AIPG-TX

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 of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Justin Lynn McNamee Scholarship Fund benefiting the children and youth ministries at Highland Oaks Church of Christ, Highland Oaks Church of Christ, 10805 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75238.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has updated the aquatic life and human health surface water RBEL (risk-based exposure limit) tables. These tables are available at the fourth bullet at the following link:

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/trrp/trrppcls.html

They are also available as companion documents to, “Determining PCLs for Surface Water and Sediment (TRRP-24)” which is available with the TRRP guidance documents at:

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/trrp/guidance.html

The following changes were made to the aquatic life table:

• Values for boron and MTBE were revised to be consistent with the TCEQ Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance (RG-263).
• The federal silver criterion was added as an alternative to the state’s value which is expressed in the free ion form.
• An acute value for uranium was added using the hardness-based formula. As with the chronic number, the hardness-based formula is from the State of Colorado water quality standards (see reference in the Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance (ERAG)).
• The CASRN number for 1,3-dichloropropene was corrected.
• The table was reformatted to provide a “munitions and explosives” category.
• Freshwater acute and chronic RBEL values for ammonia (as total ammonia nitrogen) were added based on the U.S. EPA’s 2013 criteria document.

The following changes were made to the human health table:

• Values for a number of chemicals were revised based on the February 12, 2014 (March 6, 2014 effective date) revisions to the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards.
• The values for DDD, DDE, DDT, dioxin/furans, mercury, and PCBs were changed from a fish tissue concentration to a water value. Therefore the units changed and the notes accompanying the table changed.

The aquatic life and surface water RBEL tables will be updated periodically to reflect new state or federal criteria, changes to ecological screening benchmarks, and/or other information (e.g., toxicological data, persistence information). These revised tables should be used for TRRP submittals that involve releases to surface water. For additional information on the surface water RBEL tables, contact Vickie Reat at vickie.reat@tceq.texas.gov.

Henry M. Wise, P.G.
The Wise Report