L'Oreal Stepney to Receive Texas Rainmaker of the Year Award
L’Oreal Stepney: Her Story
L’Oreal Stepney is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) Deputy Executive Director, an aerospace engineer, and a champion for the next generation of water leaders. As Deputy Executive Director, she assists TCEQ’s Executive Director oversee 2,800 employees and a multi million dollar budget. But her impact in Texas water tracks over three decades and includes creating TCEQ’s first Office of Water, serving 11 years as one of the principal negotiators between Mexico and the International Boundary & Water Commission, and committing to diversity and inclusion through the Mickey Leland Internship Program.
There is little in Texas water that has not been impacted by her work. This is her story:
L'OREAL & WATER
L’Oreal Stepney started with the Texas Air Control Board in 1992 before it merged with the Texas Water Commission and ultimately became the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Her career began as a new source review permit engineer, writing permits for combustion facilities. Later, she became a team leader and technical specialist responsible for the development and implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 with the Title V Operating Permits Program.
In 2000, L’Oreal moved to the agency’s water program and became a Section Manager over the delegated Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program (TPDES) in the Water Quality Division. TPDES includes wastewater discharge, stormwater, concentrated animal feeding operation, pretreatment, and biosolids permitting. In this position, she worked to streamline the permitting process, and provide up-to-date water quality protection requirements in permits consistent with Texas Surface Water Quality Standards. Similar to the Air Title V program, L’Oreal worked with staff to develop the stormwater program from the inception providing for efficient application processes covering thousands of construction, industrial and municipal facilities.
In 2003, L’Oreal was promoted to Division Director for the Water Quality Division responsible for TPDES permitting, water quality standards, and 401 certifications. L’Oreal emphasized the need for stakeholder participation and outreach, and was able to resolve many issues with EPA and the US Army Corp of Engineers through solution-oriented negotiations. As Division Director, L’Oreal led staff efforts to update water quality standards, improve nutrient management requirements for land application, and update engineering standards to improve overall water quality. L’Oreal was later appointed as Assistant Deputy Director for the Office of Permitting and Registration where her focus remained on water issues expanding to include water supply, water quality planning, and water rights programs.
When the Office of Water was created in 2009, L’Oreal was named its first Deputy Director with four divisions, 400 staff, and a budget of 50 million dollars. The Office of Water encompasses TCEQ’s water availability, water districts, groundwater, river compacts, water quality permitting and planning, watermasters, bay and estuary programs, and public drinking water functions. L’Oreal led the agency’s response to the 2011 – 2015 drought which included the worst 1-year drought on record. This included working with over 100 water systems with less than 180 days of water to authorize emergency and alternative water supplies and responding to 48 water rights priority calls. During this time, the Office of Water was able to authorize the first direct potable reuse facility.
L’Oreal continued to have active stakeholder engagement with citizens, associations, environmental groups, and the regulated community. As a part of those efforts, the Water Districts Advisory Workgroup was created under L’Oreal’s leadership to provide an open forum to discuss processes and procedures for district creation and bond reviews.
L’Oreal also worked with agency leadership during emergencies to develop solutions to protect water supplies and instream water quality during several emergency response events. She has provided testimony to the Texas Legislature on a wide variety of water quality and water supply issues. She works with the EPA to negotiate and resolve long standing issues impacting water quality standards and permitting, which sometimes required traveling to Washington D.C. with the Executive Director.
Representing Texas abroad, L’Oreal was selected to travel to New Delhi, India to discuss Water Quality Standards for the World Bank. L’Oreal also served for 11 years as one of Texas’ principal negotiators that met with Mexico and the International Boundary and Water Commission to negotiate water deliveries under the Rio Grande 1944 Treaty. With the team’s efforts, the last cycle ended without a debt. The Office of Water developed environmental flow standards in response to SB3 and HB3 Legislation during this period.
On April 1, 2020, L’Oreal was promoted to TCEQ’s Deputy Executive Director. This position serves as chief operating officer for the agency, assisting the Executive Director with the administration of the agency, its approximately 2800 employees, and 16 regional offices.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
L’Oreal is passionate about diversity and inclusion and has worked for years to develop and mentor staff from different backgrounds. She has served for 22 years on the Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program Board. The internship program focuses on training college students to be future environmental professionals and leaders, developing a diversified workforce in environmental careers, and encouraging participation of minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged students in environmental issues and policies.
As Deputy Executive Director, she created a diversity and inclusion initiative for TCEQ in 2021. Notable programs and accomplishments developed from the initiative include:
Diversity Mentoring Program with over 100 mentors and 142 mentees
Leadership Development Course with professors from University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
Spearheaded an effort to modernize the application and hiring process, refocus on the mission, and expand the number of external sponsors who hire interns for the Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program.
Expanded recruiting to include more HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions
Expanded outreach to school districts through Virtual Field Trips and Envision Videos to recruit more underserved students interested in STEM
FAMILY
L’Oreal and her husband Al have been married for 25 years. Al is a Navy Veteran who retired from 32 years of state service May 31st, with 28 years at TCEQ. Their son, Alfonzie, is 17 years old and is starting his senior year in high school. He keeps his parents busy with basketball, tennis, music, and Boy Scouts. Alfonzie is a newly minted Eagle Scout.