollution sources, including technologies that clean and filter out particulate matter. It also requires states to develop plans for achieving compliance. Adopting measures to reduce soot can be costly for industries and local governments.

Industry groups have argued that wildfires and other events out of their control are major soot generators that have elevated levels in many areas. They also said the new EPA soot rules would make it difficult to obtain permits for new projects and hinder economic growth.

TCEQ’s three commissioners must approve the recommendations, then the agency must submit its proposal to the EPA by Feb. 7. The EPA can reject or modify the state’s proposal and may designate additional counties as out of attainment.

Texas regulators are taking input from the public on its recommendations until Jan. 21.
Is agency properly using exceptions?

Experts and advocates argue that TCEQ often improperly uses “exceptional events” to let counties avoid stricter regulations, making it harder to hold them accountable for improving air quality.

“If you take exceptional events out, how do you 100% know where the spike came from? What if it happened to be the same day a polluter was polluting?” said Jennifer Hadayia, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Air Alliance Houston.

“We know twice a year there are going to be fireworks. That’s a given. We know generally a couple times a year Saharan dust will exist. That’s a given,” she added. “So … if the intent is to accurately represent air quality, and then take steps to truly improve air quality, then we have to consider that those things are going to happen.”

Richard Richter, a TCEQ spokesperson, said the agency’s use of exceptional events is consistent with federal regulations and guidance.

For example, TCEQ identified 25 days between 2021 and 2023 when Harrison and Travis counties experienced particulate matter spikes from prescribed fires, Saharan dust (which regularly drifts across the Atlantic Ocean to North America), fires from Mexico and Central America, high winds and fireworks.

Daniel Cohan, an associate professor at Rice University, said that with Donald Trump returning to the White House, the EPA might be less likely to push back on the TCEQ’s recommendations.

“TCEQ may be hoping that the Trump administration will be more lenient in letting counties off the hook for their high pollution,” Cohan said.

Once designations are finalized, Texas will have two to three years to develop a compliance plan, which will also require EPA approval.
Inadequate air monitoring

While Texas has one of the largest air monitoring networks in the U.S., with 215 sites, only 54 of them measure particulate matter. Hadayia and other environmental advocates said this leaves many counties, including those with significant pollution sources, without air quality monitoring.

For example, Fort Bend County lacks a monitor to measure particulate matter despite being home to W.A. Parish Generating Station — the largest coal-fired power plant in Texas. A Rice University study in 2019 estimated that the plant emitted enough pollution to cause 178 premature deaths annually.

Yet the county was ruled as “unclassifiable” by the TCEQ because it does not have an air monitor and there’s no data to determine whether the area meets the new particulate matter standard — so industries in the county won’t have to implement any new restrictions to meet the standard.

Hadayia and others argue that more monitoring by TCEQ is essential to protecting public health.

“If we’re not putting protections in place, how will we ever bring air quality to healthy levels?” she said.

Williamson County, north of Austin, has the state’s largest number of quarries — open-pit mines for stone, sand, and gravel that release particulate matter — but has no particulate matter monitors, said Christina Schwerdtfeger, chief technical officer for the Coalition for Responsible Environmental Aggregate Mining. According to the TCEQ’s air monitoring database, the three air monitors in Williamson County measure pollutants other than particulate matter.

“(TCEQ) can’t just act like an ostrich with your head in the sand and say, well, we don’t have any data. We don’t know,” Schwerdtfeger said.

TCEQ said the agency determines the locations of air monitors based on population trends, the number of emission sources in a region, and air quality complaints by residents. The agency added that its statewide air monitoring network exceeds the number of monitors required by federal regulations.

AUSTIN – KXAN reports that real estate developer Nate Paul agreed to plead guilty Wednesday to one charge of making false statements to a lending institution. The plea ends his 18-month federal bank and wire fraud case related to his work as head of World Class, according to court proceedings.

The government recommended no more than six months in prison, five years additional years of supervised release and a maximum $1 million fine. The sentence is not yet set.

