- Check into the history of the company and “ACTUAL” years the company has been in business. (Not a compilation of years that employees have been in the field. Employees age or working history has nothing to do with the company’s reputation, financial strength and standings with the state.)
- Years in business under one name and one Federal Tax ID Number. (numerous name changes or tax numbers shows an inconsistent and unreliable nature of a company) verify this information on the Texas Comptroller of Accounts at https://ourcpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/Index.html Lots of companies go out of business and avoid paying their bills and your bills (project costs, accounts payable, client payables etc) and reopen under another name or division (such as name LLC, name LP, name Inc. etc).
- Verify your selected responder with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), local EPA, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and your local City to see which contractor is listed as their contractor for emergency response. This is another way to verify “BEST VALUE, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE”. Environmental Responders go through a detailed and extensive bidding process to show qualifications, experience, references, history and pricing for best value to the state and to meet the requirements set by federal regulations.
- Request references of a responder for both State, local and general affiliations and verify those references.
- Request “Responder Cards” with emergency/environmental responder contact information to place in all company vehicles, buildings (near fire extinguishers, exit signs, medical kits and contingency documents). Ask that easy, step by step procedures be listed on the “Responder Cards”.

Richard Cameron is the CEO of Protect Environmental Services.
Protect Environmental Services, Inc. (PESI) is your best-in-class “clutch” performer when you need a First Responder. PESI tackle & remediate the most dangerous chemical spills & removal of hazardous waste. In fact, our pursuit of safety & rapid response for environmental sustainability surpasses ALL other environmental service companies. PESI has been rapidly responding to emergency environmental calls in North Central Texas since 1996.
Richard is also a published author of the “Ebola Response Procedures.” Additionally, he is considered an expert witness to many litigation and mediation cases. He works with multiple law enforcement agencies in forensics to hunt down illegal dumping perpetrators.