From the playground to the duck-filled pond, it’s the park Sharon Coudert visits almost every day.   ”Lately it’s been dry as a bone,” explained Coudert. “I mean, you could probably walk across it two weeks ago.”

Then came the heavy rains of late January, bringing plenty of water and a not-so-little something extra to the Shops at the Arbor off Mopac and William Cannon.  ”After that big rain storm we had a week or two ago “it” started slowly,” said Coudert. “A small one, and then it just kept growing.”

A little hole soon turned into a sinkhole nearly 20 feet deep — more than big enough to swallow a few cars.

To read more, visit www.kvue.com

The USEPA is threatening to reopen sites in Texas to evaluate vapor intrusion.

 At a meeting, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) stated that USEPA Region 6 has been asking for a list of sites where Class 3 groundwater contamination exceeds protective concentration levels (PCLs) in off-site areas.    TCEQ also said USEPA has asked to review Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) cases.  It is our understanding that USEPA believes the Class 3 groundwater and MSD cases are at the highest risk for vapor intrusion because the cleanup standards are elevated above the normal PCLs. For example, for TCE, the drinking water PCL is 5 ppb (the same as the MCL) and the Class 3 groundwater PCL is 500 ppb.  When a MSD exists, the groundwater ingestion standards are no longer applied and the PCL becomes the next lowest applicable PCL.  In most cases, the ^AirGW_Inh-v (i.e. the PCL for vapors in ambient, outdoor air emanating from groundwater) applies.  For TCE, the ^AirGW_Inh-v PCL ranges between 15,000 and 170,000 ppb depending on land use and source area size.

  In at least one case, the USEPA threatened to unilaterally issue an enforcement order even though the regulated entity had been working cooperatively with TCEQ on corrective action.

 If you have a site where the Class 3 groundwater PCL or MSD was used for closure, it would be important to thoroughly consider vapor intrusion.  Although the TCEQ has not developed specific regulations or guidance to evaluate vapor intrusion, the Texas Risk Reduction Program does include general requirements to evaluate all applicable exposure pathways.

Items filed with the Chief Clerk for Future Agenda(s):

• None

Items Continued or Remanded for Future Agenda(s):

• None

New Rule Projects Approved by the Executive Director:

• None

Items Submitted for Texas Register Publication:

• Proposal, HB 571: Regulation of Certain Aggregate Production Operations, (Rule Project No. 2011-045-342-OW)
• Proposal, HB 3272: LIRAP Revisions, (Rule Project No. 2011-062-114-EN)
• Adoption, SB 1504: Phase I, (Rule Project No. 2011-011-336-WS)
• Adoption, Oil and Gas Revisions, (Rule Project No. 2011-014-106-AI

For more information, visit www.TCEQ.com

PROPOSAL FOR DECISION

Item   1

TCEQ Docket No. 2005-1490-WR; SOAH Docket No. 582-10-4184.
Consideration of the Administrative Law Judge’s Proposal for Decision
regarding the application of Brazos River Authority (BRA) for a new permit
pursuant to rules of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Tex.
Water Code Chapter 11 to authorize a new appropriation of state water in the
amount of 421,449 acre-feet per year, which includes existing and future return
flows in the basin for multiple uses including domestic, municipal, agricultural,
industrial, mining, and other beneficial uses on a firm basis in the Brazos River
Basin.

To read more, visit www.TCEQ.com

EPA is proposing revisions to strengthen the 1988 federal underground storage tank (UST) regulations by increasing emphasis on properly operating and maintaining UST equipment. These revisions will help improve prevention and detection of UST releases, which are one of the leading sources of groundwater contamination. The revisions will also help ensure all USTs in the United States, including those in Indian country, meet the same minimum standards. This is the first time EPA is proposing significant revisions to the federal UST regulations since they were first promulgated in 1988.

November 18, 2011 Federal Register Notice – Proposed UST Regulations (PDF) (89 pp, 1.6MB, About PDF)

Submit comments (on or before February 16, 2012)

EPA’s proposal revises the UST technical regulation in 40 CFR part 280 by:

• Adding secondary containment requirements for new and replaced tanks and piping
• Adding operator training requirements for UST system owners and operators
• Adding periodic operation and maintenance requirements for UST systems
• Removing certain deferrals
• Adding new release prevention and detection technologies
• Updating codes of practice
• Making editorial and technical corrections

EPA is also proposing to update the state program approval (SPA) requirements in 40 CFR part 281 to incorporate the proposed changes to the UST technical regulation listed above.

To read more, visit www.epa.org

Find out quickly when new rulemaking items have been added to the Rules Web pages by checking this page regularly.

Washington (CNN) — If an upcoming rocket launch in California is successful, it could signal the age of Aquarius.

On Friday, NASA will launch the Aquarius/SAC-D Sea Surface Salinity satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

For the next three years, the Aquarius satellite will look back at Earth and generate monthly maps of sea salt movement, data that are crucial to the understanding of global climate change and ocean currents. The project will give scientists the information they need to better predict El Niño and La Niña tropical climate patterns in the Pacific. Until now, such research has been limited to ship and buoy instrumentation.

The long-term project, which began in 2001, is the culmination of a joint effort between NASA and Argentina’s National Space Activities Commission.

To read more, visit CNN.com

EPA regulates the chemical polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, as an air pollutant. In 2004, several environmental groups petitioned to have EPA change its regulations on PVC.

PVC production facilities manufacture PVC resins that are used to make a large number of commercial and industrial products at other manufacturing facilities including latex paints, coatings, adhesives, clear plastics, rigid plastics, and flooring. Texas has four PVC production facilities.

In January 2011, EPA met with the public in Baton Rouge, La. to review the proposed rulemaking for PVC and answer questions. EPA also hosted a workshop for industry to discuss problems encountered during testing, the content and compliance requirements of the rulemaking, and industry’s development of a revised resin test method.

To read more, visit EPA.gov