Field citations offer a quick
resolution for certain violations
A trial program to issue some enforcement citations in the
field proves successful.
In this story:
When Field Citations Can Be Used
Observers of the Commission's public meetings may have noticed a
new category on the enforcement docket—field citations.
These on-the-spot citations issued by TCEQ investigators are the
result of a year-long pilot program designed to quickly handle
certain clear-cut violations and their corrections.
The pilot showed such promise that the TCEQ has expanded the
program and made it permanent. Seventeen violations are now
eligible for this shortened procedure.
The use of field citations started in March 2006 after an
agencywide review of the enforcement process indicated a need for
quicker resolutions, when feasible.
In the first year of the pilot, 148 field citations were issued
statewide, assessing $244,545 in penalties.
Jayme Sadlier, enforcement liaison and coordinator of the
program, says that field citations are particularly beneficial for
smaller companies, such as convenience stores. "Some recipients
appreciate knowing immediately what the penalty is and how quickly
they can be done with the process. Once they sign it, pay it, and
complete the corrective action, their part is done."
Recipients are eligible for a 30 percent discount from the usual
penalty. The commissioners must approve each citation and
penalty.
A regulated entity may be offered only one field citation for
each possible violation in a five-year period. Violators have 30
days to pay the fine and 45 days to correct the problem. Otherwise,
the discount is withdrawn, and the case goes through the regular
enforcement process.
Under standard procedures, a notice of enforcement is typically
mailed 30 to 60 days from the investigation date—and that's
just the beginning of the process. But with field citations, the
entire process is wrapped up in 60 days or less for the
recipient.
Sadlier notes that "many violations are too complicated for the
field citation process, but for these 17 violations, this is a very
effective tool."
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When Field Citations Can Be Used
During the TCEQ's pilot program, the majority of the field
citations were issued as a result of noncompliance problems
involving petroleum storage tanks (PSTs), primarily at retail gas
stations.
The PST violations included failure to provide release or
corrosion protection, inadequate inventory control methods, lack of
spill containment or overflow prevention, missing vapor recovery
equipment, and an expired or non-existent TCEQ-issued delivery
certificate prior to receiving fuel.
Other violations included failure to obtain certain storm water
permits or occupational licenses.
In making the program permanent, the commissioners added eight
violations, including additional PST problems: lacking current
registrations and certification forms, and failing to maintain
financial assurance to cover the cost of cleaning up a spill.
Also added were violations in dry cleaner operations: purchasing
the solvent perchloroethylene without proper registration,
distributing or selling the solvent without proper registration,
and failing to obtain a valid, current dry cleaner
registration.
In addition, failure to obtain a construction general permit for
storm water can also result in a field citation, as can
unauthorized impoundment, diversion, or use of state water.
Contributing to this article: Andrea Morrow
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