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.
