The El Paso town hall will take place Thursday October 28th at the El Paso Central Library Auditorium from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The panel will include Senator Elliot Shapleigh, Representative Joe Moody, County Commissioner Veronica Escobar, and public health advocate Joe Piñon; Nick Miller will moderate. The Sierra Club El Paso Group, the El Paso Solar Energy Association and Environmental Advocates are sponsoring this town hall.

The Beaumont town hall will take place on Monday November 1st at the Dishman Art Gallery Auditorium on the Lamar University campus (1030 East Lavaca) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Representative Alan Ritter, TCEQ Regional Director Heather Feldeman, and Dr. Harrell will be on the panel. This event is being organized the the Sierra Club Golden Triangle Group and the Clear Air and Water.

The San Antonio town hall will take place on Monday November 8th at the San Antonio Central Library (600 Soledad Ave) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. San Antonio area residents are invited to participate in a “citizens be heard” format where state representatives and senators hear from their constituents. Community organizations and government agencies will have 10 minutes for presentations, individual speakers will have three minutes. Lamont Jefferson, one of two public members of the Texas Sunset Commission, will be in attendance. This town hall is co-sponsored by the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), the Lone Star and Alamo Groups of the Sierra Club, the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area and Comal County, Southwest Workers Union, the Helotes Creek Nature Center, Citizens for the Protection of Cibolo Creek and State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer.

The Dallas-Fort Worth town hall will  take place on Monday November 8th at the Sheraton Arlington Hotel (1500 Convention Center Drive) from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This town hall will take up the Sunset reviews of both TCEQ and the Texas Railroad Commission. A panel of area legislators, including Senator Corona, will hear citizen’s concerns and recommendations for changes at these agencies. Former TCEQ Commissioner Larry Soward will also be present. This town hall is being co-sponsored by the Sierra Club North Texas Group, Public Citizen and the Dallas League of Women Voters.

The first town hall will take place next Wednedsday, September 15th, at the University of Houston Downtown in Houston TX and is co-hosted by Air Alliance Houston, ACT, The League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, and Texas Campaign for the Environment. The Houston panel includes Mark Vickery, Executive Director of TCEQ, Representative Jessica Farrar, former TCEQ Commissioner Larry Soward. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and share their TCEQ experiences.

The San Antonio town hall will take place Sept. 23rd at the Cliff Morton Development and Business Services Center. The Greater Edward Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) will host this event in partnership with ACT, the Leagues of Women Voters of the San Antonio and Comal areas, Representative Trey Martinez Fischer, Citizens for the Protection of Cibolo Creek, Helotes Creek Nature Center, Alamo and Lone Star Groups of the Sierra Club, and the Southwest Workers Union.

A meeting will be held in Victoria on Sept. 27th at the Victoria College Student Center, sponsored by the Victoria College Student Government Association. This event will feature three speakers — Senator Glen Hegar, Chair of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, former TCEQ Commissioner Larry Soward, and attorney and expert in TCEQ water permitting issues Adam Friedman. Additional town halls and community meetings are scheduled in October in Corpus Christi (October 7), Fort Worth (October 7) and El Paso (October 14). In November, town halls are planned in Beaumont (November 1) and Dallas (November 8).

This week, the TCEQ commissioners have two items on their agenda of particular interest to those who share ACT’s view that the TCEQ’s primary mission should be to protect public health. The first is the decision on the air permit for the Las Brisas pet coke power plant in Corpus Christi. The other is the proposed change in water standards that would allow a far greater concentration of bacteria-including E. Coli-before a stream or river is considered potentially harmful.

The Las Brisas decision is important on several levels. First, and most importantly, if the commissioners decide to grant the permit, Corpus Christi and its surrounding communities will face another major contributor to air pollution. Asthma rates in Corpus Christi are already above the state average. This permit decision also comes at a time when the TCEQ air permitting program is in the spotlight.

ACT has an additional interest in the Las Brisas permit because it’s been the subject of a contested case hearing. In March, the administrative law judges recommended that TCEQ deny the permit. On Wednesday, the TCEQ commissioners have the last word. It is within their power to grant the permit, to deny it, or to remand the case back the the State Office of Administrative Hearings for additional evidence or for a technical review. The point is, the commissioners can choose to accept the decision handed down by the body designated to evaluate these types of cases or to override that decision and grant the permit. If the commissioners were to grant the permit, they would essentially indicate that the contested case process-the public’s most important tool for influencing the permitting process-is more of a formality than an essential process that ensures that the public’s best interests are met.

The decision about bacteria standards in streams and rivers is another opportunity for the commissioners to demonstrate their commitment to public health. Some of the revisions proposed by the staff – over objections from the public – would weaken protections from bacteria pollution and undermine efforts to keep or make Texas water bodies clean enough for swimming, boating, wading, canoeing, kayaking, and other recreational activities. In the middle of another hot summer, Texans need to know that our rivers and streams are safe.

On Wednesday, the TCEQ commissioners have the chance to do the right thing and let Texans know that our health comes first. Here’s hoping that’s what they do.

But what’s missing from the left column is the scoop on what’s sure to be the Texas environmental story of the year: 2010 is the most important year in a decade for Texans who care about the health and future of our state.

At the center of each of these stories is the state agency in charge of enforcing the laws meant to keep our air and water clean—the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Each story describes the agency’s crucial role in protecting the health and environment of Texas–and its troubling tendencies to allow businesses to endanger the quality of our air and water.

What makes 2010 so important is that this year, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is under review to determine how well it is performing its job. This review is conducted by the Texas Sunset Commission. The Sunset review process (often referred to as being “under Sunset”) is a regular part of Texas state government. All state agencies undergo Sunset review, generally in a 13 year cycle.

In its special session last July, the Legislature decided to move the TCEQ sunset from 2013 to 2011 (that’s the year the Legislature will take up the bill to renew the agency). This change in schedule means that Texans who expect their environmental agency to enforce environmental laws and to protect their health have the opportunity to advocate for needed changes at TCEQ this year as part of the sunset review process.

There’s not a story about the environment in Texas that doesn’t involve TCEQ. Not one about solid waste dumps or coal plant permits or smog-creating refineries. Not one about aquifers or the Asarco smelter or whooping cranes. They all involve TCEQ and its decisions about permits and actions to enforce existing laws. TCEQ is the most important environmental actor in the state of Texas. And 2010 is the year that we’ll ask it to stand up for Texas.