Texas Environmental Update
March 2, 2010
The environmental practice of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP offers seamless, front-rank representation in local, state, national, and cross-border regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters, as well as experienced counsel on the environmental aspects of transactions and operations across the country and around the world. We are dedicated to helping clients successfully navigate complex and costly environmental issues and to building longstanding client relationships founded on superior advice, integrity, and value. We are pleased to provide you with this issue of Bracewell & Giuliani's Texas Environmental Update, offering the latest news about permitting, enforcement, regulatory developments, and other matters of interest to the regulated community in Texas.
BRACEWELL & GIULIANI ALERTS AND PUBLICATIONS
White House Guidance on Climate Change Will Affect Permitting and Infrastructure
Bracewell & Giuliani Environmental Law Update, February 19, 2010
On February 18, 2010, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released a draft guidance document describing how and when climate change considerations should factor into environmental impact assessments by federal agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The draft guidance is important for anyone proposing to build infrastructure, such as power plants, pipelines, roads, and large industrial and commercial facilities [...]
TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hillcrest Community Environmental Investigation
TCEQ Web Site, March 1, 2010
"The Hillcrest Community Environmental Investigation will attempt to determine whether there are environmental impacts from volatile organic compounds to soil, groundwater, or ambient air in the Hillcrest community and adjacent areas."
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TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - AGENDAS AND WORK SESSIONS
Commissioners' March 10, 2010 Meeting Agenda
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TCEQ Web Site
Commissioners' February 24, 2010 Agenda Meeting Webcast
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TexasAdmin.com
TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - NEWS REPORTS
Air
Editorial: Don't Ask, Don't Smell
Houston Chronicle, February 28, 2010
"The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has worked hard to earn its reputation as a lazy watchdog."
Regulators, Industry Debate Smog Standards
Houston Chronicle, February 25, 2010
"The top EPA administrator in Texas told state lawmakers Thursday that industries could do more to reduce smog-forming emissions, and insisted the federal government is not interested in 'backyard barbecues or leaf blowers' as it pursues more stringent standards for air pollution."
City Rebuffed by State Over Refinery Air Permit
Houston Chronicle, February 24, 2010
"Texas regulators rejected Houston's plea for a public hearing before renewing the air pollution permit of the city's largest refinery for 10 years Wednesday, illustrating what some say are flaws in state environmental law."
Gov. Rick Perry to EPA: Don't Mess With Texas
NPR Web Site, February 19, 2010
"The Environmental Protection Agency has kicked a proverbial fire ant mound in Texas."
City's Smog Concerns May Choke Power Plant
Houston Chronicle, February 18, 2010
"A proposed coal-fired power plant in mostly rural Matagorda County, 90 miles from the traffic-choked freeways and smokestacks of Houston, has moved to the center of the debate over the big city's air.
Range Flares Rayzor Well
Denton Record-Chronicle, February 18, 2010
"Bill Carter crested the hill at McKenna Park on Thursday morning, his pet sheltie in tow, and saw a towering flame rising from the Rayzor Ranch property."
TCEQ Approves Fines Totaling $440,018
TCEQ Web Site, February 24, 2010
"The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality today approved penalties totaling $440,018 against 67 regulated entities for violations of state environmental regulations."
Permitting
Concrete Plant Defies Residents' Wishes
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, February 26, 2010
"A concrete company has a green light to build a facility in the Guadalupe Neighborhood despite residents' complaints the facility could pose health risks."
Regulatory Developments
What's New in TCEQ Rules
TCEQ Web Site, February 26, 2010
State Aims to Make Groundwater Rules More Uniform
Austin American-Statesman, February 28, 2010
"With the population of Central Texas booming, water has become the chief maker or breaker of development."
Two-year Texas Drought Ends
San Antonio Express-News, February 19, 2010
"The drought that blistered Texas for the last two years has ended, thanks
to El Niño rain patterns, the National Weather Service says."
Who Owns Groundwater in the Aquifer?
San Antonio Express-News, February 18, 2010
"AUSTIN - The ownership and control of groundwater pumping rights in
Texas is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court."
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Notice of Availability, Draft Guidance, 'Consideration of the Effects of Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions'
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74 Federal Register 8046, February 23, 2010
Notice of Availability, Draft Guidance, Establishing, Applying, and Revising Categorical Exclusions Under the National Environmental Policy Act
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74 Federal Register 8045, February 23, 2010
Notice of Availability, Draft Guidance, 'NEPA Mitigation and Monitoring'
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74 Federal Register 8046, February 23, 2010
EPA REGION 6
EPA Official Focuses on Formulas, not Feelings
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 20, 2010
"FORT WORTH - Al Armendariz has long been at odds with Texas environmental regulators."
