- submitted to the Houston Chronicle (but not published) 

"Stay inside until the smell is gone, or until the air isn't so heavy." That's what Rosaria Marroquin, one of our constituents, tells her children when they want to go outside to play with squirt guns. Parents should be urging their children to go outside, but in the industrial east end of Houston, the toxic air creates a daily parenting challenge.

Similar concerns have been voiced in a project sponsored by Mothers for Clean Air and funded by EPA. The Southeast Houston Project is addressing the problem of air quality by bringing together elected officials, universities, regulatory agencies, residents and local industry at monthly meetings. Residents are monitoring the air using organic vapor monitoring devices at 23 stations.

This type of citizen participation will bring change.

The problem of toxic air pollutants in the East End was highlighted by a recent series of articles by Dina Cappiello in the Houston Chronicle. Testing arranged by Ms. Cappiello showed dangerous levels of air toxics-particularly benzene and 1,3 butadiene. Fortunately, Mayor Bill White, who has long been concerned about air quality, quickly responded. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state agency charged with protecting air quality has put additional monitoring devices in place and is focusing on the problem.

While the air in the East End is better, it is not yet safe. Benzene levels have been declining for ten years, since federal regulations required changes at plants and in fuels. Recent action by Mayor Bill White and others is driving down levels of 1,3 butadiene as well. We must sustain this progress if we are to make our air safe.

Meanwhile, we know that much more needs to be done. When an Exxon-Mobil oil spill caused heavy vapors to waft over the nearby community, the TCEQ was not promptly notified. Historically, the TCEQ has not demanded notification as soon as practicable, preferring to wait 24 hours before considering the company's response late. Companies must notify regulatory agencies promptly when excessive emissions have occurred, and they need to notify the residents. Automatic telephoning devices could be used in just such instances.

Toxic air pollutants can cause cancer, lung disease and heart disease; however, these diseases take years to form. We have seen clusters of cancer patients in the East End of Houston, many of which are not recognized by the TCEQ because the affected residents have moved away. Nonetheless, the problem is real. Asthma is another illness that is frequent in these communities.

Texas laws are inadequate in many ways. Existing air pollution permits, especially those first issued decades ago, may allow chemical plants to release enough pollution to put nearby residents and employees at risk. Under our state laws, those permits can be renewed over and over again without any upgrades.

These "photocopy permit renewals" put people at risk. Even when the state has detected high levels of air pollution downwind from a chemical plant, if it cannot find a permit violation or infraction of a regulation, then the plant is considered to be in compliance . . . and the state has not demanded that the risks be reduced. To solve these problems, we need new legislation to give the TCEQ the responsibility and authority to require reductions in pollution when the public is at risk, even if it means tearing up a l970s-era permit and starting from scratch.

We also need to place the responsibility with the polluters to show that their operations are safe. When there is reason to believe that a chemical plant may be putting people at risk, the state should have the authority to order extensive monitoring at the company's expense. The public should not have to bear the cost of measuring pollution when it already measures its risk in years of unwelcome risk.

To create safe, healthy communities will take more than a more caring attitude from our state environmental agency. It will take new laws that set a clear standard for chemical plants and refineries, a standard of public health. When we pass those laws, then Rosaria Marroquin can smile while her kids play outside, and she'll be able to clean them up in the bathtub without worrying that they've inhaled something she can't wash away.

Let's come together to create this better future. We are pledging to act, but this is not a problem for just elected officials-it is a problem for everyone. We will begin to get organized at a Town Hall Meeting at Milby High School (1601 Broadway) on Monday, February 13, 2006 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. If you can help, you can count on working with those of us who are co-sponsoring the meeting: U.S. Representative Gene Green, Texas Senator Mario Gallegos, Texas Representatives Jessica Farrar, Rick Noriega, and Ana Hernandez, Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Houston Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado, the Houston Independent School District and Environmental Defense.

Senator Rodney Ellis
Representative Jessica Farrar
Representative Ana Hernandez