TCEQ details expedited compliance orders and updates annual enforcement reporting

Amy Settemeyer of TCEQ's Enforcement Division told the advisory council the agency has launched an expedited compliance order (ECO) pathway to resolve certain lower‑level enforcement matters more quickly and free up staff to pursue more serious cases.

Settemeyer said ECO aims to achieve compliance faster by offering a reduced, predetermined penalty and requiring correction within 60 days of issuing the order; if a respondent cannot achieve compliance in that timeframe, the matter moves to the traditional enforcement track. "We do believe we have the legal authority to do this," she said, noting the Commission approved the approach in February and the division began mailing ECOs in mid‑March.

Eligibility criteria exclude confirmed releases or spills, majors, sites with active Office of the Attorney General cases, outstanding fees, certain repeat violators at the same facility and matters that cannot be corrected within 60 days. Programs emphasized as likely ECO candidates include petroleum storage tanks (PST) and some drinking‑water reporting issues; Settemeyer said only a narrow set of municipal solid waste violations — small unauthorized disposal quantities — were included initially.

Settemeyer explained how penalties would be reduced: ECOs remove the usual penalty worksheet and start with a base penalty reduced approximately 50% (including other standard percentage reductions for deferral, compliance history and similar factors). She also noted ECOs must undergo the statutory Texas Register 30‑day public notice period and respondents may still pursue supplemental environmental projects when appropriate.

Separately, Settemeyer previewed TCEQ's statutorily required annual enforcement report (published Dec. 1 each year) and a recent compliance‑history rule change that now includes moderate violations (in addition to majors) when calculating repeat‑violator status. She cautioned that because about 70% of violations historically are moderate, the change will affect compliance history scores and the agency has taken steps to mitigate undue impacts on entities that self‑report or otherwise cooperate.

Settemeyer encouraged regulated entities to ask staff to re‑review potential ECO eligibility if they do not get an offer and noted ECOs have begun to be issued; she said the approach, together with an enforcement diversion program, is already helping manage caseloads.