In September 2015, SSCI team members attended the League City Historical Society Living History Dinner at the Walding Station in League City, Texas. The League City Historical Society’s annual fundraiser offers the opportunity to spend an evening with a famous “figure in history”. This year the nationally known Larry Marple from Ohio provided an informative and entertaining portrayal of the Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Marple played the role of Col. Roosevelt riding along with his Rough Riders as they headed to Cuba to fight for Cuban Independence. SSCI’s President, Helen I. Hodges, serves on the Board of Directors for the League City Historical Read More »
Throwback Thursday to SSCI’s barbecue where the SSCI Houston office celebrated Mr. Dan Tibbals’ recent achievement of passing the Professional Geoscientist exam and begun the planning of SSCI’s 30th birthday celebration. SSCI employees and their families were invited to enjoy the beautiful summer day at the Hodges’ Ranch in Santa Fe, Texas on July 12, 2015. “It was a great opportunity to meet each other’s spouses and children -those people we know so well from conversations with co-workers, but not in person,” said Ms. Jo Keim. Activities at the ranch included feeding and grooming horses, rounding up the cows, an Read More »
Like the rest of us, mold loves Houston. The warm, humid climate makes our city as natural a home for molds as it is for the energy industry. At normal levels, mold is harmless. There are lots of types of molds that grow outdoors as well as indoors like inside your home and office building. The problem comes when moisture problems inside those structures cause mold to grow beyond normal levels. “Normal levels” is a subjective term – even the government has yet to place regulations on what constitutes as natural levels or unhealthy levels. If mold levels grow beyond minimum levels, the indoor Read More »
It’s getting hot in here. On July 16, the American Meteorological Society released the 25th annual State of the Climate report . That report says 2014 was the Earth’s warmest year on record based on four independent global datasets. And Climate Central reports that 2015 is even hotter. According to the AMS report, new records were set by rising levels of land and ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and increasing accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As the El Niño–Southern Oscillation warmed up near the end of the year, so did several regional climates. That effect is expected to Read More »
After studying more than 950 sources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources. The agency released a draft assessment of its findings June 4, 2015. Potential water vulnerabilities still exist, though, said Thomas A. Burke, the EPA’s science advisor and deputy assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “Drinking water may be vulnerable to impacts. We feel very confident in our findings…the study was not, nor was it intended to be, a catalog of all instances of contamination,” Burke said. What this means Read More »
Takota was a sad dog. A former race dog, the greyhound now lived in a small yard, and his owner, Les Tibbals, couldn’t find a fenced-in area big enough for him to really run. Then Helen Hodges, president and CEO of SSCI, offered use of the fence-lined land around a one-acre detention pond that the company maintains in Webster, Texas. In exchange, Les is cleaning up trash on the site and has offered to mow. Now the detention pond isn’t just protecting against flooding and downstream erosion. It’s become a new track for Takota to race around. After getting used Read More »
If your company maintains a total aboveground oil storage capacity of greater than 1,320 gallons, or a total underground oil storage capacity of greater than 42,000 gallons located where there is a “reasonable potential” for a discharge to reach navigable waters, your company is subject to Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires SPCC plans in an attempt to prevent oil from entering navigable waters and adjourning shorelines, which can have a costly impact on the environment and your financial bottom line. Of note: Aboveground storage containers with a capacity of 55-gallons or Read More »
The federal government requires all companies that have hazards in the workplace – and who doesn’t? – have a proper Health & Safety Plan (HASP). Every company that has more than 10 employees is required to have at minimum a written Emergency Action Plan and Fire Prevention Plan. For more hazardous activities, OSHA requires companies to have their own individual hazard plan. For example, if employees are working more than six feet above the ground for any reason or any duration, your company must have Fall Protection. HASPs set a standard for employees to follow and work by and allow Read More »
Since the passage of the Superfund Cleanup Acceleration Act of 1998, anyone interested in selling, buying or financing a commercial property is encouraged or required to have an environmental site assessment (ESA) performed to uncover evidence of environmental site contamination. To obtain Innocent Landowner status, the buyer must assure that the Phase I ESA meets the specific requirements of ASTM E1527-13: Standard Practice for Environmental Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process. If there’s indication of contamination, a Phase II environmental investigation is used to determine the presence, or absence of, petroleum products or hazardous waste in the subsurface of Read More »
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly proposed expanding the interpretation of “isolated wetlands.” The proposed rule is designed to clarify issues raised in Supreme Court decisions that created uncertainty over the definition of jurisdictional waters under the Clear Water Act (CWA). The proposed changes would expand the range of waters that fall under federal jurisdiction. If the broadening of the definition happens, developers will see increased regulation of properties with isolated wetlands. Some previously “exempt” properties will require permits and more acres of mitigation might be required for full development. Read More »