Making Sense of the Rules: How DCG Environmental Simplifies Complex Regulations

One missed asbestos survey can stop a commercial renovation cold, and in Texas that can mean real money lost by the hour. We sit down with Shelley High of DCG Environmental to make the rules plain: when an asbestos survey is required, why it applies even when a building is new, and how inspectors can shut down a site if the paperwork isn’t ready. If you’re a commercial property owner, investor, or general contractor trying to keep projects on schedule, this is the practical, Texas-specific guidance you want before you swing a hammer.

We also dig into the timeline traps that catch teams off guard, especially the 10-day notification requirement when asbestos abatement is needed. Shelley explains how testing fits into smarter pre-planning, from quicker turnarounds on small inspections to what to expect on larger multi-story buildings. The goal is simple: reduce uncertainty early so budgets, permits, and crews don’t get wrecked by avoidable delays.

From there we talk through what happens when asbestos is actually found. Removal isn’t the only option. You may be able to leave materials in place, encapsulate them, or manage them safely, and Shelley shares memorable examples like double-layer drywall and flooring stacked so thick doors no longer clear. We also touch on mold regulations in Texas, why “it’s not regulated” can still become an OSHA issue for contractors, and who ultimately holds responsibility across federal, state, and local requirements.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a property owner or GC, and leave a review so more people can plan safer, smoother projects. What part of Texas environmental compliance has surprised you most?

To learn more about DCG Environmental visit:
https://www.DCGEnvironmental.com
DCG Environmental 
Serving Property Owners in Dallas, Houston, and Austin 
972-876-0008 

Transcript

Welcome And Episode Focus;

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Environmental Testing Show. That's what you can't see in the health. Hosted by Shelly High, CEO of DCG Environmental. This episode explores the environmental tests impact of the commercial space. From all the expected to other. Serving property owners throughout Dallas, Houston, and Austin. DCG Environmental believes finding the problem is the first step to making everyone safe.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Environmental regulations can feel overwhelming. Shelly shares how DCG turns complicated roles into clear, actionable guidance for owners and businesses. So welcome everyone.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Hi, Julie.

Asbestos Surveys Before Commercial Work;

SPEAKER_02 1:02

It's great to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yeah, so how do you break it down for clients, all these requirements and regulations?

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Texas is a very heavily regulated state. Not all states regulate asbestos. Commercially, most general contractors find out about asbestos when they go for a permit because they're required to have an asbestos survey when they submit for permit. And then they're in a panic and they don't know what that means. And so they start contacting people. And uh when they land in our lab, we are um pretty easy to deal with step by step. We explain the regs and the rules of in Texas. Before you demo, remodel, or repair a commercial building, you have to have an asbestos survey. And that that doesn't matter when it was built. A lot of people think, oh, it's a brand new building or it was built in 2010. I don't, there's no asbestos. In Texas, it doesn't matter when it was built. If you built it yesterday and you want to change it today, you have to have an asbestos survey. One of the biggest questions I get asked is, oh, I had an asbestos survey back in 2005. Do I need another one? If when you had that survey in 2005, you changed the building, then you have to have another survey if you're going to change

Timeline Risks And The 10-Day Notice;

SPEAKER_02 2:12

it again. And so a lot of people get caught up on that. They'll say, Oh, yeah, I had an asbestos survey. And we are state regulated, so we have state inspectors that come check every job. And so they'll come by a construction site. If they um are not remediating asbestos, then they will or abating asbestos, they will um just be doing regular demolition. A state inspector can stop by, and even a city inspector can stop by and ask for their asbestos survey. And if they don't have one, they completely have to stop everything they're doing. And in construction, stopping means money, right? Now we're in a delay, now we've got to stop, now we've got to take our crew home, and then we got to bring them back. What do we do for the two or three days it takes while they're doing a survey? So all of that costs money. So knowing ahead of time the regs and the rolls uh can really save a lot of time in your budget and a lot of time on your schedule. Um, we're pretty fast. We're usually out on site within 24 to 48 hours, and then we get results the next day and usually have your report that day or the following day. So two to three day process for a small inspection. Um, we've done big buildings where it takes a week and a half or two weeks to do the full inspection, 12-story buildings, you know, that can't get done to 24 hours. But if it's a small project or something um accidentally got damaged or disturbed, and now it's an emergency repair, um, there are regs and rules that can allow for an emergency repair and so that it's faster. So uh in the state of Texas, if you're gonna do uh an abatement on asbestos, you have to file a 10-day notification to the state. And a lot of contractors and building owners need to be aware of that because they think that everybody can start tomorrow. Now they found out they got to have an asbestos survey. Oh, now wait, we have positive for asbestos. Now we got to wait another 10 days. So it can really mess up the project if you're not aware of those timelines. And so knowing that ahead of time before you get started at a project, I I love meeting um uh investors to like before you buy the building, get an asbestos survey to find out if there's any asbestos in there because then you can negotiate it off the price, or you're aware that there's gonna be some um things that you might have to work around or do, or that you can't do in that building.

