Environmental Insider News articles from November 2002

Environmental Insider News archives from November 2002

Cooke Gets Tired of Waiting.
November 12, 2002... After waiting for two years for the Bush Administration to find someone to take his job, EPA Region 6 Administrator Gregg Cooke got tired of waiting and announced his resignation, which will be effective as of January 3, 2003. Texas Commission...

EPA Stalls TCEQ's Permit Timeframe Reduction Project.
November 12, 2002... TCEQ staffers have given up on three proposed contracts with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that were to help its water quality permit reduction project. Otherwise, the permit timeframe reduction project is moving along swiftly and...

Cumulative Risk Project Moves Forward.
November 12, 2002... One of the most controversial provisions of the TCEQ Sunset legislation [House Bill 2912, 77th Legislature, 2001] was section 1.12, which added section 5.130 to the Water Code. That provision requires the Commission (1) to develop and implement...

Cherry Blossoms.
November 12, 2002... Mitchells Give $10 Million to National Academies The National Academies on November 7 announced that Houston philanthropist George Mitchell and the George and Cynthia Mitchell Foundation have given $10 million, which is to be augmented with...

Bluebonnets.
November 12, 2002... Ready for Reuse at Brooks? The former Brooks Air Force Base, now known as Brooks City-Base, has won the second ever "Ready for Reuse" technical determination issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a Texas facility. The...

Gregg Cooke Update - and More.
November 14, 2002... Departing EPA Region 6 Administrator Gregg Cooke says he is looking forward to making an announcement within the next few weeks that he will be remaining in Dallas after leaving EPA. Cooke says he plans to become affiliated with a 501(c)(3)...

TWDB-TSSWCB Water Conservation Study.
November 14, 2002... Pursuant to Senate Bill 312 [77th Legislature, 2001], the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board conducted a joint study of ways to improve or expand water conservation efforts in Texas. The report,...

Climate Change Confab in Washington.
November 14, 2002... The U.S. Climate Change Science Program was created in February 2002 as a new management structure charged with coordinating and directing U.S. research efforts in the areas of climate and global change. These efforts include the U.S. Global...

TCEQ's View on NEPT: Don't Stifle the Public.
November 22, 2002... TCEQ has filed comments on the August 13 EPA proposed rules for the National Environmental Performance Track that include reporting MACT (maximum achievable compliance technology) reporting incentives; incentives for publicly owned treatment...

Cherry Blossoms.
November 22, 2002... Acid Rain Program Leading to Blue Skies EPA Administrator Christie Whitman on November 19 announced the release of a report that further documents ongoing trends of significantly reduced emissions stemming from EPA's Acid Rain Program, the...

Bluebonnets.
November 22, 2002... State of the Oil and Gas Industry The Railroad Commission of Texas will host the 53rd Annual State of the Oil and Gas Industry Meeting in Austin on December 4. Chairman Michael Williams says that this year's meeting will consider such...

Cornyn Slams El Paso on Open Records.
November 26, 2002... In one of his last acts as Texas Attorney General, newly elected Senator John Cornyn on November 19 [via letter opinion OR2002-6611] ordered the city of El Paso to provide attorneys for ASARCO, Inc., with copies of "notes, documents, memoranda,...

BFI Wins, Loses in San Antonio.
November 26, 2002... The Third Court of Appeals (Austin) has ruled that BFI Waste Systems of North America, Inc., can continue to expand its Tessman Road Landfill in San Antonio over the next half century, but the company must devise a more detailed site operating...

Water Resources Panel Reports.
November 26, 2002... The Joint Interim Committee on Water Resources has issued its Report to the 78th Legislature, and the 93-page document is chock full of recommendations for future action. Of particular interest is that both co-chairs - state senator J. E....

El Paso Electric Cross-Border Project OK'ed.
November 26, 2002... The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has granted approval to El Paso Electric Company to undertake a novel international emission control project that will facilitate a dramatic reduction of air pollution in the air basin shared by El...

Cherry Blossoms.
November 26, 2002... Caught Cop Killer Did It as a Protest The New Hampshire arrest of suspected cop killer Andrew McCrae led to the revelation of the 23-year-old McCrae's environmental extremist rationale for the slaying of Red Bluff, California, officer...