TCEQ’s Review of OPIC Is Welcome, but the Office Must Preserve Its Independence
OPIC Represents the Public Interest at the TCEQ, an Agency Plagued by Public Distrust
AUSTIN, Texas — The state office that advocates on behalf of the public at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will undergo a review of its duties, the environmental regulator’s commissioners announced today, a move Public Citizen welcomed while stressing that the office must remain independent and unhindered in its advocacy for Texans.
The Office of the Public Interest Council (OPIC) is part of the TCEQ and reviews agency actions, offering feedback and recommendations from a public interest perspective. The review of OPIC’s duties is the first in more than a decade.
“This rulemaking is a welcome opportunity for public input on OPIC’s role, functions and annual performance metrics to increase positive outcomes for communities and improve the office’s effectiveness,” said Kathryn Guerra, director of Public Citizen’s TCEQ Watchdog Campaign. “It is critical that this review ends with OPIC maintaining its independence, and any reforms must not get in the way of the office’s advocacy on behalf of the public. Texans already view TCEQ actions as benefiting corporations first and communities second. The agency will further erode what little public trust it still has if it implements changes at OPIC that make it less effective or independent.”
At today’s TCEQ commissioners’ agenda hearing, Commissioner Catarina Gonzales wondered if OPIC resources would be better employed by focusing on select cases of rulemaking that have an impact on the public interest. Currently, OPIC focuses on participating in all agency actions. She directed TCEQ’s general counsel to work with OPIC and the agency’s executive director to redefine performance measures and initiate a rulemaking to define OPIC’s role better.
The TCEQ last evaluated OPIC in 2012. There is no timeline for when the review will conclude.