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Perry Appoints Zak Covar to TCEQ Commission

Rick Perry has appointed Zak Covar, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's current director, to be its third Commissioner after Carlos Rubinstein left the position last August.

By Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune and Reveal
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Gov. Rick Perry announced today that Zak Covar, currently Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, will become its third Commissioner. Covar is replacing Carlos Rubinstein, who left last August after Perry appointed him as chairman of the Texas Water Development Board. 

Before joining the TCEQ in 2007, Covar worked as an environmental and natural resources policy advisor to Perry and former chief of staff to State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. He made a salary of $145,200 a year in his previous job and will likely get a raise to join his fellow TCEQ commissioners, Bryan Shaw and Toby Baker, to make $150,000 annually.

TCEQ spokesman Terry Clawson said Covar's deputy, Richard Hyde, will serve as interim director of the agency until the commissioners appoint a replacement.   

 

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