HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston neighborhood of Manchester is surrounded by oil refineries and petrochemical plants.
It's part of a 54-mile industrial corridor that includes eight of the world's largest refineries.
Residents will have an opportunity Tuesday in nearby Galena Park to give their opinion on a series of proposed federal rules that include forcing refineries to report emissions of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.
The rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency are part of a consent decree resolving a lawsuit against the EPA by Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project on behalf of communities that abut oil refineries.
The suit argued that the EPA was more than a decade late in reviewing and updating toxic air standards for oil refineries.
The EPA is not expected to take action before 2015.