Texas lawmakers push back against staff at the state's environmental agency

Robert Romig, senior policy analyst for the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff, makes a presentation to the commission members about the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday.

In particular, two recommendations proposed by the Sunset Commission staff regarding the TCEQ were viewed skeptically by several senators on the commission. The staff concluded that the TCEQ needs to be more transparent and that adding a public meeting before and after it creates a draft permit for an industrial applicant would help in that area, said Robert Romig, project manager for the Sunset Commission’s TCEQ report.

Perry said that while he “applauds the thought,” he is concerned that adding a meeting would yield no solutions. He said that most public complaints are about local authority and not the TCEQ. Romig said the Sunset Commission staff also recommends updating the compliance history rating formula that the TCEQ applies to the industries it oversees — commonly called the RN rating. The rating is meant to help the TCEQ factor in a business’s history of compliance in making decisions about it.

Meanwhile, several Houston-area residents traveled to Austin by bus to speak during the hearing. Each person was given two minutes to address the commissioners.

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