Guidance for Conducting Ecological Risk Assessments at Remediation Sites in Texas

This guidance outlines the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission's (TNRCC) ecological risk assessment (ERA) program and provides a description of the interface of the ERA program with both the Risk Reduction Rule (30 TAC 335) and the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) Rule (30 TAC 350). This guidance also discussed the interactions of the ERA process with the ecological services analysis process and the role that the Natural Resource Trustee agencies play in both under 30 TAC 7.124. This guidance itself is not a rule. Rather, it replaces the draft guidance placed on the commission's web site in August 2000. The purpose of this guidance is to promote the development of consistent and technically definsible ERAs that are submitted under TNRCC's remediation programs. This guidance may also be used to gain technical advice and insight as to how the commission may evaluate an issue when considering particular facts and circumstances. Within this guidance, a three-tiered approach with several exit points is incorporated that provides the freedom to prepare and submit information that is commensurate with the degree of environmental concern present. TNRCC recognizes that there are additional ERA methodolgies described in other guidance documents that are readily available; and in fact, this guidance is partially patterned after some of these. However, when conducting an ERA under a TNRCC remediation program, the person is strongly encouraged to use this particular guidance, as it has been developed/adapted especially for Texas by a multi-stakeholder ecological workshop. Use of other ERA guidance may be allowed, but only with prior TNRCC approval. Furthermore, nothing set forth herein prevents commission staff from varying this guidance as dictated by the specific facts and circumstances for a particular ERA.