"The EPA plans to decide the fate of a Texas oil and gas wastewater discharge plan the same day it closes public comment on the proposal, sparking concern from environmentalists that the agency is rushing to finalize the move in the waning days of the Trump administration.

The state asked the Environmental Protection Agency in October to delegate authority of the measure to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, allowing the agency to administer a program governing the discharge of wastewater from oil and gas drilling.

“This is an effort in our view to get delegation authority approved before Biden takes office,” Cyrus Reed, interim director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said of expectations to clear the fracking-related measure on Jan. 11."

Paul Stinson reports for Bloomberg Environment December 28, 2020. [2]