Petition for Rulemaking filed by Texas Environmental Law Center

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality denied the petition, stating that Texas was currently in litigation with EPA concerning the regulation of greenhouse gases, and that the use of the public trust doctrine in the state had been limited to waters and did not extend to greenhouse gases.

In May 2011, an environmental group, Texas Environmental Law Center, filed a rulemaking petition requesting that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality adopt rules to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels pursuant to the public trust doctrine. The petition was part of a nationwide campaign by Our Children’s Trust and iMatter, groups that seek to combat climate change on behalf of future generations.