With over 4 million people living and working in Harris County and nine-eight percent of the population living in urban areas, we rely upon our roadways and drainage ways to keep us moving. Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) is charged with devising flood damage reduction plans, implement the plans, and maintaining the infrastructure. HCFCD was created by the Texas Legislature in 1937 in response to devastating floods in 1929 and 1935. In addition to serving the 1,756 square miles of Harris County, the district includes the 22 primary watersheds that flow within the county boundaries and total over 2,500 miles Read More »
The usage of drones by civilians has increased significantly over the past few years. An estimated 600,000 drones will be in use by commercial enterprises by 2018. The top industry using drones in the United States is photography with the second largest being real estate ( DMR, www.expandedramblings.com). Drones have been used in military applications for years but as the drones move to the commercial industry and to hobbyists, concerns have been raised regarding safety and enforcement of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. The FAA refers to drones as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and regulations apply for personal and Read More »
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SSCI approved by ISNetworld for Health, Safety, Environmental & Quality Procedures
SSCI has been approved by ISNetworld for Safety & Health Procedures. Through ISNetworld’s review and verification services, SSCI has been approved as meeting all necessary government safety & health policies.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) has proposed new rules for Mold Assessors and Remediators. The proposed new rules are necessary to implement the transition of the Mold Assessors and Remediators program from the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) to TDLR. Texas Senate Bill 202 proposed transferring Mold licensing from TDSHS to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) effective on November 1, 2017. The proposed rules are published in the April 21, 2017, issue of the Texas Register (42 TexReg 2057). The TDLR will accept comments on the proposal until May 22, 2017. The proposed Read More »
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Hidden Dangers of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
Oil spills consisting of crude oil or drilling “mud” are often found at oil and gas drilling sites. Drilling fluids are captured during drilling in pits and held for later disposal. The frequency of spills and improper maintenance and disposal of drilling mud results in soil, surface water, and groundwater impacts. Once the drilling field has been exhausted or abandoned due to economic reasons, the wells, drilling equipment, tanks, pits, gathering lines, and other equipment (as seen in the pictures above) are left behind for property owners to cleanup. Because there are no requirements in most states for property owners Read More »
We just received the following update from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). We are pleased to announce the TCEQ updates to the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) Tier 1 Protective Concentration Levels (PCLs) are now available. You can access these tables using the link: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/remediation/trrp/trrppcls.html. We are releasing the 2016 PCL table update as a single Microsoft Excel workbook with each table on a separate worksheet. We are also releasing the updates as a print only Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) file. The Excel file and the PDF file each contain PCL tables 1 through 10 and the Read More »
As of January 1, 2016, the use of the USEPA SW846 Method 5035A – which is a purge-and-trap technology – has been deemed mandatory by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Remediation Division for sampling volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil and waste samples. After December 31, 2015, the TCEQ Remediation Division will not accept VOC data reported for solid samples that have been collected and prepared using other methods if the data is intended to demonstrate compliance with the rules in 30 Texas Administrative Code Chapters 334, 335, or 350. The intent of collecting soild/soil samples via a closed-system Read More »
We just received the following from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). We are pleased to announce the TCEQ updates to the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) Tier 1 Protective Concentration Levels (PCLs) are now available. You can access these tables using the link: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/remediation/trrp/trrppcls.html We are releasing the 2015 PCL table update as a single Microsoft Excel workbook with each table on a separate worksheet. We are also releasing the updates as a print only Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) file. The Excel file and the PDF file each contain PCL tables 1 through 10 and the 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 »