In a letter dated Aug. 31, 2018, to the secretary of state, Gov. Greg Abbott designated TCEQ Commissioner Jon Niermann as chairman of the commission for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor.
“I am grateful for the confidence Governor Abbott has shown in me by asking me to serve as a commissioner—and now the chairman—of TCEQ,” says Niermann. “It is a true privilege to serve the people of Texas and to do so alongside the talented men and women who form this great agency.”
The new chairman was appointed to the commission in 2015. Niermann also serves as Governor Abbott’s appointee on the Western States Water Council and is responsible for overseeing the administration of Texas’s share of mitigation funds resulting from Volkswagen’s fraud to evade federal vehicle emission standards.
Niermann replaces Dr. Bryan W. Shaw of Elgin who retired at the end of last month.