Manager's Welcome
This is the January issue of the Houston-Galveston Area Council's (H-GAC's) Community and Environmental Planning (C&E) E-newsletter. We hope this monthly newsletter will keep you up to date on the wide variety of community planning, economic development and environmental planning programs going on at H-GAC. We want this information to be useful and are very interested in your feedback! If you have any questions about any of our programs, please feel free to contact me at 713-993-4560 or Jeff.Taebel@h-gac.com. To unsubscribe, add another subscriber or offer any comments on the e-newsletter, please e-mail cep_news@h-gac.com. To view the current and past editions of the e-newsletter, please visit:
www.h-gac.com/CEeNewsletter Please click on the links below to view information regarding each topic. IN THIS ISSUE
Humana Accepting Applications for Large Grants
2007 National Wetlands Award Applications Available - Deadline Extended
H-GAC Rita Restoration Program
TWDB Deadline Fast Approaching
Biodiesel Facilities Popping Up Across the Region
Wal-Mart Hopes to Sell 100M florescent bulbs in 2007 H-GAC MEETING NOTICES
Trash Bash Steering Committee Meeting
Texas Watch Certified Monitoring Training
H-GAC Regional Flood Management Council
Failing Septic System Initiative Study Results - Public Meeting
Environmental Enforcement Roundtable
Solid Waste Management Committee
Clean Rivers Program Regional Monitoring Workgroup
OTHER MEETING NOTICES
State of the Bay Symposium
2007 Texas Environmental Law Enforcement Association Conference IN THIS ISSUE
Humana Accepting Applications for Large Grants
"Houston Benefits," a Humana charitable giving program, will make a one-time, $100,000 grant to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the Houston metropolitan area that is doing valuable work to benefit the people of Houston. Any not-for-profit organization that needs help in reaching its goals in the following categories (excluding political, social, religious, labor, or veteran's organizations) may apply.
Mind: projects or institutions that seek to improve the educational landscape resulting in higher levels of achievement
Body: projects or human service agencies engaged in the promotion of healthy bodies and lifestyles
Spirit: projects or civic & cultural development organizations that seek to inspire communities and enliven the human spirit.
For details, go to http://apps.humana.com/egroups/houstonbenefits/home.asp
Back to Top Deadline for submitting nominations for the 2007 National Wetlands Awards Program has been extended!
The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2007 National Wetlands Awards Program has been extended. Nomination forms are now due January 15, 2007 (postmarked). The Awards Program honors individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of our nation?s wetlands. Take time to recognize exceptional individual achievement in wetlands conservation by submitting a nomination for a 2007 National Wetlands Award today. The 2007 Awards will be given in six categories: Education and Outreach; Science Research; Conservation and Restoration; Landowner Stewardship; State, Tribal, and Local Program Development; and Wetland Community Leader. For more information or to submit a nomination, please visit http://www2.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm
Back to Top H-GAC Rita Restoration Program
H-GAC is working with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to implement the H-GAC Rita Restoration Program. The program is designed to address unmet housing needs that arose from damage resulting from Hurricane Rita, which made landfall on September 24, 2005. Program priorities include special needs populations (especially the elderly and disabled); low income and poverty-stricken households; households with major or severe damage; and households that cannot draw on other sources of funding.
Participation in the program is limited and specific eligibility requirements apply. Eligible households must be low to moderate income, be the owner of the home (rental homes are ineligible), live in an eligible area, and not able to receive assistance from FEMA, insurance or other sources of support. The home must have existing damage related to Hurricane Rita and be the primary residence of the homeowner. Examples of typical repairs include: roof replacement or repair, window replacement, mold abatement, major rehabilitation, and in some cases reconstruction. Homeowners in eight counties are eligible for assistance including: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Walker counties.
Hurricane Rita affected our entire region, but many, especially those in the eastern part of the region, are still living in homes that sustained damage. We are eager to get the H-GAC Rita Restoration Program underway to help those who have been dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Rita for more than one year. Our intent is to serve households with the greatest need.
H-GAC is currently scheduling field days throughout the affected parts of our region. Our first field day will be at Dayton City Hall on January 9, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. and in Cleveland at the Tri-County MHMR on January 18 at 9: a.m. Application forms, announcements on upcoming field days, and other information can be viewed at www.h-gacritarestore.com. Additional information can also be obtained via our toll free hotline, 1-877-442-2777.
