Environmental News and Views Vol. 15

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Environmental News and Views! This is a content series made up of several updates on what is happening. If you have not already done so, check out the previous volumes in the “Featured” Section of my LinkedIn profile.

It’s been almost a month since my last article. I traveled to Montpelier, VT, for a meeting of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission; and a week later to Baltimore for a meeting of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum. This streak of peripatetic living is at an end for now, thank goodness. 

Much has been happening--let us get to it!

 THE LEAD—TCEQ Public Involvement Planning Starts November 1st. First, a quick refresher….

On December 4, 2019, EPA accepted for investigation a Title VI complaint alleging that TCEQ discriminated against individuals with limited English proficiency in its permitting and public engagement programs. EPA’s investigation resulted in an “informal agreement” wherein TCEQ committed to rulemaking and other operational changes to enhance public participation in permitting. One outcome was a new rule, which took effect on May 1, 2022, that expanded alternative language notice and translation requirements in TCEQ’s public notice rules. Another was a commitment by the TCEQ to develop a Language Access Plan and a Public Participation Plan. 

One feature of the latter, and my focus here, is a requirement that certain applicants develop a “public involvement plan” if their authorization goes to notice (regardless of whether such notice is covered by TCEQ’s Chapter 39 rules). The plan will have to be completed by an applicant and submitted with the application. It will be required for new applications and/or new activities requiring notice, the application would be considered as having “significant public interest,” and the facility is located in the following geographic locations:

·       Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA

·       San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall MSA

·       Dallas-Fort Worth MSA

·       Midland-Odessa MSA

·       San Angelo MSA

·       Amarillo-Pampa-Borger MSA

·       Houston-The Woodlands MSA

·       All counties along the Texas-Mexico Border

·       Areas determined on a case-by-case basis

Examples of authorizations include (but are not limited to):

·       Initial NSR case-by-case permit

·       Initial air quality standard permit

·       New facility being added to an air permit

·       An MSW greenfield site

·       Addition of a new waste management unit at an IHW facility

·       Changes to a Radioactive Materials license

·       New activities under a UIC permit

·       Water Quality and Water Rights Permits

The agency has issued guidance, and here’s the form applicants will need to use starting November 1st. The guidance steps you through the multi-part analysis to determine applicability.

In related news, the TCEQ has also scheduled in-person stakeholder meetings as promised under the Informal Agreement. See the calendar notes below.

Concrete Batch Plant Standard Permit. TCEQ has also announced that it is considering changes to the Air Quality Standard Permit for Concrete Batch Plants. The agency will be holding stakeholder meetings in Austin (November 9th), Houston (November 14th), and Arlington (November 15th). 

The agency hopes to publish any changes February 10, 2023, and adopted said changes (after considering comments, of course) on August 25, 2023. A major item to watch for will be the deadline for existing facilities to come into compliance or do something else (e.g., get an individual permit).

TCEQ’s LBB Hearing. One thing I missed during travel was TCEQ’s lay-out of its LAR before staff of the LBB on September 26th. Quite notably, TCEQ is requesting, as an exceptional item, $72 million for targeted pay increases in high-turnover positions. 

I watched the archive, and there was pretty sobering stuff, to wit:

·       61 percent of resignations are by employees who have been with the agency less than four (4) years;

·       Natural Resource Specialist, Engineering Specialist, and Geoscientist positions combined represent over 60 percent of vacancies;

·       The agency’s losing attorneys to other state agencies; and

·       The agency has 442 vacancies.

I think one thing we can all agree one (and I do mean everyone, regardless of where they are on the policy spectrum) is that we want experienced permit writers, compliance specialists, and investigators. As someone who used to hire people for TCEQ, the stat on how long many people stay got my attention. The big culprit, of course, is pay, particularly in cities like Austin.

On a more personal note, I spent many happy (and hopefully productive) years at TCEQ, many of those leading and hiring other people, so like I said—sobering.

Good Reads. There have been two recent, thoughtful pieces on our impending energy and climate predicament I also found sobering. First up is Ross Douthat’s New York Times column from October 15th describing the inherent contradictions of climate activism. I can gift this article, so here it is, from me to you!

Another is by Emmet Penney in The Spectator. In “The West is on the Road to Energy Ruin,” he calmly dismantles the argument that anything we’re dealing with now energy-wise is “Putin’s” this or that. There are in fact many reasons, as any non-binary thinker would understand, for what is happening in Europe and could very well happen here. In fact, there could be issues here just as energy policymakers in certain states are pushing for more electrification. Penney has some thoughts, including the role nuclear can play. Check it out.

Supremes Open with an Environmental Case. The Supreme Court kicked-off its very first session of the current term on October 3rd by taking oral arguments on Sackett V. EPA. Many, many smarter people are watching this, so I’ll just say that it concerns what can be regulated under the Federal Clean Water Act, specifically what is the proper test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” under the CWA. The Sacketts feel aggrieved that EPA told them they could not develop their property, so lots of blue chip issues with this one.

I listened to some of the arguments, and the whole transcript can be found here. Expect a decision by June of 2023.

On the Calendar. 

TCEQ Stakeholder Meetings on Public Participation, November 1st in Houston, and November 2nd in Pasadena. Click here, then expand the tab labeled “Informal Resolution Agreement with EPA and Stakeholder Meetings” for details.

TCEQ Stakeholder Meetings on the Concrete Batch Plant Standard Permit November 9th, 14th, and 15th. Click here for more information.

Sunset Commission Hearing, including decisions on TCEQ and the Compact Commission, November 10th

Prefiling of bills for the 88th Texas Legislature starts November 14th.

The 88th Texas Legislature convenes on January 10, 2023.

The last day to file bills (the 60-day deadline) is March 10, 2023.

The Regular Session adjourns May 29, 2023.

The First Called session begins ??? (just kidding…maybe).

Thanks for reading everyone!

xxx