Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s voluntary pollution cleanup program for old industrial plants in Texas has not had much success in its first 15 months, according to a draft report released yesterday by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Thirty-seven companies have applied for voluntary permits, but no major industrial facilities have obtained voluntary permits or cut emissions under the program. “This is exactly what environmentalists and the public health community predicted would be the outcome of reliance on a voluntary approach,” said Ken Kramer of the state Sierra Club.
