joint groundwater report - Texas Commission on Environmental ...

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The <strong>report</strong> further provides the status of documented <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination reasonably suspected ofhaving been caused by activities regulated by state agencies. Groundwater contamination is broadly definedin the <strong>report</strong> as any detrimental alteration of the naturally occurring quality of <strong>groundwater</strong>. It is limited,however, to contamination suspected of being associated with activities under the jurisdiction of thecontributing agencies and affecting usable-quality <strong>groundwater</strong>. Naturally occurring <strong>groundwater</strong> conditions,such as a high degree of mineralization which may exceed established standards for public supplies ofdrinking water, are not included. The scope of the <strong>report</strong> is further limited to <strong>groundwater</strong> contaminationwhich has been documented and to cases which are of relatively recent origin or are currently underenforcement action of some kind. Historical cases of documented contamination have not been includedunless enforcement action is still pending.The <strong>report</strong> provides technical and administrative agency file numbers and file locations for <strong>groundwater</strong>contamination cases, field office locations, and agency contacts to assist interested users of the <strong>report</strong> inobtaining or reviewing case-specific data. In addition, the <strong>report</strong> provides background information onmonitoring and regulatory rules and policies. This information is compiled to assist the public and statepolicy makers in interpreting the current status of <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination in the state and the degree ofstate agency response.The <strong>report</strong> satisfies the legislative intent of §26.406 of the <strong>Texas</strong> Water Code, but must be interpreted in lightof the specific geographic constraints and the specific enforcement authorities and procedures of eachcontributing entity. The conclusions regarding <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination and the specific enforcementactions taken have been made by each individual agency and are not subject to the review of the TGPC.Notification to Local Officials and PublicInformationThis <strong>report</strong> is compiled and made available to the public to provide the annual status of <strong>groundwater</strong>monitoring associated with state agency activities and the annual status of documented <strong>groundwater</strong>contamination reasonably suspected of having been caused by those activities. Monitoring is discussed in theindividual program descriptions and a tabulation of all <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination cases documented orunder enforcement during 1997 are listed. State law (§26.406 of the <strong>Texas</strong> Water Code) requires the agencieswhich have <strong>groundwater</strong> protection responsibilities maintain a public file of all documented cases of<strong>groundwater</strong> contamination. This information is a matter of public record and is available for public reviewby arrangement with each agency.Table 1 identifies cases for which the TNRCC is required, by §5.236 of the <strong>Texas</strong> Water Code, to providenotice to local officials regarding <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination which may affect drinking water supplies intheir area. This <strong>report</strong> serves as the TNRCC’s secondary notice to local officials regarding newly confirmedcases meeting this criteria. This <strong>report</strong> addresses the requirement of §5.236 of the <strong>Texas</strong> Water Code bydistinguishing new cases of contamination (since the compilation of the previous <strong>report</strong>) which have affectedor could potentially affect drinking water supplies. The <strong>report</strong> is provided to county judges and county healthentities to supply information on <strong>groundwater</strong> impacts to drinking water supplies within the county. Section5.236 cases are identified in the <strong>report</strong> only for the year the case was <strong>report</strong>ed. There are 20 §5.236 casesidentified in Table 1.2
Groundwater ProtectionThe regulatory protection of <strong>groundwater</strong> is primarily the responsibility of the TNRCC. Certain activitiesrequiring the regulatory protection of <strong>groundwater</strong> are under the jurisdiction of the Railroad <strong>Commission</strong> of<strong>Texas</strong>, the <strong>Texas</strong> Department of Agriculture, and the <strong>Texas</strong> State Soil and Water Conservation Board. The<strong>Texas</strong> Alliance of Groundwater Districts, as an organization, has no regulatory or enforcement mandate, butindividual <strong>groundwater</strong> districts may have limited authorities for action with regard to <strong>groundwater</strong>contamination. The <strong>Texas</strong> Water Development Board has certain monitoring responsibilities with regard to<strong>groundwater</strong> characterization and planning, but is not authorized to regulate activities which may contaminate<strong>groundwater</strong>. The <strong>Texas</strong> Agricultural Experiment Station and the Bureau of Economic Geology conductresearch activities related to <strong>groundwater</strong>.The state’s <strong>groundwater</strong> protection policy (§26.401 of the <strong>Texas</strong> Water Code) sets out nondegradation of thestate's <strong>groundwater</strong> resources as the goal for all state programs. The policy recognizes the variability of thestate's aquifers, the importance of maintaining water quality for existing and potential uses, the protection ofthe environment and the public health and welfare, and the maintenance and enhancement of the long-termeconomic health of the state. This goal of nondegradation does not mean zero-contaminant discharge. The useof the best professional judgement by the responsible state agencies in attaining the goal and policy is alsorecognized.The TGPC recognized that <strong>groundwater</strong> classification is an important tool to be used in the implementationof the state's <strong>groundwater</strong> protection policy and developed such a system for use by