Mark your calendar now for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday June 10th! That’s the time ACT is hosting our state-wide call to kick off our TCEQ Sunset campaign. All Texans committed to protecting our state’s environment and health are invited to participate in the call.

ACT organizations around the state are working together to make this a milestone year for environmental protection in Texas. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is currently under review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. Now is the time to turn our concerns about how TCEQ does and does not do its job of protecting our environment and our health into real, lasting reform.  It’s a chance that comes only once a decade.  We’re coming together so our lawmakers know that Texans all over the state want the same thing–clean air, clean water and the safe disposal of waste–and expect their state environmental agency to do the job.

The June 10th call kicks off our campaign. We’ll explain the sunset process, hear from policy experts, and talk about what activists around the state are doing to involve and inspire their communities. We’re especially excited to introduce the TCEQ Sunset Town Halls–a series of events that environmental organizations throughout Texas are planning for early fall.  Right now, town halls are in the works all over the state–from Brownsville to Abilene, Nacogdoches to El Paso. Find out if one is planned for your community–and learn how you can help organize one.

Here are the details for the call:

What: TCEQ Sunset Campaign Information Call

When: Thursday June 10 6:30-7:30

Who: All Texans Standing Up for the Environment, for Public Health and for a Stronger TCEQ

Why: To learn about the TCEQ Sunset review and why reforming the TCEQ is the biggest environmental campaign of the year

How: At 6:30 p.m. on June 10th, call 866-501-6174.  The access code for the call is 31794011892 The call will last one hour.

With the publication of the Sunset Advisory Commission staff report on the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the PUC sunset review enters its public phase. The Sunset Advisory Commission will hold a public hearing on PUC (and several of the other state agencies under review this year) on May 25th and 26th. The public hearing provides the general public the opportunity to comment specifically on the staff report and to raise other issues not covered in the report. Additionally, the public hearing provides agencies the opportunity to respond to the staff report, at times disagreeing with recommended changes.

The PUC staff report also includes the staff reports on the Office of Public Utility Counsel and Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Taken together, the report provides an overview of most of the issues involved in electric utilities–with the exception of permitting new electric plants which is a TCEQ activity. Several ACT member organizations will comment on the PUC staff report as part of their clean energy advocacy programs and will testify at the public hearing.

The PUC staff report differs from the other staff reports already published in that it raises fewer issues and contains fewer detailed recommendations than most. This difference is explained, however, in the third and final PUC issue:

Consider the Administrative Structure of Utility Regulation
Following Reviews of the Railroad Commission of Texas and the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The review of PUC identified the need to evaluate the consolidation of PUC programs in some fashion with gas and water utility regulation at the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The decision to consolidate these functions should occur only with identification of clear benefits from improved oversight, realistic cost savings, or more efficient administration. The potential for merger options to meet these criteria could be best determined during this biennium’s Sunset reviews of RRC and TCEQ after the opportunity for a full evaluation

This recommendation illustrates the interrelatedness of the agencies currently under sunset review. Along with the Water Development Board and the Soil Conservation Board, these agencies are responsible for handling our environment, our energy needs, and our water needs. As those of us who are committed to protecting public health and promoting the long range sustainability of our environment know, these agencies play crucial roles in the future of our state. We welcome the opportunity to voice our concerns about current agency practices and to share our recommendations for regulatory actions that the sunset review process provides.