Banks has been the leader in Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) application research since the status was authorized by the Texas Legislature in 2003. A successful MSD application is an official designation that classifies the groundwater beneath a property as contaminated and prohibited from being used for agriculture, irrigation or human consumption.

The MSD application process is overseen by the Remediation division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The TCEQ requires applicants to identify all water well owners within five miles of the MSD property and provide notification to each well owner. The full MSD process is outlined by the TCEQ in the MSD Supporting Checklist (page 5).