The case is being sent to the US Probation Office for a pre-sentencing evaluation. If the plea deal is accepted, the sentence is capped at 6 months. The remaining 11 counts against Paul will be dismissed, according to U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell, who oversaw the plea.

Paul is allowed to remain out of custody, and the plea agreement remains sealed.

Paul potentially faced decades in prison, and his jury trial was set to begin Feb. 18.

Federal authorities first indicted Paul in June 2023 on eight counts of bank fraud. He was accused of making false statements to lenders to obtain over $172 million in loans. In November that year, prosecutors added four additional wire fraud charges in a superseding indictment.

For each of the eight bank fraud counts, Paul faced up 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The four wire fraud counts each carried a maximum 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The plea agreement ends the uncertainty surrounding Paul’s legal troubles, and it underscores his fall from the top of Austin’s commercial real estate scene – where the 37-year-old was a powerhouse with numerous multi-million-dollar properties peppered across town.

Paul was the chief of World Class Holdings, a company with myriad sub-businesses and, at one point, over $1 billion in assets across 17 states, according to a Forbes report.

Cracks in Paul’s real estate empire became visible after a 2019 FBI raid on his home and business headquarters. Many of his World Class companies have since filed for bankruptcy. Paul also became entangled in allegations of abuse of office against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Who is Nate Paul — the Austin real estate investor charged with 8 federal counts

The plea agreement announced Wednesday comes days after Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra denied a motion for continuance sought jointly by the defense and prosecutors to push the trial date from mid-February to mid-April. At a Jan. 8 hearing, Ezra said the case had “gone on way too long,” and both sides had enough time to prepare for a February trial.

Also at the Jan. 8 hearing, a court clerk said both the defense and government were “simultaneously talking about a plea agreement.” That was the first public mention of a possible plea deal. One of Paul’s attorneys previously told KXAN they were taking the case to trial, and Paul hired a team of top-flight defense attorneys, including several from Washington D.C. based firm Williams & Connolly.

The plea agreement spares Paul from a trial that would have stretched several weeks. The government notified the court in January it expected its portion of the trial to take 10 to 14 days – not including the defense’s case and rebuttal.
Paxton connection

Separate from the federal case, Paul was ordered to serve a 10-day jail sentence in November for contempt of court for perjury and violating an injunction in a civil lawsuit against a charity, according to records from Travis County District Court, where the case was being handled.

That civil case linked Paul to allegations against Paxton for disregarding his official duty by using his office to assist Paul in the lawsuit. Paxton was impeached over that allegation, among others, including misusing his power to have legal opinions written to help Paul avoid foreclosures and by obtaining previously undisclosed information to assist Paul, according to the articles of impeachment.

Paxton was ultimately acquitted on all the counts against him in a State Senate trial in 2023.

AUSTIN – KXAN reports that the Better Business Bureau reported on Monday it analyzed over 6,000 “BBB scam tracker” reports by Texans throughout 2024, according to a BBB press release. The analysis revealed Texans reported losing over $10 million to fraud, setting an all-time high since the “BBB scam tracker” was created in 2014. The BBB said that one-third of reports included an average loss of $150, a slightly higher average loss than in 2023.

Consumers between 45 years old and 54 years old were among those that reported the highest total losses at 2.8 million. Right behind that age group were consumers between 55 years old and 64 years old at 2.7 million lost, according to the press release. “Over the past few years, our data is showing a sharp increase in scam activity resulting in millions of dollars being lost,” said Heather Massey, vice president of communications and community relations at Better Business Bureau serving the Heart of Texas. “In just two years, scam reports have doubled, and losses have increased by more than 430 percent.” The BBB revealed the top five fraudulent reports that impacted Texans in 2024. Investment and cryptocurrency fraudulent reports were the costliest for Texans in 2024, the total loss was $3.1 million, according to the nonprofit organization.

AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports that Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to force out Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III over the university’s apparent attempt to send students to a conference the governor said flouted the state’s new diversity, equity and inclusion ban. University emails posted online by a conservative activist, which were not sent by Welsh, ask for staff and PhD students willing to represent the university in a recruiting trip to a conference run by the PhD Project and that limits participation to those who are Black, Hispanic or Native American. The conference is billed as being “designed for historically underrepresented individuals considering business doctoral studies.” “Hell no,” Abbott wrote on X when another user asked if he approved of the invitation. “It’s against Texas law and violates the US Constitution. It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone.”

Abbott cannot directly fire Welsh, but the governor appoints the university regents whom Welsh answers to. Abbott in 2023 signed a law banning diversity hiring programs, DEI training and DEI offices in public higher education. The screenshot of the A&M email, however, says the university’s general counsel deemed participating in The PhD Project permissible under recruitment exemptions in the law. From the Texas Tribune: The email shared on Monday was sent by Michael C. Withers, associate dean for research and scholarship professor at Mays Business School, who invited A&M faculty and PhD students to participate in an annual conference put together by The PhD Project, an organization that seeks to increase diversity in classrooms and corporations. Withers wrote that the university typically sends three people to the conference, scheduled this year for March 20-21 in Chicago, and that lawyers for the university had found participating was permissible under SB 17’s recruitment exemptions. According to the law, the ban does not apply to instruction, research, the activity of a student organization, guest speakers or performers, data collection and student recruitment. The PhD Project previously listed on its website at least eight other Texas public universities that have participated in the conference — Texas Tech University, University of Houston, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and University of Texas at San Antonio — but most were removed sometime Tuesday afternoon. The UT System said it did not receive a directive from the governor to withdraw from the conference, but recommended its institutions to do so. UNT and Texas Tech also said Tuesday they would no longer participate.

Two hours after Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock was elected Texas House speaker on Tuesday, Christian worshippers gathered in a Capitol meeting room to prepare for “spiritual war” and protect lawmakers from demonic forces.

“Pray for the fear of the Lord to come into this place,” Landon Schott intoned from the stage as a small band played acoustic hymns and 100 or so faithful laid their hands on walls, hoping to bless the room and ward off evil spirits. “Let the fear of the Lord return to Austin. In Jesus’ name.”

Schott is the pastor of Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth, and was among the Christian leaders who spent Tuesday rallying fellow believers ahead of a legislative session that they hope will further codify their conservative religious views into law. He was joined in those efforts by a throng of pastors and Republican leaders, who throughout the day claimed that church-state separation isn’t real, called progressive Christians heretics, or vowed to weed out “cowardly” clergy who refuse to politick from the pulpit.

“There is no separation between church and state,” Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George said at a small rally with clergy and GOP lawmakers. “We don’t want the government in our churches, but we should be in the government.”

George’s comments — delivered some-50 yards from another rally that focused on interfaith unity — are the latest sign of the Texas GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith by claiming church-state separation is a myth or that America’s founding was God-ordained, and its laws should thus favor conservative Christianity.

Polling from the Public Religion Research Institute found that more than half of Republicans adhere to or sympathize with pillars of Christian nationalism, including that the U.S. should be a strictly Christian nation. Of those respondents, roughly half supported having an authoritarian leader who maintains Christian dominance in society. Experts have also found strong correlations between Christian nationalist beliefs and opposition to immigration, racial justice and religious diversity.

The party’s embrace of those separate-but-overlapping ideologies ideologies has come as it has increasingly aligned with far-right megadonors Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, two West Texas oil billionaires who have sought to cleanse the Texas GOP of moderate voices and push their hardline religious views. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers have adopted an increasingly existential view of politics that paints opponents — unwitting or not — as part of a concerted effort to destroy Christianity, including by normalizing LGBTQ+ acceptance or undermining “traditional” family structures.

Such claims have been used as the pretext for a litany of bills and reforms that would further infuse Christianity into public life. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed a law allowing unlicensed chaplains to supplant counselors in public schools; sought to weaken Texas’ constitutional ban on providing taxpayer money to religious institutions, a core plank of the school voucher movement; and almost passed a bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms.

