Title
Consider/Discuss/Act on an Ordinance Creating a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) as Requested by International Paper Company to Prohibit the Use of the Groundwater Beneath the Property Located at 2050 Couch Drive
Summary
MEETING DATE: February 04, 2014
DEPARTMENT: Development Services-Engineering
CONTACT: Kyle Odom, Environmental Engineering Manager
Annita McCormick, Storm Water Management Specialist
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
· Approval of the proposed ordinance.
ITEM SUMMARY:
· This Ordinance supports a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) for a property located at 2050 Couch Drive, approximately 1,100 feet south of Industrial Blvd, bounded to the east by Couch Drive, and to the west by a Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail line. A TCEQ certified MSD requires an ordinance and restrictive covenant that prohibits potable use of the property's associated underlying groundwater.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
· Due to potential groundwater contamination, International Paper Company is seeking an MSD for this site.
· HB 3152 created the opportunity for tracts of land to be classified with a "Municipal Setting Designation" by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the local governing body when faced with groundwater investigations and response action requirements.
· The applicant will conduct an Environmental Site Assessment of the tract to identify the presence of potential pollutants or contaminants that present an actual or potential threat to human health as required by the TCEQ.
· The MSD ordinance will require the applicant to file a deed restriction, prohibiting the use of groundwater associated with the specific site for any purpose except those items as detailed in Section 3 of the ordinance.
· An MSD is appropriate only at locations currently served by a public water supply and where there are no existing or proposed groundwater wells.
· The TCEQ will not certify an MSD without municipal support via an ordinance restricting the use of groundwater at the MSD property, or a resolution supporting the filing of a restrictive covenant prohibiting the same.
· Upon certification of an MSD, the property is still subject to Texas Health and Safety Code §361.808 pertaining to solid waste, hazardous waste, public safety and the environment.
· Further, the MSD does not eliminate any requirements that may be enforced by the State concerning non-consumptive use/effects of contaminated groundwater.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
· McKinney has in the past approved MSD ordinances consistent with this request.
· Other municipalities in the region have various MSD ordinances, including Dallas and Fort Worth.
· Without providing support to this or future appropriate MSD applications, redevelopment or transfer of ownership of these properties becomes more difficult.
· This Ordinance may be repealed if TCEQ denies the MSD application for any reason or if the owner does not move forward with the TCEQ application as described in the ordinance.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
· All expenses associated with the MSD application or costs associated with any potential State required remediation will be borne solely by the MSD applicant.
BOARD OR COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION:
· N/A