Schedule of In-person Classes
May 22 Illegal Dumping and Oilfield Waste; San Angelo; 6 CEUs - $75
May 22 Substandard Structure Investigations; Gainesville; 6 CEUs - FREE
May 23 Advanced Ordinance Investigations; Gainesville; 6 CEUs - FREE
May 30 Basic/Advanced Illegal Dumping; Bryan; 6 CEUs - $75
May 31 TREES Coordinated Environmental Enforcement; 6 CEUs - TREES Only
June 3 Illegal Dumping and Oilfield Waste; Midland; 6 CEUs - FREE
June 13 Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste; Carrizo Springs; 6 CEUs - FREE
June 14 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Eagle Pass; 6 CEUs - FREE
June 17 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Uvalde; 6 CEUs - FREE
June 18 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Del Rio; 6 CEUs - FREE
June 27 Waste Tire Enforcement; Mt Pleasant; 3 CEUs - FREE
July 9 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Victoria; 6 CEUs - FREE
July 11 Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste; Yoakum; 6 CEUs - FREE
July 30 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Houston; 6 CEUs - FREE
July 31 Advanced Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Houston; 6 CEUs - FREE
Aug 13-15: Commerce Enforcement Conference (Details on registration page)
Sep 12 Illegal Dumping Enforcement; Nacogdoches; 6 CEUs - FREE/$75
Oct 9-10: Killeen Enforcement Conference (Details on registration page)
Online Classes Always Available
Legal/Legislative Update for Code Officers; 1 CEU; $25
Illegal Dumping Enforcement; 6 CEUs; $39
Illegal Outdoor Burning; 6 CEUs; $39
Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste; 6 CEUs; $39
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Officers Handbook of Controlling
Illegal Dumping: Texas 2012 Edition

Click to buy now from Amazon ... $9.99 Kindle Only

Previously published under the name Local Control of Illegal Dumping, this is the primarily reference book for Texas enforcement officers. It covers health nuisances, criminal illegal dumping and water pollution and a wide range of policy and practice issues. Includes current copies of Texas environmental laws most useful to control local pollution.

Available in Kindle edition (can be used on any computer or cell phone) from Amazon.com for $9.99. Soon available in print format for $25.

Click here to download a free Kindle reader app for you computer or phone.

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Controlling Illegal Dumping
Citizens Guide: Texas 2012

Click to buy now from Amazon ... $9.99 Kindle Only

Having local problems with illegal dumping? This is the book you want to start with. It's an overview of how local governments in Texas can use existing state laws to fight illegal dumping, water pollution, and similar activities.

It is useful for citizens needing an overview of available options, and is also very useful to local elected officials, peace officers, deputies, code officers and others in government management needing a basic understanding of overall local enforcement options.

Click here to download a free Kindle reader app for you computer or phone.

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Oil and Gas Waste Problems
Just about all kinds of illegal dumping can be controlled by local governments, including sloppy oil and gas waste hauling as shown here in Jim Wells County. Local governments in the oil patch can exercise criminal enforcement powers to keep their communities clean (shown here: multiple criminal violations of Texas Water Code Chapter 29, handled at the county level). Classes on this and other kinds of dumping provide continuing education credits to code enforcement officers and registered sanitarians (approved by the Department of State Health Services) and peace officers (TCLEOSE). Click here for information on our new online class Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste
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Substandard Structures and
Other Nuisance Violations
Or maybe your community is struggling with how to proceed following the Texas Supreme Court's ruling in City of Dallas v. Stewart. Our class on dealing with substandard structure and all other forms of ordinance abatement will give you a 22-step way to proceed with preparing cases for review and prosecution by your city or county attorney. Click on the link above to download and read the full decision of the court.
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Host a Class in Your City
Hosting a class in your city is easy and makes great economic sense, especially with today's tight budgets. This might be the easiest and least expensive way to assure that your officers get the information, and continuing education hours, they need.
How To Host a Class
Others Who Have Already Done It
Request a Class
Laws and Other Resources
Looking for copies of the most frequently used anti-pollution laws or need other resources to become better informed or to do a better job? Here we post copies of relevant laws and rules, discussion papers on various topics, presentations, and our popular field guides for officers and officials. Feel free to download and use this material to fight local pollution with local resources.
Frequently used environmental laws
Additional useful resources
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Contact Us
Please feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions on illegal dumping or other forms of pollution, to discuss the political issues that surround local empowerment, to send us pictures of dumping, or just to have a private conversation about a situation. The people working on these issues around our state are absolutely amazing, and we love to hear from you. So tell us about your successes and challenges, and maybe we can help. My email address is ockels@tidrc.com

News

The whole project of local enforcement fails unless you get your prosecutor involved … or unless you use civil suits too!
John Ockels
New Online Class: Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste
If your city or county is having problems dealing with oil and gas waste -- drilling mud, used tracking fluids, well work-over waste, produced saltwater, and the rest -- this is the class for you. Learn to use the criminal laws the State Legislature has provided to local governments to control this kind of waste. Click here for information and registration.
Need a Few Training Hours Fast and Inexpensively?
Take an online class from TIDRC. Four classes currently available and more coming soon:
Legal / Legislative Update Related to the Profession of Code Enforcement (1 hour); Illegal Dumping Enforcement (6 hours); Local Control of Oil and Gas Waste (6 hours); and, Illegal Outdoor Burning Enforcement (6 hours). Coming soon: Environmental Violations by Cities and Counties (3 hours) and Local Control of Waste Tires (3 hours). Click here for Online Classes.
Use All Your Enforcement Tools -- Including Civil Enforcement
Ever consider using civil suits to stop pollution, but don't know how to proceed? Texas Water Code Sec. 7.351 gives cities and counties the right to sue polluters to force abatement and collect major civil penalties. Unfortunately, few city and county attorneys know how to do this … but there is a good solution: Call Daniel Ray at Scott Money Ray Thomas, PLLC, in Greenville at 903/454-0044. These guys represent many cities and counties in suing major polluters to make them stop their violations. If you have a tough problem you're trying to solve … or your prosecutor is just too busy to stop and learn environmental enforcement … these guys may be your solution. I've known Dan and his partners for several years, and they are good people. Above reproach.