Reluctant Regulator TCEQ; Legislature needs to hear from you!

Environmental Stewardship

Call or write your Legislators and ask that Delegation Amendments be added to

TCEQ Sunset Bills SB 1397 and HB 1505 so “Reluctant Regulator” works for We The People!

Two bills are circulating in the legislature right now to re-authorize the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to continue to regulate air and water pollution delegated to the state of Texas under the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.

Unfortunately, the bills (SB 1397 and HB 1505) do not include the Delegation Amendments that are needed to bring TCEQ and the State into compliance with these federal laws — to work for We The People.

 

In response to a petition by 21 Texas organizations, including Environmental Stewardship (see Delegation Petition), EPA Region 6 is investigating whether to withdraw TCEQ’s authority to grant and enforce wastewater and air permits for the state of Texas. This major EPA action comes as TCEQ is granting new wastewater disposal permits into the Colorado River above Bastrop by The Boring Company (Gapped Bass LLC) and McKinney Roughs (Corix Utilities Inc.), and other wastewater treatment plants in, and below, Austin.

 

Environmental Stewardship believes that TCEQ is abusing its authority in granting these permits when there is evidence that the Colorado River is not meeting the exceptional water quality standards set on the section of the river between Austin and Bastrop where these wastewater discharges are proposed. These actions will only add to the degradation observed over the past 17+ years.

 

One of the remedies is for the Legislature to pass TCEQ Sunset bills that close the gaps by giving the statutes the proper requirements needed to govern how TCEQ administers these laws. Other issues have also been raised in the Legislature’s Sunset Review of TCEQ (see issues 1 and 3).

 

In plain language, we are asking that the Sunset bills include “Delegation Amendments” that: 

 

  1. Ensure that all persons impacted by the issuance of a permit, including those whose fishing and recreation will be harmed, are able to contest the permit;
  2. Ensure that the public should not bear the burden of demonstrating that an application is deficient when the applicant wants to pollute the environment; and
  3. Ensure that TCEQ does its job to protect our rivers and streams from degradation by pollutions by showing the public the science that demonstrates the receiving waters are meeting the standards (transparency).

PLEASE TAKE ACTION ASAP

Environmental Stewardship’s letters

Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee
Senator Charles Schwertner, author of SB 1397 and Chair of the Sunset Commission that recently issued its review of TCEQ.
Senator Lois Kolkhorst, committee member
House Environmental Regulations Committee
Representative Keith Bell, author of HB 1505

PLEASE TAKE ACTION ASAP

(Take action while these bills are in committee; we don’t know how long they will be in committee)

To write or call to Senator Schwertner follow these instructions:
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0105
District Phone: (979) 776-0222
To Write:
Step 1: Click on this link
Step 2: Fill in your contact information on this page.
Step 3: Cut and paste the following into the subject block:
Subject: Include Delegation Amendments in SB 1397
Step 4: Cut and paste the following into the comment block:
I am a resident of Bastrop County (or your county) and I am writing because: In your own words, give your concern about one or more of the three Delegation Issues listed above.
Therefore, I am requesting that the Delegation Amendments offered by Mr. Eric Allmon be included in the bill when voted out of committee.
Sincerely,
Your name
Step 5: Click the “SEND MESSAGE” button.
Step 6: Send an email at info@envstewardship.org letting us know what you did. Thank you!!
_____________________________________________________________________________
To write or call to Senator Kolkhorst follow these instructions:
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0118
District Phone:  (979) 251-7888
To Write:
Step 1: Click on this link
Step 2: Fill in your contact information on this page.
Step 3: Cut and paste the following into the subject block:
Subject: Include Delegation Amendments in SB 1397
Step 4: Cut and paste the following into the comment block:
I am a resident of Bastrop County (or your county) and I am writing because: In your own words, give your concern about one or more of the three Delegation Issues listed above.
Therefore, I am requesting that the Delegation Amendments offered by Mr. Eric Allmon be included in the bill when voted out of committee.
Sincerely,
Your name
Step 5: Click the “SEND MESSAGE” button.
Step 6: Send an email at info@envstewardship.org letting us know what you did. Thank you!!
_____________________________________________________________________________
To write or call to Senator Birdwell follow these instructions:
Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0122
District Phone:  (254) 772-6225
To Write:
Step 1: Click on this link
Step 2: Fill in your contact information on this page.
Step 3: Cut and paste the following into the subject block:
Subject: Include Delegation Amendments in SB 1397
Step 4: Cut and paste the following into the comment block:
I am a resident of Bastrop County (or your county) and I am writing because: In your own words, give your concern about one or more of the three Delegation Issues listed above.
Therefore, I am requesting that the Delegation Amendments offered by Mr. Eric Allmon be included in the bill when voted out of committee.
Sincerely,
Your name
Step 5: Click the “SEND MESSAGE” button.
Step 6: Send an email at info@envstewardship.org letting us know what you did. Thank you!!
_____________________________________________________________________________
To write or call to Representative Bell follow these instructions:
Capitol Phone:  (512) 463-0458
District Phone:  (903) 675-3069
To Write:
Step 1: Click on this link
Step 2: Fill in your contact information on this page.
Step 3: Cut and paste the following into the subject block:
Subject: Include Delegation Amendments in HB 1505
Step 4: Cut and paste the following into the comment block:
I am a resident of Bastrop County (or your county) and I am writing because: In your own words, give your concern about one or more of the three Delegation Issues listed above.
Therefore, I am requesting that the Delegation Amendments offered by Mr. Eric Allmon be included in the bill when voted out of committee.
Sincerely,
Your name
Step 5: Click the “SUBMIT” button.
Step 6: Send an email at info@envstewardship.org letting us know what you did. Thank you!! _____________________________________________________________________________
To write or call to Representative Landgraf follow these instructions:
Capitol Phone:  (512) 463-0546
District Phone:  (432) 332-0937
To Write:
Step 1: Click on this link
Step 2: Fill in your contact information on this page.
Step 3: Cut and paste the following into the subject block:
Subject: Include Delegation Amendments in HB 1505
Step 4: Cut and paste the following into the comment block:
I am a resident of Bastrop County (or your county) and I am writing because: In your own words, give your concern about one or more of the three Delegation Issues listed above.
Therefore, I am requesting that the Delegation Amendments offered by Mr. Eric Allmon be included in the bill when voted out of committee.
Sincerely,
Your name
Step 5: Click the “SUBMIT” button.
Step 6: Send an email at info@envstewardship.org letting us know what you did. Thank you!!

 

THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART TO GET OUR MESSAGE TO THESE IMPORTANT LEGISLATORS!