Stephanie Bergeron Perdue, Deputy Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax
Environmental Law
General Law
Litigation
Related Areas
Office
Organization Chart
The Office of Legal Services manages legal services for the
agency in the areas of environmental law, enforcement litigation,
and general agency operations. The office’s mission is to
provide legal counsel and support the executive director; the
program areas; and, in conjunction with the Office of General
Counsel and the Office of Public Interest Counsel, the
commissioners. The office’s goals are to ensure that
commission decisions follow the law, and that rules developed by
the agency comply with statutory authority and are applied
consistently.
Environmental
Law
Robert Martinez, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax
The Environmental Law Division represents the other offices in
the agency in implementing state, federal, and federally delegated
programs related to air and water quality and water rights. Other
areas of involvement concern permits for water utility and
underground injection control; permits for industrial, municipal,
and hazardous waste facilities; the State Implementation Plan
(SIP); Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs); the Title V Operating
Permit Program; federal program negotiations and updates; biennial
legislative implementation; and support to the Attorney
General’s Office in lawsuits and administrative appeals to
which the TCEQ is a party.
General
Law
Kevin McCalla, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax
The General Law Division provides legal counsel to the agency on
issues related to personnel and employment law as well as ethics;
contracts, grants, and procurement; public-information processing
and distribution; and records retention. The division director
serves as the agency ethics advisor. The division also prepares the
administrative records for appeals under the Administrative
Procedures Act and supports the Office of Legal Services with
administrative personnel (paralegals and legal secretaries).
In addition, the division performs a variety of activities
related to rulemaking, including coordination of statewide public
hearings on rules, management of the agency’s rulemaking
process and publication of agency rules in the Texas
Register, and tracking of rule projects and posting of rule
information and public notices on the agency’s Web site.
Litigation
Kathleen Decker, Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax
The Litigation Division provides legal representation and
support to the Office of Compliance and Enforcement, the Financial
Administration Division, and the Remediation Division. The division
negotiates agreed enforcement orders, litigates enforcement
actions, pursues delinquent fee and penalty payments, advises the
agency concerning cleanup standards and recovery of cleanup costs,
and coordinates the Supplemental
Environmental Projects and Environmental Audits programs.
Through the Special Investigations Section, it investigates and
assembles evidence on environmental crimes.
See also:
Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force Report (In PDF. Help
with PDF.)
Related
Information
