As you may or may not be aware, the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG), like every other board in Texas, undergoes a Sunset Review every four years. The TBPG is currently undergoing such a review. If you have comments, suggestions, etc. about the current TBPG rules, go to: http://tbpg.state.tx.us/rule-review/ for information as to how.
The TCEQ Remediation Division issued a revision to the Incident Report Form (TCEQ-20097) for Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank (LPST) sites. The revisions incorporate the current TCEQ mailbox email address for electronic submittals and lists the current TCEQ telephone number to report emergencies. The form also includes documenting the TCEQ Region in which the facility is located. Beginning June 1, 2018, all previous versions of the report form will be considered obsolete and will no longer be accepted. The form is available on the TCEQ webpage: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/pst_rp/downloads.html
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
In case you missed our e-mail, President Henry M. Wise, P.G., C.P.G. sent out an announcement to all members of AIPG Texas Section this morning, as follows:
Announcement from the AIPG-TX
Registration Announcement
American Institute of Professional Geologists – Texas Section is Proud to Host GeoDayz
WHEN:
February 24 and 25, 2018
Sessions Begin
Daily at 9:00 a.m.
Mixer @ 5 p.m. Feb. 24, 2018
See GeoDayz Program, Registration, and Sponsor information (here)
We all know to call 811 to mark underground lines before digging or drilling below 16 inches. House Bill 1818, the Commission’s Sunset Bill passed by the 85th Legislature last year, gives RRC authority over damage incidents on interstate pipelines that cross state boundaries. Previously, the Commission’s damage prevention authority was limited to intrastate pipelines that begin and end in Texas.
President Henry Wise, P.G., C.P.G., announced last night at the regular monthly meeting of the Texas Section Board that he has appointed William C. Farrell, a graduate student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences of Rice University in Houston, Texas as the first Student Councilor-at-Large of the Texas Section of the AIPG. In 2016, Mr. Farrell was awarded a Shoemaker Scholarship by the Texas Section of the AIPG (more).
The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) adopts an amendment to 22 TAC §851.21 to establish guidelines for applicants requesting to sit for a licensing examination. Adopted changes add language to provide that an applicant who does not fully meet the education requirement for licensure may sit for a licensing examination as long as the applicant has submitted certain documents and has acknowledged that the applicant does not meet the education requirement. The applicant will then need to resolve the education deficit once the applicant has received passing scores on the licensing examination in order to obtain a Professional Geoscientist license.
Henry Wise just announced that he has appointed Dr. Regina Capuano, P.G. to the position of Councilor-at-Large of the Texas Section of the AIPG. She is widely known as an outstanding Professor at the University of Houston’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Over the years she has mentored more than 20 students for their M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Her primary areas of research are in hydrogeology and geology related to sedimentary-basin fluid flow associated with oil field systems, hydrogeology of fluvial-deltaic sediments, shale permeability, bioremediation, uranium genesis and geothermal fluid exploration. For additional information, see her biography and associated University of Houston webpage and CV (more).
Dr. Capuano is particularly interested in providing students with the best possible heads-up on job prospects, requirements for employment and financial aid. Her role in the Texas Section of the AIPG will likely focus on those areas.
Glen A. Collier, P.G, C.P.G., and Chair of the AIPG-TX Scholarship Committee, announced today that AIPG-TX will once again award scholarships to outstanding geology students in the year 2018 (more). Scholarships consist of $1,000 each to outstanding undergraduate majors (a Foss Scholarship) and $2,500 each to outstanding graduate students (the Shoemaker Scholarship) in geological sciences enrolled in a Texas university. Winners of the scholarship awards are based on non-academic achievement, scholastic performance, recommendations of a professor, and a written essay. See previous winners (more).
Preliminary notice of the 2018 scholarships has been sent to over 50 department chairs and other interested parties. A more detailed announcement will be made in January 2018. Applications should be received by email no later than February 15, 2018 for consideration of one of these scholarships.
