At the direction of the Texas Legislature, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which oversees regulatory compliance for 280,000 entities, has for the last decade provided “compliance history” regulations that generate a score for each regulated facility in the state based generally on the number and severity of violations the facilities have faced through environmental enforcement actions. TCEQ uses these scores as a public “report card” for regulated entities, as well as in permitting decisions, enforcement, announced inspections, and participation in innovative or voluntary programs.
In response to criticisms of the existing compliance history scoring program and at the Legislature’s direction, TCEQ adopted a rule on June 27, 2012 modifying the components and formula for compliance history calculations. This change marks the first material change to the compliance history program since its creation in 2002.
Several substantial changes were made to a variety of factors that will greatly affect how owners and operators’ compliance history scores and classifications are determined. These include:
- Compliance Time Frame
- Violations in Other States
- Site Classifications
- “Person” Company-wide Classifications
- Compliance History Scale and Formula
- Right of Review and Appeal
- Timing
- Elimination of “Average by Default”
For a more detailed discussion of these changes, click here.
