Harris County sidesteps state for air quality monitoring

HARRIS COUNTY – Harris County is steadily building out a network of Air Quality Monitors, in part, because the state’s network of monitors has a history of being unreliable during times when people need them most, according to a Harris County Commissioner.

KPRC2 Investigates looked at the history and policy of TCEQ’s air quality monitoring program earlier this week. We found that during emergencies and severe weather, air quality data availability to the public has been hit and miss:

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“We just couldn’t depend on TCEQ,” Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said Friday.

Garcia was instrumental in securing a $1,000,000 grant from the American Chemical Council, a trade group that represents some of the biggest names in the chemical industry.

You can see Harris County’s Fixed Air Quality Monitor data here: https://pcs.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/CAMP-Dashboard.aspx

Harris County Mobile Air Quality Monitors: https://pcs.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/MobileMonitoringData.aspx

TCEQ’s fixed air quality monitors in Houston region: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/monitors.pl?region=12