Bill White: "Sue Polluters." City Council: "Not So Fast."

Houston is a big city with big industry and big city pollution problems. Mayor Bill White, unsatisfied with the pollution-control efforts of our state and national governments, has been trying enhance Houston’s ability to sue polluters itself. Right now, each time the city wants to sue a polluter, it has to get approval by the council. White wants the city to be able to sue companies without going through these steps, and also wants to make Houston the first city to have its own air pollution standards. Wednesday, the council questioned White about everything from its effect on the economy to possible conflicts with the State’s antipollution efforts, basically saying “um, maybe we should think about this some more.”

Some background: Earlier this week, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report saying that fine particles – which move easily from the lungs to the bloodstream – can be a major cause of heart problems in women. And last summer here in Houston, Bill White’s own Task Force on the Health Effects of Air Pollution concluded that fine particle pollution was the no. 2 threat to the city’s public health. For even more reading, you can check out a great Houston Chronicle investigation from 2004, In Harm’s Way.