Office of Compliance and Enforcement - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

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Questions or Comments:
oce@tceq.state.tx.us

Office of Compliance and Enforcement

John Sadlier, Deputy Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

Homeland Security
Strike Team
Compliance Support
Enforcement
Monitoring Operations
Remediation
TCEQ Field Operations Around the State:
      Field Operations Support
               Emergency Response
      Field Operations Border & South Central Texas
      Field Operations Coastal & East Texas
      Field Operations North Central & West Texas

This office enforces compliance with the state’s environmental laws, responds to emergencies and natural disasters that threaten human health and the environment, oversees dam safety and watermaster programs, and monitors air and water quality within Texas. In addition, the office oversees the operations of 16 regional and three special-project offices across the state.

See our region map in PDF. (Help with PDF.)

Homeland Security
The TCEQ’s Homeland Security Program assists in the planning, development, coordination, and implementation of initiatives to promote the Governor’s Homeland Security Strategy, and to detect, deter, respond to, and recover from disasters, caused by either nature or people. These initiatives include notifying and coordinating with many of the state’s critical infrastructure entities, including public drinking water producers and purchasers, high-risk dams, refineries, petrochemical facilities, and wastewater treatment facilities.

As a member of the Texas Homeland Security Council, the TCEQ assists in planning, coordination, and communication for homeland security preparedness. The homeland-security coordinator is on-call 24/7 to facilitate requests for assistance from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (GOHS) and the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (GDEM), and to notify TCEQ executive management of significant statewide incidents. The coordinator coordinates with all TCEQ program areas and the GOHS/GDEM on issues and activities related to all hazards, including homeland security and emergency management.

Strike Team
The agency’s Strike Team is a key component of the agency’s ability to rapidly respond to emergencies, assess the extent of public exposure to hazardous materials and provide an interoperable communication platform. This group of highly trained and experienced environmental investigators can offer specialized, long-term response capabilities to any region in the state for almost any type of event, caused by either nature or people.

The Strike Team was created to provide additional personnel, equipment, and expertise to respond to large-scale emergencies, including natural disasters. The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, the United States Coast Guard, and others use this concept. Since September 11, 2001, all local, state and federal agencies with a mission related to emergency response have increased their capabilities as well.

Compliance Support
Tony Franco, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

The Compliance Support Division is responsible for a wide range of activities such as:

managing 10 occupational licensing and registration programs for operators and installers;
managing six technical program areas that include regulatory and compliance support for the On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) program, landscape irrigation, lab accreditation and drinking-water-lab certification, quality assurance, and the Texas Small Public Water Systems Training Program. Staffers also conduct audits and complaint investigations in these areas.

In addition, this division supplies a full range of administrative support for the governor-appointed Texas On-Site Treatment Research Council, including fee collection and grant awards for applied research.

See also:
Search the Occupational License Database – find information on individuals or companies who hold a license to perform various activities, including operators of wastewater facilities and waterworks, and installers of underground storage tanks, landscape irrigation systems, and on-site sewage facilities (OSSFs).
Texas’ NELAC Accreditation Program and Accredited Laboratories – laboratories providing data for compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act must be certified or accredited under one of these two programs.
On-Site Sewage Facilities (Septic Systems): Find an Authorized Agent – find a list of local government entities that are authorized to issue permits, investigate complaints, and enforce the TCEQ's on-site sewage facilities rules.
Texas Small Public Water System Training Program: An Introduction

Enforcement
Bryan H. Sinclair, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

The Enforcement Division is responsible for investigating violations of state environmental laws and ensuring that appropriate parties take corrective action. The division develops formal enforcement cases in accordance with state statutes and agency rules and consistent with the agency’s philosophy that enforcement, when necessary, must be swift, sure, and just. The division also drafts proposed enforcement orders that include appropriate penalties and ordering provisions for the commission’s consideration and approval.

In addition, the Enforcement Division is also responsible for the following activities:

Administering the Compliance Monitoring Program under the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Administering the third-party Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) program.
Monitoring compliance with the TPDES 75/90 rule, which imposes requirements whenever flow measurements at a sewage treatment plant reach 75 percent and 90 percent of permitted capacity.
Reviewing and responding to notices and disclosures submitted pursuant to the Texas Environmental, Health, and Safety Audit Privilege Act.
Processing compliance-history appeals.

See also:
Criteria for Use of Findings Orders
Enforcement Reports: Annual, Monthly
Penalty Policy

Monitoring Operations
Matthew R. Baker, P.E., Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

The Monitoring Operations Division is responsible for monitoring air and water quality within the state and for reporting that information to the public and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The division oversees the statewide air quality monitoring networks, and operates laboratories in Austin and mobile laboratories based in Austin. Monitoring Operations staff examine and interpret the causes, nature, and behavior of air pollution in Texas and issue forecasts of possible high concentrations of ground-level ozone and particulate matter in Texas urban areas.

Remediation
Brent Wade, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

The Remediation Division oversees the investigation and cleanup of hazardous pollutants released into the environment. This includes activities conducted by responsible parties, state contractors and the state itself. The division also seeks restoration of damaged natural resources resulting from such releases. Division programs include:

brownfields redevelopment initiatives
contracting support
the dry-cleaning program
Industrial Hazardous Waste Corrective Action
the Innocent Owner/Operator Program
the Natural Resource Trustee Program
the Petroleum Storage Tank Program
the Superfund, including superfund site discovery and assessment
the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP)
the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP)

TCEQ Field Operations Around the State

Texas is diverse in its population density and location, industry types, climate, water availability, and geography. All of these factors can present unique challenges in protecting human health and the environment. To meet these challenges and to provide excellent service to Texas citizens, the regulated community, and TCEQ regional offices, the agency has divided the state into four regional areas and one central service area:

Field Operations Support
Field Operations Border & South Central Texas
Field Operations Coastal & East Texas
Field Operations North Central & West Texas

Major responsibilities of all regional offices include:

conducting investigations for compliance at the permitted and registered air, water, and waste facilities located across the state as well as investigating complaints at facilities and operations, whether permitted or not, based on requests for assistance from citizens, entities, or other concerned parties;
developing enforcement-action referrals for violations identified during investigations;
providing environmental education and technical assistance to communities as needed;
monitoring of the quality of ambient air, surface water (rivers, lakes, and bays), and public drinking water; and
overseeing and ensuring compliance with water rights and when drought conditions exist, allocating the limited water resources in certain designated areas of the state.