WHINERS MATTER

By Ella Tyler

The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention recently released a report concerning the ways Harris County and the city of Houston handle citizen complaints about air pollution. In 2004, more than 2,000 citizen complaints were made. After examining the intake process, the investigation stage, and enforcement practices for each entity, the report concluded that citizen complaints are a valuable source of data for identifying trends and problem areas and that such complaints might be more useful if certain improvements in agency procedures were made.

Citizen complaints could be of more use, the report said, if they were encouraged even when they are not likely to lead to enforcement actions; if the city and county collected complaint data in the same format; and if agencies shared information more readily.

Currently, the city takes complaints through its 311 switchboard as well as through the Bureau of Air Quality. A standardized form with check boxes was devised for the 311 operators, who are not specialists in air pollution, and the data becomes part of city data files immediately.

In contrast, county complaints are taken by an investigator, who may discourage the filing of a complaint if it will not lead to an enforcement action. These reports are in narrative form and are not immediately entered into the county data bank. The GHASP study proposed that the city and county adopt the same format for reporting complaints.

The study found that citizens rarely know the outcome of their pollution complaints and that this leads them to be less inclined to complain in the future. GHASP suggested that one way to encourage citizen reporting of air quality issues would be to give complainers a report of the results of the complaint.

The study found that a shortage of trained investigators sometimes meant that the event that led to the complaint, a noxious smell, for example, had dissipated by the time an investigator reached the scene. It recommends that other investigators be trained in how to document air pollution complaints and that more testing equipment be obtained for use in the field.

An interesting note from the report is that some complainers called the facility from which the odor arose and never complained to a government agency. Businesses should be required to inform authorities about complaints they receive, the report concluded. It also recommended broader community outreach and training so that citizens know how to report an air pollution event.

The entire study, with additional information about how to make air pollution complaints, is available at the GHASP website.