Office of Legal Services

Stephanie Bergeron Perdue, Deputy Director
Staff: Address/Phone/Fax

Environmental Law
General Law
Litigation

Related Information
Office Organization Chart
Career Opportunities in the Office of Legal Services

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

• Criminal Enforcement Review Adopted Rules (In PDF. Help with PDF.)
• Office of Public Assistance - information on requesting hearings and public participation in permitting
• Office of General Counsel - agenda matters
• Office of Public Interest Counsel - information on contested matters and how to participate in contested case matters
• Office of the Attorney General, State of Texas
• State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)
• Texas Ethics Commission
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Open Records Operating Policy and Procedure
• TCEQ Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) General Information and Application Guidelines
• Enforcement Report to the Commission