Texas AIPG Team Produces Series of Publications over Past Two Years

Michael D. Campbell (AIPG-TX VP-Eastern Texas), Henry M. Wise (AIPG-TX President), Roger W. Lee (AIPG-TX Councilor-at-Large), Glen Collier (AIPG-TX Councilor-at-Large), M. David Campbell (AIPG-TX Webmaster), and others have produced a number of papers over the past two years.

Some are chapters/sections in papers and some are stand-alone papers for the Energy Minerals Division (AAPG), while others are papers based on earlier I2M-precursor projects involving:

1) brine contamination of rural groundwater in Ohio;

2) uranium, thorium, and REE in Alaska;

3) siderite in Oklahoma-Arkansas;

4) editorials to encourage professional geologists to publish in the new open-access journals involving:

  •     media and academic bias against uranium mining and nuclear power; and
  •    impact of current conditions in the U.S. on natural resource development.

To review the papers in the series, see the list (and associated links) in chronological order (here).

AIPG Field Trip to Canyon Dam Gorge & San Pedro Springs – February 3, 2019

NOTICE: FIELD TRIP IS NOW BOOKED UP (FULL) and REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. 

Attention all AIPG Texas Members:

A field trip is to be held to examine the fascinating structural geology, as well as the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Glen Rose formation, in the Canyon Dam Gorge near New Braunfels.  This will be held in connection with the AIPG National Board Meeting to be held in San Antonio. This field trip offers an opportunity for face-time with your National and local section AIPG Board Members.

We will also visit historic San Pedro Springs, the original site of the settlement of San Antonio

  • Date: Sunday, Feb. 3rd, 2019.
  • Time: 8.00 am to 4.00 pm.
  • Meet: Drury Inn San Antonio Airport:  95 NE Interstate 410 Loop, San Antonio, TX 78216
  • Leader: Dr. Tom Ewing, author of “Texas through Time” and others.
  • Cost: about $50 per person.
  • Clothing: stout walking shoes, a walking stick if needed. Rain gear depending on forecast.
  • Tools: hand lens, penknife, dilute HCl, camera, notebook. Also bring water.
  • Guidebook: included in  field trip price.
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UPDATE on SunSet Commission Activities

UPDATE (Details)

New Information (November 19, 2018) from TBPG on the Sunset decision: (here).


Based on information provided by Henry Wise, AIPG Texas Section President, who was present in Austin for the Sunset decision along with members representing the Texas Geoscience Council and the HGS, and others, the following are the details behind the Sunset Advisory Commission’s decision, which also contains 12 recommendations to the TBPG:

1) The first vote, which failed with 8 No to 4 Yes, was to abolish the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) and transfer the regulation of geoscientists to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) by September 1, 2020. In the modified proposal that was voted on, geoscientists would have only had an advisory committee to the TBPE, not Board representation.

2) The second vote to continue the TBPG for another 6 years, until September 1, 2025, while implementing 12 recommendations passed by 10 Yes to 2 No.

Here are the recommendations that the TBPG must implement. They seem to be directed at reducing “government interference in business”.  They appear to be tolerable considering the alternatives to either abolish the TBPG, or fold geoscientists into the TBPE.

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Bruce Darling has been Appointed District II AIPG Texas Section Representative

Henry M. Wise, P.G., C.P.G., President, AIPG Texas Section, and Rima Petrossian, P.G., Ph.D., Vice-President – Western Texas, AIPG Texas Section, have just announced the appointment of Bruce K. Darling, P.G., Ph.D., C.P.G. as the District II AIPG Texas Section Representative. This District covers the San Antonio and south Texas.

Dr. Darling is well-known in Texas for his work over the years in industry, in teaching, and in consulting for a variety of clients. For more, see (here).

Further Information on Defense Donations

As you know, the Texas Geoscience Practice Act is under attack. As a Professional Society, we must respond and defend this very important Professional Credential. Whether you have a Texas PG License or are in a field that is exempt from Licensure, the Texas Geoscience Practice Act is important to our Profession. It is of critical importance to those of us who practice before the public to defend the Texas Geoscience Practice Act. Therefore AIPG Texas is supporting, with money and manpower, the Texas Geoscience Council (TGC), which has been formed to defend the Act.

The Texas Geosciences Council’s mission is to unite the geoscientific community so that we can work together to accomplish three goals:

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No Scholarships will be Awarded in 2019 Thanks to the SunSet Commission’s Challenge to our Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists

Glen A. Collier, P.G., C.P.G., Chair of the AIPG Texas Section’s Scholarship Committee announced today that unless funding for scholarships comes in from unanticipated benefactors, there will be no scholarships awarded in 2019 because all of our funds are required to help eliminate the SunSet Commission’s challenge to our Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists.

For more information on this matter, see (here).

AIPG Texas Section Students in the 2018 National AIPG News

The latest (July/August/September) 2018 issue of The Professional Geologist spotlights several student members of AIPG Texas Section (more). Inside the front cover, Uziel Rindon (SA-8457), geology student at Stephen F. Austin State University, is pictured with his National AIPG Undergraduate Scholarship Award and his sponsor, Dr. Kevin Stafford.  Mr. Rindon’s article, “Why I Want to Be A Geologist”, is found on page 18.

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UPDATE: Houston Conference on Flooding

Update: We have just learned from our District IV Representative, Matt Cowan, P.G., that the proceedings, papers, and videos will be available of the conference in the near future.

Original Announcement: An educational conference at the University of Houston main campus is bringing together stakeholders, including business, geoscientists, geotechnical engineers, citizen coalitions, state and federal government agencies to exchange current knowledge and ideas for the future.

AIPG Texas Section is sponsoring two University of Houston-Downtown students for the Conference on Texas Flooding in Southeast Texas: The Science Behind the Floods.

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The Wise Report

As you know, the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) is currently undergoing their periodic Sunset Commission Review.  In preparation for their report, a PG License Work Group that consists of representatives of the Houston Geological Society, AIPG, AEG, AAPG, and Texas Association of Professional Geoscientists has been formed to help coordinate any defense we may need to provide to the TBPG.  I’ll be reporting on any activities that come up.

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Chapter Membership Dues Increase

At a recent AIPG-Texas Board meeting, we discussed the matter of annual Texas Chapter dues.  Our dues have been $10 since our section re-started in 2013. This is the same level of dues that we had in 2000 as well.

The Board has determined that we need to increase the Chapter dues to $15. We have been busy over the last five years developing and conducting occasional local meetings, field trips, and seminars, and establishing two scholarships programs, i.e., the Foss Scholarship for undergraduate students and the Shoemaker Scholarship for graduate students.

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