Burgess follows up on TCEQ complaint

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess took some heat when he backed off of his call for the state attorney general to investigate why state regulators suppressed air-test results showing toxic emissions around gas drilling sites in Fort Worth.

Burgess, a Lewisville Republican, said it would be more appropriate to have the state legislature's Sunset Committee look into the problems at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. He sent a letter to the Sunset Commission on Wednesday, saying the whole affair "calls into question the agency's credibility."

 

 And he said he'll be there when the Sunset Commission holds hearings on the TCEQ in December.

A TCEQ spokesman issued a statement Thursday saying

"We have discussed this issue with Congressman Burgess, and we believe we

answered all his questions. We have talked to Sunset Advisory Committee staff

already, and look forward to fully answering any more questions they may have on

this or any other subject. We continue our efforts to fully inform the public

and elected officials on our investigations and monitoring results in the Fort

Worth area. All of our monitoring results in Fort Worth, including long term

monitoring at Meacham Field, show results far below any levels of short-term

concern."

 

Read Burgess' letter to Texas Sunset Advisory Commission on TCEQ