HGS - AIPG-TX

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. June 6 – 7, 2018 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 [...]

By Editor|2025-08-04T18:21:18-05:00June 22nd, 2018|AIPG-TX News|

Environmental Issues & the Railroad Commission of Texas

The stewardship of natural resources and the environment is an important part of the Railroad Commission of Texas’ (RRC) mission. On the evening of November 8, 2017, Mr. Peter Fisher and Mr. Peter Pope discussed the environmental issues and regulations related to activities under the jurisdiction of the RRC, with a focus on regulation of oil and gas exploration and production activities, as well as such related topics as reclamation, remediation, the EPA hydraulic fracturing study, and seismicity, among other topics during their presentation during the Houston Geological Society Environmental & Engineering Dinner Meeting & Seminar. The HGS announcement (here). [...]

By Editor|2025-08-04T18:50:06-05:00November 12th, 2017|AIPG-TX News|

Report on the Tax Day Flood of April 17-18, 2016 in the Houston, Texas Area

December 14, 2016, Jeff Lindner Meteorologist/Director Hydrologic Operations Division, Harris County Flood Control District presented an outstanding report entitled: “Tax Day Flood of April 17-18, 2016, Houston and Harris County, Texas,” at the Houston Geological Society Environmental & Engineering Dinner Meeting & Seminar, HGS Announcement (here), The PDF was just made available of the presentation slides (more).

By Editor|2025-08-04T19:28:39-05:00January 14th, 2017|AIPG-TX News|

Last Minute Alert: Proposed Changes to the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills Guide

Matthew R. Cowan, P.G., District IV Representative to the AIPG Texas Section Board, spoke last night to the Houston Geological Society's Environmental and Engineering Group about proposed changes to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills guide. He noticed that there were a few critical changes that the general public and specifically the geological community, should be aware of that affect the middle-school (6-8 grades) TEKS on topographic maps, and High School Courses with regards to fossil significance, etc. These areas are fundamental components of Earth Science (Geology). We have just been made aware of the proposed changes. Comments are due by the [...]

By Editor|2025-08-04T19:31:45-05:00December 15th, 2016|AIPG-TX News|

2016 Darcy Lecture: “Rethinking the Relationship Between Data, Models, & Decision-Making” to be Presented in Houston & Austin in September

The Groundwater Division of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is pleased to sponsor the 2016 Darcy Lecture, “Rethinking the Relationship Between Data, Models, and Decision-making," presented by Ty Ferré, Ph.D. of the University of Arizona. The lecture will be held on Tuesday evening, September 13, 2016 in Houston and then again on Friday, September 16, 2016, in Austin at the Stephen F. Austin Building, 1700 North Congress Avenue, Room 170, at 10:00 a.m. Ferré’s lecture will build from the basic concepts of decision science to present concepts and recent developments in optimal design of hydrogeologic monitoring networks. He will also discuss how [...]

By Editor|2025-08-04T19:40:27-05:00August 22nd, 2016|AIPG-TX News|

Free, Low-Cost, & Open Access Data & Software for Petroleum Exploration & Production

Susan S. Nash, Ph.D., AAPG Director of Education and Professional Development, Tulsa, OK, Bryan Flynn, Geophysicist, HGS Continuing Education Committee, Houston, and Thom Tucker, C.P.G., HGS Continuing Education Committee, Houston have prepared a comprehensive list of reports, surveys, databases, maps, and software of use to the petroleum geologist and geophysicist. There are also filings and legal reports which can help in decision-making. The fact that the information is readily available via the Internet, and that there are many free cloud-based collaborative tools, makes it more viable than ever to work in teams to quickly put together ideas, evaluate ideas, and make recommendations (see [...]

By Editor|2025-08-04T19:53:23-05:00March 11th, 2016|AIPG-TX News|

The Wise Report

The USGS has assessed water quality from 6,600 wells in regionally extensive aquifers that supply most of the groundwater pumped for the nation's drinking water, irrigation, and other uses. A series of new USGS reports highlight how geology, hydrology, geochemistry, and chemical use affect the concentrations of individual contaminants in groundwater. Regional summaries of where and why groundwater is vulnerable to contamination now are available. The report that includes the Texas Gulf Coast can be found at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1356/. Links to the other reports can be found on the same page. Michael D. Campbell, with I2M Associates, LLC announced the [...]

By admin|2025-08-04T20:13:20-05:00January 24th, 2015|AIPG-TX News|

The Wise Report

During the mid-1990s, the Institute of Environmental Technology (IET), consisting of associates of the Environmental Litigation Associates (ELA) and other senior environmental professionals in the Houston area, taught a 4-month program designed to cross-train professional refugees from a depressed oil and gas industry for the purpose of finding employment in an expanding environmental industry. Over more than 5 years, some 400 geologists, engineers, and other professionals graduated from that program, most of whom found meaningful professional employment. When the oil and gas activity returned a few years later, the graduates offered a better background to potential employers than before [...]

By admin|2025-08-04T20:13:40-05:00January 17th, 2015|AIPG-TX News|