‘Broken’ TCEQ is under state review

Sunset Commission to evaluate environmental regulator

The state agency tasked with protecting Texas’ public health and natural resources is being reviewed this year by the state commission tasked with evaluating whether it should continue to exist or whether changes are needed.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is among the agencies being looked at by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, a 12-member panel created and overseen by the Texas Legislature, in advance of the 2023 legislative session that starts in January.

The Sunset Commission can either recommend that lawmakers abolish an agency or make changes so it will be more efficient. The commission’s process, which spans months, involves gathering input from the public.

As part of that process, roughly 15 people from the San Antonio area — who spoke during a recent public forum at the Woodlawn Pointe Community Center — mostly expressed anger, disappointment and frustration over how the TCEQ has protected the environment.

“The TCEQ is not taking care of Texans. … The TCEQ is broken, and they’re not serving the citizens of Texas, and they need to be fixed,” said Mark Friesenhahn, a member of Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining, an organization focused on the health and safety of that industry. “I love being deep in the heart of Texas, and I want this place to look like it used to for our grandkids, visitors and our associates in the future.”

The Sunset Commission is expected to publish its recommendations before June, when the agency will hold a public hearing in Austin for people to comment on the recommendations. In July, the commission will finalize its recommendations on the various agencies under sunset review this year and propose them to the Legislature in January.

Robert Romig, a senior policy analyst the Sunset Commission who is the project manager for the commission’s review of the TCEQ, encouraged Texans to go to sunset.texas.gov to get information about the review schedule and how to contact the team.

“We are happy to receive any input you want to give us,” Romig said during the March 21 forum, which was hosted by the Greater