EARLY USE OF COMPLIANCE HISTORIES TO PRIORITIZE INSPECTIONS AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality began January 3, 2003 to score and use compliance histories to rank and classify Texas facilities for the purposes of:Permitting and enforcement actionsAnnounced inspections, andFacilities participating in innovative programs.Under this system, the five previous years of compliance history is reviewed, then points are assigned and a formula used to determine each facility's ranking. A database of all facility ratings is available to the public on the Commission's web page.The rating system takes into account both positive and negative aspects of compliance. Any and all environmental regulation violations are considered in the facility evaluation as well as achieving early compliance, the use of environmental audits and community outreach programs. This new tool will enable the Commission to focus resources on the ‘poor performers’ and to provide flexibility in dealing with ‘high performers.”The point values and ranking formula are in 30 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 60. These rules are used to classify the compliance history of individual facilities and the owners of multiple facilities into three categories -- high, average and poor. Sites designated as “poor performers” will face more stringent permitting requirements, increased penalties during enforcement, prohibition from participation in flexible permitting regimes, and even revocation of existing permits and denial of new or renewal permits.