Citizen Air Pollution Complaints Improve Houston’s Air Quality
by the Galveston Houston Association for Smog Prevention, June 2006
When Houston area residents see or smell industrial air pollution, they may be unsure where to report it. Some people think that the pollution is an inevitable part of living in this region, and don’t report it at all. Others call the offending facility directly. However, to ensure that a potential air pollution violation is properly investigated and addressed, residents should call their local air quality agency when they notice a problem.
Today, GHASP released a new report called “Whiners Matter! Citizen Complaints Lead to Improved Regional Air Quality Control.” It examines the role of citizen complaints in Harris County’s air quality efforts.
“Local air quality agencies have the best resources to respond to the air pollution concerns of citizens,” said Meg Healy, research director for the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention. “In addition, the agencies can use this complaint data to get a clearer picture of our region’s most significant air pollution problems.”
In Harris County, two agencies share the task of responding to air pollution reports. Inside Houston city limits, the job falls to the City of Houston Bureau of Air Quality Control (BAQC). Outside the city, the task belongs to Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (HCPHES).
“Both agencies have good systems for handling citizen complaints,” Healy said. “However, they need to create greater public awareness of these complaint systems, so residents know who to call when they have a concern.”
A recent GHASP report shows that the agencies’ complaint systems could also benefit from increased interagency coordination, including data sharing and analysis. The two agencies have begun addressing this issue, and have recently conducted several joint investigations and facility inspections. That’s good news for the Houston region, which has exceeded federal health standards for ozone pollution for decades, and is close to exceeding those standards for fine particle air pollution.
“Air pollution doesn’t discriminate political boundaries,” said Arturo J. Blanco, pollution control chief at BAQC. “It makes more sense to work together on a regional approach to better solve our common air pollution problems.”
Citizen air pollution complaints will continue to play a critical role in those efforts. To give residents an overview of what to expect when filing an industrial air pollution complaints, GHASP has created a publication, “Reporting Industrial Air Pollution: A Guide for Residents of the Houston Region.” It includes agency contact information.
To report an air pollution problem in the Houston city limits, call the city’s help line at 311. To report an air pollution problem within Harris County, call HCPHES at (713) 920-2831. To view or download the GHASP publications on citizen complaint systems or on reporting industrial air pollution, visit www.ghasp.org.
