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Get a free TCEQ compliance commitment (C2) site visit
Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, The Advocate, Volume 13, Issue 2/April-June 2008
Environmental rules affect: auto- repair and auto body shops, fleet maintenance facilities, dry cleaners, metal finishing facilities, printers, concrete batch plants, surface-coating operations, foundries, and many other small business and local government operations.
Do you know which rules affect you or how to comply? Could you use free, confidential help from an environmental professional? Many small businesses and local governments are unaware of state and federal rules intended to minimize pollution. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provides FREE site visits through its Small Business and Local Government Assistance section. It’s called the Compliance Commitment (C2) Program and it could help you qualify for a one-year exemption from scheduled TCEQ inspections.
Are you eligible?
To participate, the owner of the site or facility must:
• be independently owned and employ a company-wide total of 100 or fewer employees; or
• be operated by a small local government (a county population of 100,000 or fewer or a city population of 50,000 or fewer); or
• be an independent school district (ISD) serving a student population of 100,000 or fewer students; and
• not owe TCEQ fees or penalties; and
• not be involved in a current enforcement action with the TCEQ that involves the facility.
It’s easy! Just follow these three simple steps
Step 1: Call a TCEQ Small Business and Local Government Assistance (SBLGA) representative at 800-447-2827 to request a site visit. Our contracted consultant will call you back to schedule a site visit.
Step 2: During the site visit, the consultant uses a checklist to identify any compliance problems. After the visit, the consultant mails you a report detailing recommended actions you can take to resolve those problems. Many times, these options can save you money by improving the efficiency of your process or reducing the time you spend on paperwork.
Step 3: You’ll have three to six months to correct deficiencies. You’ll then be contacted to schedule a follow-up site visit. If you have made all necessary corrections, then you may be eligible for SBLGA’s C2 Certificate.
Confidential and at no risk
• All information from the site visit is confidential: it is not provided to TCEQ enforcement staff. (If imminent threat to human health or the environment is discovered during the site visit, the contractor is required to report this information to the TCEQ.)
• The site visit contractor is completely separate from state environmental field inspectors.
• Site visits will not lead to an inspection or citation.
Rewards
The C2 Certificate will EXEMPT your facility from TCEQ-scheduled inspections for one year. The following programs also recognize the C2 Certificate:
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• City of Corpus Christi, Storm Water Department
• City of Dallas, Air Pollution Control
• City of Dallas, Public Works and Transportation and Storm Water Management
• City of Fort Worth, Department of Environmental Management
• City of Houston, Bureau of Air Quality Control
• City of Houston, Public Works and Engineering
• City of Pasadena, Public Works and Engineering
• El Paso, City-County Health and Environmental District
• Galveston County Health District
• Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services, Pollution Control Division
Call 800-447-2827 to schedule your site visit.
Want information about other SBLGA services? Call us or visit www.sblga.info.
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