Leave It Encapsulate Or Remove It;

SPEAKER_02 4:26

So you can leave it in place, you can abate it, remove it, or you can encapsulate it. So sometimes we'll go into buildings and we'll find two layers of drywall. We're like, why in the world? But it's because the bottom layer had asbestos in it and nobody wanted to pay to take it out. So they just put a new piece of drywall up on top of it. And that way, if you, you know, nail holes into it or cut a hole, as long as you're not damaging the one behind it, you're not affecting the asbestos. So there's ways to leave it in place, make it safe. Uh, we've seen a lot of that with flooring. I think the thickest flooring I've ever seen is six layers, and it's because then nobody needs to pay to remove the asbestos layer. So they leave it in place and they add more on top. A lot of times it's with sheet flooring, and they'll just lay a new sheet flooring down on top of it, and then another one, and then another one, to the point where now you have to change the door jams or saw your door off a little bit on the bottom because there's too much layers of floor for your door to close and open the right way. So it's a lot of it is just knowing ahead

Homeowners Versus Contractors Under OSHA;

SPEAKER_02 5:26

of time. For homeowners, it's not regulated in Texas. If you are a homeowner and you want to do your own remodel or your own repair, you are more than welcome to cut into that asbestos covered wall and put it out in the trash can out front. Um that I don't recommend, obviously. You need to know how to protect yourself from it. But if you are a general contractor or any kind of contractor, you have to protect your workers from hazardous materials per OSHA. So even though Texas doesn't have a law to um over asbestos in homes, any contractor is regulated under OSHA to protect workers from hazardous materials. So they need to check to see if it's there. Uh, so there's the we get a lot of that sometimes. Like the homeowner is like, well, it's not regulated. Why do I have to pay these guys to come remove it? Well, you don't. You can remove it yourself if you really want to, but if you're paying somebody else to do it, they need to know whether it's there or not and handle it correctly so that their employees aren't affected and the homeowners are not affected. We see that a lot. Um, so people will come in and start repairing, especially when there's water damage. Um, if they don't check for asbestos first and they cut out like it's called two foot or four foot flood cuts, meaning like we're gonna take the bottom two feet or four feet of the wall uh so that we can get everything dried and nothing turns moldy. Um, and then they don't check for asbestos, but all that dust gets everywhere. And then homeowners are talking to their neighbors and they're like, Hey, did you get that checked for asbestos? And they're like, What do you mean? And then they Google, right? And then now everybody's in a panic because oh my god, now we have asbestos and everybody's afraid. And so I get those phone calls a lot, those panic phone calls. And um, now that general contractor gets to pay, or that remediator gets to pay to clean the whole house because they didn't check before they made the plug cut. So very important to make sure you know what's there.

Mold Rules And When To Call Pros;

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Mold is another topic that's highly regulated in Texas. And um, if you're a mold remediation company, you have to have a mold protocol to remove mold. If it's less than 25 contiguous feed, you can take it out yourself. Your neighbor can take it out, Uncle Bob can take it out. So there's all regs and rules on how much is there and who's going to be affected by it. And so there's uh it's too much to get into in the short time that we have, but happy to answer, you know, dig in a little deeper on mold, maybe in another episode. But both of those are very highly regulated in Texas. And so there's if you're if you're not sure, just reach out to a consultant or to a maintenance company for asbestos or a mediation company for mold. And they we all are licensed and we all have to know the regs and the roles. So any of those um professions can answer those questions. There's a lot of information on our website too. So you can always go to our website and we have FAQs of you know, frequently asked questions and answers there and blogs. There's there's tons of information out there, but be sure that when you are asking about it, you're asking specifically to your state. Not every state is the same. There's different legs and rules for state.

Owner Responsibility And Rule Differences;

SPEAKER_01 8:29

And I guess just to throw in a last question for you, and thank you for answering that and explaining so many things. We really appreciate it. It's very clear. Um, is there a big difference for like uh commercial property owners when it comes to requirements on the federal, state, and local level in Texas?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yes. Um actually the uh ability to know whether there's a specific or not does fall to the building owner. So building owners cannot say, my GC did it or you know, my employee did it. The owner of the building is um the one that is responsible to know whether it's there or not. Now, that does not mean they have to be the one that handles it or the one that contracts and all that. You can have a general contractor handle that for you. Uh, you can have an employee handle that for you, but just know that the ultimate responsibility comes back to the building owner. Um, that's a really good question. And there is there are federal rules and state rules. Uh, Texas rules are higher than federal rules, if you will. Um, if it is a government building, they fall under what's called knee shap rules. And for a niche app building, you have to be certified. For a commercial building where people publicly can come in and out, you have to be licensed. And so that's a kind of a two-step process. To get licensed, you have to get certified first. So we go through class, you take a test, you pass that test, then you apply for your state license. So um there is a difference on which level you have to have, depending upon what type of building you're in. And so, just for generalities, any commercial building that anybody can walk in and out of, that is regulated by TAFR. That's Texas asbestos protection health rules. And then the GDCs are all uh they have to fall under OSHA to protect their workers. And then there's also EPA rules and knee shap rules. So knee shop is more if it's exterior outside. Obviously, we can't build a big bubble over a roof if the roof has asbestos, so that would fall under knee shop, and then those buildings that are regulated where you have to have a badge to get in and nobody can just walk into it, that can fall under knee shap rules instead of the tacker rules. So there's a lot of different caveats to those rules as well. Um, a fun one that we've encountered before is if the building is a home, but uh we just had this one happen, a big convenience store bought a home property because they were going to build a convenience store on that property. Well, now that property is now considered commercial because they bought it. So now we have to treat that home as a commercial building because its intention in the future is to be commercial.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah, absolutely. Well, Shelly, thank you again for sharing your insight. And yeah, that would be great. Like you mentioned before, if we could continue on another show and discuss more about you know the asbestos and the regulations, that'd be wonderful. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

You're welcome.

Final Takeaways And How To Book

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Thanks for listening to the Environmental Testing Show. If you're concerned about mold, asbestos, or other environmental hazards, peace of mind starts with proper testing. Call 972-876-0008 or visit dcenvironmental.com to schedule a convenient appointment. Because when it comes to your environment, yes, it's the safety plan.