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EPA
Intent to Consider Lifting Administrative Stay, Hydrogen Sulfide; Community Right-to-
Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting
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74 Federal Register 8889, February 26, 2010
Proposed Rule, Testing of Certain High Production Volume Chemicals; Third Group of Chemicals
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74 Federal Register 8575, February 25, 2010
Extension of Public Comment Period, a Framework for Categorizing the Relative Vulnerability of Threatened and Endangered Species to Climate Change
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74 Federal Register 8053, February 23, 2010
EPA Lays Out Timetable for Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Washington Post, February 23, 2010
"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson laid out the timetable for regulating greenhouse gas emissions Monday, writing in a letter to lawmakers that she plans to start targeting large facilities such as power plants next year but won't target small emitters before 2016."
Administrator Jackson Sends Letter to Senators
EPA Web Site, February 22, 2010
"WASHINGTON – U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson issued a letter responding to a letter sent to her the evening of February 19 by eight U.S. Senators asking about the agency’s plans for 2010."
EPA Increases Transparency of Proposed Regulations
EPA Web Site, February 18, 2010
"WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new Web site giving the public additional opportunity to participate in the agency’s rulemaking process, demonstrating President Obama’s commitment to more transparent and open government."
Final Rule Reduces Air Toxics From Existing Stationary Diesel Engines
EPA Web Site, February 18, 2010
"WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is setting the first standards that will reduce emissions of formaldehyde, benzene, acrolein and other toxic air pollutants from certain stationary diesel engines."
Two Republicans Compete for Railroad Commission as Pivotal Year Approaches
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 22, 2010
"The agency that helped kindle the Barnett Shale natural gas boom is headed for a transformational year."
Stick With Incumbent Carrillo at Railroad Commission
Austin American-Statesman, February 22, 2010
"When Republican Victor Carrillo was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission in 2003, he said he wasn't interested in using that post as a launch pad for higher office."
OTHER TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Oil Drilling Project Approved Within Sherman City Limits
Herald Democrat, March 1, 2010
"SHERMAN - City councilors walked a tightrope between competing property owner rights and gave neighbors of an oil and gas drilling company some protections on Monday."
Lyondell, U.S. Said to Settle Dispute Over Cleanup of Sites
Houston Chronicle, February 26, 2010
"Lyondell Chemical Co.'s bid to shed some environmental claims brought by the U.S. will be settled without going before a federal district court judge, a person familiar with the negotiations said."
Environmental Group Launches 'Drill Right Texas' Campaign
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 25, 2010
"An environmental group kicked off a campaign Wednesday to make natural gas drilling friendlier to surrounding residents and to the environment in Texas."
More Apologies From Pasadena Plant
abc13.com, February 24, 2010
"PASADENA, TX (KTRK) - We're hearing repeated apologies from officials of a Pasadena chemical plant for their lax response to a toxic chemical release, and a pledge to make things right."
Study: Warming to Bring Stronger Hurricanes
San Antonio Express-News, February 24, 2010
"WASHINGTON - Top researchers now agree that the world is likely to get stronger but fewer hurricanes in the future because of global warming, seeming to settle a scientific debate on the subject."
House Panel to Investigate Impact of Hydraulic Fracturing on Groundwater
Dallas Morning News, February 19, 2010
"WASHINGTON – Leaders of a powerful House committee announced Thursday that they would investigate whether gas producers in areas such as North Texas have injected diesel fuel or other toxic fluids underground that could pose a threat to drinking water sources."
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Out of Control: Mounting Damages From Coal Ash Waste Sites
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Environmental Integrity Project Web Site, February 24, 2010
"This report brings to light 31 coal combustion waste sites that are known to have contaminated groundwater, wetlands, creeks, or rivers in 14 states: Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia."
Review of EPA's Proposed RTR Risk Assessment Methods With 2 Case Studies-Petroleum Refining Sources & Portland Cement Manufacturing
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EPA Science Advisory Board Web Page, February 17, 2010
"This draft document, hereafter referred to as the Agency’s draft RTR document, describes EPA’s proposed methodology for assessing residual risk from industrial emissions of hazardous air pollutants."
The Texas Economy: How Would Climate Change Legislation Impact Economic Growth and Jobs?
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Texas Public Policy Foundation Web Site, February 2010
"This paper describes recent economic and energy trends in Texas and provides details on the impact of federal climate bills such as the Waxman-Markey bill on the state."
Will Border Carbon Adjustments Work?
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MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change Web Site, February 2010
"There has been longstanding concern about the competitiveness and leakage effects when some countries implement emissions reductions policies while others do not."
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