state agencies. Throughclassification, the <strong>groundwater</strong>s in the state can be categorized and protection or restoration measures canthen be specified by member agencies according to the quality and present or potential use of the<strong>groundwater</strong>.The state's policy on <strong>groundwater</strong> contamination is that the quality should be restored if feasible. Recognizingthis situation, the state's policy requires that <strong>groundwater</strong> be kept reasonably free of contaminants that wouldinterfere with present uses or impair future uses of <strong>groundwater</strong>. In response, the TGPC has developed anapproach which focuses on protection of <strong>groundwater</strong> for its highest quality use, related to human health andthe environment, and which addresses the cost of available remediation technologies.Groundwater MonitoringThe <strong>groundwater</strong> monitoring programs of the participating agencies generally fall within one of threecategories: regulatory agencies requiring or conducting monitoring to assure compliance with guidelines andregulations for the protection of <strong>groundwater</strong> from discharges of contaminants; agencies or entitiesconducting monitoring to assess ambient or existing <strong>groundwater</strong> quality conditions and to track changes inwater quality over time; and agencies or entities conducting research activities related to <strong>groundwater</strong>resources and <strong>groundwater</strong> conservation. Detailed monitoring program descriptions are given in each agency'sor entity's section in the chapter entitled Groundwater Protection Program Descriptions.Each regulatory agency which requires or conducts <strong>groundwater</strong> monitoring to assure compliance withguidelines and regulations to protect <strong>groundwater</strong> from discharges of contaminants has its own monitoringprogram requirements and procedures. The criteria used to assess the need for <strong>groundwater</strong> monitoring varyamong the regulatory entities. There are fifteen programs in three agencies monitoring changes in3
Page 5: Table of ContentsACRONYMS .........
Page 8 and 9: ACRONYMSAgencies, Divisions, and Pr
Page 12 and 13: groundwater qualit
Page 14 and 15: Describing an agency's enforcement
Page 16 and 17: Figure 2a. Groundwater Contaminatio
Page 19 and 20: GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONThe following
Page 21 and 22: core program compliance, thus provi
Page 23 and 24: ability to remove or treat all cont
Page 25 and 26: approach that will expedite remedia
Page 27 and 28: Reporting Unauthorized Discharges a
Page 29 and 30: county judges and county health ent
Page 31 and 32: USER’S GUIDEThe remaining portion
Page 33 and 34: Figure 3. Contamination Case Descri
Page 35 and 36: Figure 4. Enforcement Status Matrix
Page 37 and 38: Activity Status CodesOnce g
Page 39 and 40: GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONPROGRAM DESCR
Page 41 and 42: Status of Groundwater Monitoring Pr
Page 43 and 44: Industrial and Hazardous Waste Divi
Page 45 and 46: Since 1975, when the first Class II
Page 47 and 48: supplies from IHW's Class I Undergr
Page 49 and 50: 29 chemical parameters. Subsequent
Page 51 and 52: due to completed action from this a
Page 53 and 54: Status of Groundwater Monitoring Pr
Page 55 and 56: state agencies which have jurisdict
Page 57: systems have 8,131 entry points sup
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Figure 7. Texas Wa
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The RCT also responds to citizen co
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aquifers and stream baseflow. At th
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Texas Department o
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Texas State Soil a
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Texas Alliance of
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Prior to the plugging of six monito
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egan a research study of the fresh
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High Plains Underground Water Conse
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Hill Country Underground Water Cons
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An artesian brine aquifer called th
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Plateau Underground Water Conservat
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effort will allow the district to c
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and methods to better evaluate wher
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Texas Department o
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Table 1Texas Natur
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TABLE 1GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION CA
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Table 2Railroad Commission<
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Table 3Texas Allia
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APPENDICESAppendix 1. Texas
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Appendix 1. Texas
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Texas State Soil a
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Appendix 2. Texas
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Appendix 3. Groundwater Classificat
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Figure 15. Groundwater Classificati
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Appendix 4. Texas
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Appendix 5. TNRCC Spill Prevention
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working days of the discovery of th
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A-19
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A-21
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Appendix 7. Agency and District Con
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Edwards Aquifer AuthorityEmerald Un
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Appendix 8. Agency Central Records
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Appendix 9. Other Reports and Publi
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impact on the quality of the state'
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This report docume
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