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Questions or Comments: complaint@tceq.texas.gov

What If Your Complaint Is About an Odor?

Since people react to odors in different ways, and since environmental odors usually come and go, we have specific odor investigation procedures to help us evaluate nuisance odor complaints.

What you need to know to make an odor complaint:

  • We cannot confirm a nuisance violation without knowing your identity. However, if you want to remain anonymous, we can still conduct an investigation to determine if there is a violation of other operational rules or standards.
  • When we investigate a nuisance odor complaint, we gather evidence to help us evaluate the four primary characteristics of odors; frequency, intensity, duration, and offensiveness (FIDO)—so any information you can provide concerning these characteristics will assist us in the investigation. We also need information regarding the alleged source of the odor.  For documentation purposes, fill out the Odor Log.
  • TCEQ investigators use Odor Complaint Investigation Procedures to evaluate odors within TCEQ jurisdiction.
  • To issue a violation, we may ask you to sign a written statement or affidavit if the investigator confirms nuisance conditions.
  • As with all complaints, if the situation is an imminent threat to your health or to the environment, we will respond within 24 hours — usually much sooner.

Specifics regarding poultry odor complaints:

We are required to investigate odor complaints concerning a poultry facility, or the land application of poultry litter by a poultry facility, within 18 hours if:

  • It is the second such odor complaint against a poultry facility, or
  • We have substantiated odor nuisance conditions from that poultry facility in the previous 12 months.

For poultry odor complaints within the Waco Region (Bell, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Grimes, Hamilton, Hill, Limestone, Lampasas, Leon, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Robertson, San Saba, Washington counties):

  • Call (254) 751-0335 or toll-free at (888) 777-3186 from 8 AM until 5 PM on Monday thru Friday, or
  • Call (254) 744-4741 after normal working hours and on weekends or holidays. (To receive the quickest response, we suggest you call our Waco office directly at one of these phone numbers.)

Specifics regarding oil and natural gas odors:

Complaints concerning odors associated with oil and natural gas activities require an expedited response if the agency has substantiated odor nuisance conditions in the previous 12 months at the alleged source of the complaint. In this instance, an on-site investigation will be conducted by regional staff within one working day of receipt of the complaint by the TCEQ regional office. All other oil and natural gas related complaints within TCEQ jurisdiction will be prioritized and investigated in accordance with the Field Operations Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Do you need to Make an Environmental Complaint?