The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement on repeat violators and increase public outreach.
R-Forney, include a number of changes to how the TCEQ operates, such as requiring the agency to email meeting notices to Texans who live near a facility when it’s applying for a permit renewal, as well as posting meetings on its website — in addition to the required public posting in local newspapers or other publications.
The bill also would allow the agency to consider industrial accidents such as fires or explosions when a facility applies for future permits — which could lead to permits being rejected. While he supports the bill, Reed said he wanted environmental justice initiatives included, such as establishing an environmental justice advisory council within the TCEQ that would look to regulate “cumulative air quality impacts” that result from multiple industrial facilities operating in close proximity., a consumer advocacy nonprofit, said the bill is a small step forward and a missed opportunity.
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