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TCEQ Backslides on Monitoring
As Pollution Prevails in North Texas the State Environmental Agency Allows
Removal of Pollution Monitoring Devices at Region’s Largest Polluter-TXI
(Dallas, Texas
-- Friday, May 16, 2003) This week the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved a permit amendment that will allow for
the
removal of pollution control monitoring at the region’s largest industrial
polluter. Texas Industries (TXI) the controversial cement kiln which burns
both
hazardous waste and tires as a fuel source received permission this week
from
the state environmental agency to remove pollution control monitoring
devices.
TXI which manufactures portland cement is a commercial industrial and
hazardous
waste incinerator located in Midlothian, Texas. On March 19, 1999 following
a
contested case hearing TXI was granted a permit to burn hazardous waste for
a
period of ten years.
“During the hearing the only concession granted to citizens was the
telemetric
monitoring system that TXI has now been granted the right to remove” said
Becky
Bornhorst, Co-Chair, Downwinders At Risk. “This is another example of the
agencies willingness to rollback the publics right-to-know in favor of TXI.”
In response to the 94 commenters the TCEQ stated that the “Executive
Director
does not agree that disconnecting TXI’s telemetric system constitutes a
roll-back in the public’s right-to-know” and disagrees that the “telemetric
system is a useful tool”. This response mirrors that of TCEQ Commissioner
Ralph
Marquez. Commissioner Marquez in a joint hearing before Congress stated that
“The problem, Congressman [Joe Barton], is that placing a new monitor is
taking
a great risk that if a monitor shows an exceedance of 1 hour (the
measurement
for an ozone day), it may cause for a new area now to become non-attainment.
So the practical reality is that people do not want to put additional
monitors.”
[1]
Translation: The agency wouldn’t want to know what’s happening at a facility
or
in a county in regards to air pollution because they’ll be asked to do
something
about it.
The controversy over the real time data link mounted last summer when TXI
began
its trial burn for tires. Last summer, citizens in the area complained to
the
agency over an odor that was coming from the facility and asked the TCEQ to
investigate the compliant. After following-up, Debbie Markwartz discovered
that
the telemetric monitoring system was offline.
“I called the agency, after smelling this horrific odor coming from TXI. I
knew
that they were beginning to burn tires in their kiln in an experimental
process”
said Markwartz. “I was shocked to learn that the monitoring on TXI’s stacks
had
not been working during a period of two months.”
Coincidentally, the link to the agency went offline as the plant began a
practice run for its new tire burning process.
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[1] Testimony of R.B. (Ralph) Marquez, Commissioner Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
and
the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Commerce
House of Representatives (104th Congress) November 9, 1995, Serial No.
104-55. More
Information
Motion To Overturn TXI Removal Of Telemetric
Monitoring June 4, 2003 |