Lawmakers are expected to continue that trend during this year’s legislative session (the Ten Commandments bill already has been refiled). And pastors, emboldened by President Donald Trump’s reelection and the ultraconservative U.S. Supreme Court, said Tuesday that they believe they have their best shot yet to topple the church-state wall and the Johnson Amendment, a federal rule that prohibits churches from engaging in overt political activity.

Rick Scarborough has spent decades working to do exactly that. A former Southern Baptist pastor in Pearland, he has become a leader in a movement that seeks to mobilize pastors and undermine the Johnson Amendment, which he says is toothless but has been used by “cowardly” pastors who don’t want to engage in politics. The result, he said, has been an ineffectual Texas Legislature that has often cowered to the LGBTQ+ community and their heretical, progressive Christian allies. (Texas lawmakers have passed dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in recent years, overriding opposition from a large majority of Democrats).

One of his movement’s ultimate goals, he said Tuesday, is to draw a lawsuit that they can eventually take to the U.S. Supreme Court, which they believe will ultimately overturn the prohibition and unleash a new wave of conservative, Christian activism.

“The Johnson Amendment is nothing but a fig leaf to cover the fear that pastors already have,” he said in an interview after praying over GOP lawmakers on the Capitol lawn. “Most pastors are so fearful of their reputation that they won’t stand, and they don’t know how much God will defend them if they get out there and stand up and speak fearlessly.”

Few congregations have taken up Scarborough’s mantle like Mercy Culture Church, the Fort Worth congregation that Schott pastors. In recent years, Mercy Culture has become an epicenter of Texas’ fundamentalist Christian movement, helping push the state and local GOP further right, demonizing their detractors — Schott has called critics of the church “warlocks” and “witches,” and claimed Christians can’t vote for Democrats — and rallying voters behind church leaders as they campaign for public office. Among the church’s pastors is Rep. Nate Schatzline, who was elected to the Texas House in 2022 and has since continued to frame his political life as part of broader, spiritual struggle.

“This isn’t a physical battle,” Schatzline said in a Tuesday interview. “It’s not a political battle we’re in. We really believe this is a spiritual battle.”

Hours later, Schatzline kicked off the worship session at the Capitol with a bold promise.

“We’re going to give this space back to the Holy Spirit,” he said. “We give You this room. … The 89th Legislative session is Yours, Lord. The members of this body are Yours, Lord. This building belongs to You, Jesus.”

One Christian nationalism expert said Tuesday’s events showed how normalized the ideology has become among broad swaths of the Republican Party.

“I’ve argued for years that, in the Trump era, charismatic evangelicals have displaced the old guard of the (Religious Right) and brought in a new, more aggressive evangelical politics,” said Matthew Taylor is a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, & Jewish Studies on X, formerly known as Twitter. “That was on vivid display in (Texas) today.”

Taylor who has spent most of his career focused on the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement of “charismatic” Christians who often weave prophecy, “spiritual warfare” and demonology into its calls for Christians to take control over all spheres of society.

Members of that movement played central roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, and were well represented at the Capitol on Tuesday: Schatzline and Mercy Culture have deep ties to the New Apostolic Reformation movement, as does Brandon Burden, a Frisco pastor who led a caravan of buses and activists to pressure lawmakers ahead of the House speaker vote. In January 2021, he told his congregants to keep weapons loaded for what he prophesied would be a national blackout orchestrated to keep Trump out of office.

Burden repeatedly appeared alongside Republican officials on Tuesday. Minutes after George, the Texas GOP chair, claimed that church-state separation doesn’t exist, Burden led a group of pastors and activists as they prayed over a small group of GOP lawmakers. “We take charge and authority of the 89th legislative session,” he prayed. “We, the people of God, called by the name of Jesus and covered in the blood of the lamb, have been given spiritual jurisdiction over the affairs of men.”

Original article published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.