President Wise announces new appointment: Mr. Glen A. Collier, P.G., CPG, has been appointed as the new District II Representative. For a biography of Mr. Collier, see: http://www.aipg-tx.org/_docs/2014AIPG-TXOfficers-Board.pdf
The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) and the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in order to implement the requirements of Senate Bill 138. The TBPG and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) recently adopted a revised Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), also to implement the requirements of Senate Bill 138. The TBPG is conducting its four-year rule review in 2014. The Board wants to make every effort possible to elicit stakeholder participation in this process. The following proposed amendments have been published in this week's Texas Register. These proposed rules [...]
Following its determination that the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) properly met its standard development process, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved, pending a 15-day appeal period, for NGWA to issue ANSI/NGWA-01-14, a water well construction standard. NGWA's first-ever third-party sanctioned standard, ANSI/NGWA-01-14 sets a baseline of expectations for water well system professionals to meet for residential, agricultural, monitoring, industrial, and public supply water wells. The standard seeks to contribute to public health and safety, resource protection, and to serve as an outcomes focus for NGWA's voluntary water well system professional certification program. Topics covered by the [...]
Justin McNamee passed away on April 18, 2014. Mr McNamee was appointed by Governor Perry to the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) to a six year term in a position reserved for the public (someone who is not a Licensed Geoscientist). Mr. McNamee was born on July 31, 1958 in Dallas, Texas. He attended and received his Bachelor's Degree at the University of Texas at Arlington. Mr. McNamee was a community leader who gave to the community his time to numerous charitable and civic groups. Mr. McNamee is survived by his wife and his two children. In lieu [...]
For those of you involved in Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, E 1527-13 is now in effect—and blessed by the U.S. EPA as AAI-compliant. EDR has a good analysis of what the changes are, and they are significant, including: If the subject property or an adjoining property is identified in any of the standard environmental records sources, then performing an agency file review is not optional. If the EPA decides not to undertake such a file review on a particular project, the justification for not conducting one must be included in the Phase I report. Section 8.2.2.2 also allows [...]
An e-mail was sent out yesterday on behalf of the AIPG Texas Section President, Henry M. Wise, P.G., to all Texas AIPG members. In case you missed the e-mail, the announcements have been reproduced below: "Texas Members of AIPG: The AIPG-Texas Executive Board has considered, approved, and will be reinstating the $10.00 Annual Dues for the Texas Section. This will show up on your next membership invoice in 2015. Now that the Section has resumed operations, the new Board has determined that it is necessary to raise money to assist in furthering technical education by sponsoring meetings around the [...]
The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) General Issues Committee (Members are Krenz-Doe, Knobloch, Mathewson, and McNamee) met on February 14, 2014 in Austin. Matt Cowan, President of Texas Association of Professional Geoscientists, and myself, as President of American Institute of Professional Geologists – Texas Section, attended the meeting. The discussion I was most concerned about was the licensure of environmental professionals. As it turns out, the agenda announcement wasn't correct. There was no intent to discuss the licensure of environmental professionals but to discuss the boundaries of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ's) Corrective Action Project Manager [...]
The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) will hold several committee meetings on February 14, 2014 in Austin. The one I found may be of general interest is the General Issues Committee (Members are Krenz-Doe, Knobloch, Mathewson, and McNamee). They will be discussing, among other things, the licensure of environmental professionals. The meeting is open to the public, if you wish to attend, or you can send the members of the committee your thoughts on the subject. Henry M. Wise, P.G. The Wise Report
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Sunset Legislation, House Bill (HB) 2694, Article 2, passed by the 82nd Legislature, 2011, and signed by the governor, transferred from the TCEQ to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) duties relating to the protection of groundwater resources from oil and gas associated activities. Specifically, HB 2694, Article 2, amended the Texas Natural Resources Code to revise §91.011, add §§91.0115, 91.020, and 91.1015, and amended the Texas Water Code, §27.033. On September 1, 2011, the law transferred from the TCEQ to the RRC those duties pertaining to the responsibility of preparing groundwater [...]