Houston Chronicle Sunday

Houston to get own regional air monitoring van

- By Emily Foxhall STAFF WRITER

The Texas Commission on Environmen­tal Quality spent nearly $1 million outfitting mobile air monitoring vans — and then stationed them in Austin. State officials say that’s where the staff is to service and deploy them.

But when a refinery leaks or catches fire, it takes hours for the van to arrive here. The time that elapses is crucial for emergency officials to decide what precaution­s to put in place, advocates said.

Hearing that criticism, the agency has now reworked three small SUVs to fit new, $75,000 air monitoring machines. These will be downgraded to regional monitoring vehicles to fill the gap. One will go to Corpus Christi, another to Beaumont and a third to Houston.

“That’s exactly why we did these regional survey assets, is to be able to fill that niche,” said Cory Chism, who oversees air monitoring for the agency. “It’s a force multiplier for what we’re doing.”

The decision comes as the agency is also pushing for a new Houston office, saying the current one east of downtown has leaky windows, mold and rodents. Some 200 employees work there, according to the agency’s recent self-assessment.

Its parking lot, too, is neither big nor secure enough, accord

ing to the report. Staff reported trespassin­g, theft and vandalism and a lack of 24-hour security. They argue it wouldn’t be safe to house the valuable vans there if they wanted to.

Equipment in the SUV can be removed. But elevators that staff use to move equipment often break, the report said. There have also been recurring electrical problems and lacking custodial services since they moved in — in the mid-1990s.

The Elias Ramirez building has so many issues that moving is one of the 17 priorities TCEQ is asking legislator­s to address. The agency is up for review by the Sunset Advisory Commission that makes recommenda­tions to lawmakers.

A spokespers­on for the Texas Facilities Commission, which acts as the building landlord, said it hadn’t received a request from the agency to move. It’s the only state-owned building in the region, according to a commission map. Tenants don’t pay rent.

The commission has a significan­t backlog of deferred maintenanc­e and must prioritize what it can address, spokespers­on Francoise Luca said. The commission is currently working with TCEQ to study how the space could better be occupied.

Some $285,000 also went already toward a building assessment, and $1.24 million is being spent on improvemen­ts, Luca said.

The commission is replacing a water storage tank for firefighti­ng and installing new heating and air conditioni­ng units.

“We try to support our tenants in anything that they need to perform their mission for the citizens of Texas,” Luca said.

Luca noted workers put out traps for rats and caught none. They tested air quality and found it fine.

If TCEQ wanted to fund its own work, Luca said, it could.

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