Groups critical of timing of TCEQ annoucement

Beaumont Enterprise
© The Associated Press
12/11/2003

The only reason the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently announced a review of how it enforces environmental laws was because a state auditor is about to release a report blasting the agency, citizen advocacy groups charged Thursday.

TCEQ spokesman Andy Saenz denied the accusation, saying agency Executive Director Margaret Hoffman talked about such a review more than a year ago.

"We've had a change of leadership here. We have a new chairman. We have a new commissioner. We have a relatively new executive director and we felt the timing was absolutely right," Saenz said.

Hilton Kelley, founder of the Port Arthur-based Community In-Power and Development Association, Inc., said the TCEQ is trying to mislead the public into believing the review was the TCEQ's idea. He said the agency's announcement was prompted by the upcoming auditor's report and that the agency's "hand had been forced."

The TCEQ was not "doing anything until we wrote to the state auditor's (office) and requested an audit on the TCEQ," Kelley said.

Denny Larson of the National Refinery Reform Campaign noted that the TCEQ had been given a copy of the audit before the agency announced it would review how it enforces environmental laws.

The state auditor's office on Thursday said only that it was doing some work at the TCEQ and the findings are expected to be released Dec. 18.

Saenz said the audit deals with the entire agency, not just about how it enforces environmental laws. Saenz said state agencies routinely get advance copies of audits.

On the Net:

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us

http://www.refineryreform.org

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