In the summer of 2018, dozens of residents in Manchester 鈥� a predominantly Latino neighborhood of Houston where nearly half of the residents have limited English proficiency, according to U.S. census surveys 鈥� attended a meeting about a refinery鈥檚 plan to increase pollution emitted in their neighborhood.
Notices for the meeting, held by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, were printed only in English. There weren鈥檛 enough headsets for all the residents who needed to hear a Spanish translation provided by interpreters. Residents left confused or frustrated.
The meeting was one of the main examples cited by environmental groups when they filed a civil rights complaint against the TCEQ, which prompted an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
After years of allegedly discriminating against Spanish speakers with limited English proficiency, the TCEQ to stakeholders this month for translating important agency documents and providing interpreters at public meetings 鈥� part of an agreement the agency made to avoid potential civil rights violations that could jeopardize some of its federal funding from the EPA.
The TCEQ scheduled a series of public meetings this spring to solicit input on the best way to make its work accessible to communities with limited English proficiency, including millions of native Spanish speakers in Texas. But the plan was already finalized before those meetings began 鈥� leaving community advocates uncertain whether their input will make a difference.
A TCEQ attorney told the public at a recent stakeholder meeting that the plans are 鈥渓iving鈥� documents. She also said that the agency already solicited and responded to public comments during a more formal process in the fall 鈥� when it requiring companies to provide 鈥渃ompetent鈥� interpretation services at public meetings for environmental permits so people who don鈥檛 speak English can fully participate. (Companies will have to comply with that rule beginning May 1.)
But Spanish speakers and community advocates say the agency didn鈥檛 address their biggest concerns, including how 鈥渃ompetent鈥� interpretation will be defined. They say TCEQ has largely ignored calls to ensure that translators and interpreters have the skills to communicate the complex environmental laws and procedures involved in companies鈥� permits to emit air pollutants, discharge pollution into water, dispose of hazardous waste and more.
It鈥檚 important for the agency to allow people who don鈥檛 speak English to understand its work, advocates say, because the public has a right to question, comment on or protest new sources of pollution in their neighborhoods that may affect people鈥檚 health.
Clear standards for translators and interpreters would ensure that people who speak limited English can fully participate, said Shiv Srivastava, a policy researcher with Fenceline Watch, a small environmental advocacy group focused on language access for communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.
In Texas courts, for example, the state must provide a qualified translator to explain legal proceedings to defendants and other participants who don鈥檛 speak English. The language services at its public meetings and assesses the interpreters鈥� competency with specialized terms and concepts in both languages.
Gary Rasp, a TCEQ spokesperson, said the agency has not developed specific standards for interpretation and translation services. The agency鈥檚 current plan includes a list of acceptable translators, which can include bilingual TCEQ staffers to interpret meetings in real time, or online translation services to translate official agency documents. But community advocates say that could result in subpar translations.
鈥淭CEQ is literally trying to do the bare minimum by throwing something through Google Translate,鈥� Srivastava said.
TCEQ leaders, though, wanted to move quickly, even if all the details weren鈥檛 worked out.
鈥淪ometimes you have to fuel your ship on aspirations alone,鈥� TCEQ Commissioner said during an .
TCEQ Commissioner agreed. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not let perfect be the enemy of the good here,鈥� Lindley said. 鈥淢y hope is that during the implementation, the executive director鈥檚 office will work hard to address a lot of the concerns we鈥檝e heard.鈥�
Amy Browning, an attorney with TCEQ鈥檚 environmental law division, told advocates during a March 3 public webinar that TCEQ will consider the critiques the public brought up during the meeting, which included potential problems with electronic translation services and calls to expand the definition of 鈥渧ital documents鈥� to include toxicology risks. However, there is not a formal process to require the agency to respond.
The language access plan is part of to take several actions rather than endure the rest of what would be a lengthy civil rights investigation. The EPA is still monitoring the state agency鈥檚 efforts. Browning, the TCEQ attorney, told advocates on the March 3 call that EPA has already reviewed the agency鈥檚 language access plan.
Isabel Segarra Trevi帽o, who helped file the 2019 civil rights complaint against TCEQ when she worked as an attorney for an environmental advocacy group, said that during her five-year stint as a TCEQ staff attorney, she was frequently called upon to do additional work as an interpreter because she was one of the few bilingual attorneys on staff.
鈥淭his situation repeats itself all throughout Texas, where the agency has reason to know it should provide materials in Spanish and it doesn鈥檛,鈥� said Segarra Trevi帽o, who is now an assistant county attorney in Harris County.
Segarra Trevi帽o said language barriers go far beyond what the TCEQ has even begun to consider in its policies.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just need an interpreter, you need someone who can really grapple with the technical aspects of these applications and deliver culturally appropriate interpretation,鈥� she said.
At the March 3 webinar, the first public meeting to solicit public input on the plan, separate phone lines were available in English and Spanish. Leticia Gutierrez, the government relations and community outreach director at Air Alliance Houston, was on the English line and began to give comments in Spanish: 鈥淪铆, buenas tardes, mi nombre es Leticia 鈥斺�� she began, but was quickly interrupted by the TCEQ moderator.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to stop you there,鈥� TCEQ manager Mehgan Taack said. She explained that bilingual participants could not speak in Spanish while on the English phone line.
鈥淚t is better if you join the Spanish line, or if you can speak in English,鈥� Taack said.
In English, Gutierrez asked if she could speak both languages.
鈥淚 would prefer one or the other,鈥� Taack said, and then apologized. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing the best with our systems, but they鈥檙e still not quite perfect.鈥�
