TACERA Environmental Corner
(November 30, 2015)
On August 28, 2015, the new Waters of the U.S. rules caused lots of sleepless nights around the country. However, on October 9, 2015, a federal appeals court blocked the new rules until further notice. This is a very complex and confusing set of rules and the hope is that the EPA and Army Corp of Engineers will start the process over and bring all parties involved to the table to try again. While the new rules are blocked, please remember the old rules are still in effect. If you are working in a water way, you may need to be covered under a Section 404 Permit. At the 2015 TACERA Conference, we had a presentation from Pete McKone from Pape-Dawson Engineers. The presentation is available by a link on the Past Conferences, 2015 (Conferences tab) of this website. It gives a lot of good information about this subject.
Effective Sept. 1, 2015, Tier II Chemical Reporting Program moved to the TCEQ from the Department of State Health Services. House Bill 942 was passed during the 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, and signed into law by the Governor. The bill requires the transfer of the duties authorized by Health and Safety Codes 505, 506, and 507 (Community Right-to-Know Acts or Tier II Program) from DSHS to the TCEQ. What that means for you is that your Texas Tier II report will be sent to the TCEQ instead of the State Health Department next year. These reports are due on March 1, 2016. If you need help or more information, contact the TCEQ at 800-452-2791 or by email at tier2help@tceq.texas.gov.
Submitted by: Robert Berndt, REM
Environmental Specialist – Tarrant County
817-884-2634 or raberndt@tarrantcounty.com
TACERA
P.O Box 2573
Cedar Park, TX 78630
E-mail: tacera1@att.net
Phone: 512-260-1376