Staff Contact is Chuck Wemple, Housing & Economic Development Coordinator 713-993-4514 or cwemple@h-gac.com.
Back to Top TWDB Deadline Fast Approaching
The Texas Water Development Board deadline to receive projects for inclusion in the FY 2008 Drinking Water and Clean Water Intended Use Plans. Inclusion in the IUP will make communities eligible for low interest loans from TWDB for drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment systems. Letters to TWDB from entities desiring to participate are due in January and completed forms regarding projects are due to TWDB post marked no later than February 16, 2007. For additional information and necessary forms please go to the TWDB web site at www.twdb.state.tx.us/assistance/financial/financial_main.asp or call TWDB at 512-463-0991
Back to Top Biodiesel Facilities Popping Up Across the Region Houston Biodiesel LLC intends to construct a state of the art biodiesel processing plant at the existing LBC Houston Bayport terminal on Galveston Bay adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel. The site is approximately five acres in size and located along the northern edge of Seabrook on land currently used for industrial activity. The plant will have a production capacity of 30 million gallons per year of pure biodiesel (B100) using refined soybean oil as the raw material. In addition to soybean oil, the plant is capable of processing other refined plant oils such as canola or palm and can be retrofitted to process a variety of lower quality feedstocks such as recycled restaurant grease. Primary products will be pure biodiesel, biodiesel/petrodiesel blends and crude glycerin. Five major biodiesel projects have been announced within our region during the past year, including facilities in El Campo, Dayton, Texas City, Galveston, and the Houston Biodiesel LLC project near Seabrook. To learn more about these projects, contact Chuck Wemple at 713-993-4514 or cwemple@h-gac.com
Back to Top Wal-Mart hopes to sell 100M fluorescent bulbs by end of ´07
Wal-Mart said it plans to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs by the end of next year, a move that will cut 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.The bulbs also will save $3 billion in electrical costs over the life of the bulbs, which are typically much longer than conventional bulbs. The compact fluorescent light bulbs will be available at both Wal-Mart and Sam´s Club locations. Converting a single 60-watt bulb to a 13-watt compact fluorescent bulb can save $30 in electrical costs, 220 pounds of coal from being burned and 450 pounds of greenhouse gases.
Back to Top H-GAC MEETING NOTICES Trash Bash Steering Committee Meeting
January 9, 2007
10:00 a.m. - Noon
Conference Room C, 2nd Floor
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027
For more information, Jean Wright at 713-499-6660 or contact jwright@h-gac.com.
Back to Top Texas Watch Certified Monitoring Training
Phase I and Phase II
for interested volunteers
January 13, 2007 9:00am to 4:00pm
Christia Adair Park, 15107 Cullen Blvd
located in South Central Houston
near Beltway 8 and 288 Texas Watch Training is free
You MUST Pre-Register
Call: 832-681-2516 or Email: gayla.stock@h-gac.com
What Is TEXAS WATCH?
Texas Watch is a network of trained volunteers and supportive partners working together to gather information about the natural resources of Texas and to ensure the information is available to all Texans. Volunteers are trained to collect quality-assured information that can be used to make environmentally sound decisions. Established in 1991, Texas Watch is administered through a cooperative partnership between Texas State University, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently, over 400 Texas Watch volunteers collect water quality data on lakes, rivers, and streams. Volunteers complete three phases of training using a test kit that measures physical and chemical parameters in water.
Volunteers are asked to monitor their site(s) monthly at the same time of day each month, for a two year commitment. Monitoring takes approximately one to two hours.
Phase I Training is a hands-on in a classroom setting.
Phase II Training provides the volunteers the opportunity to conduct the monitoring procedures in the field.
Phase III Training is conducted as a one-on-one session with a Trainer and each volunteer at their monitoring site.
Back to Top H-GAC Regional Flood Management Council
January 17, 2007
1:30-3:30 PM
Conference Room A, Second Floor
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027
For additional information please contact Carl Masterson at 713-993-4561 or cmasterson@h-gac.com. Failing Septic System Initiative Study Results - Public Meeting
January 17, 2007
Northeast Community Center
10918 1/2 Bentley
Houston TX, 77093
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), Harris County Precinct 2 (HCPC2) and the Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) will host a public meeting to discuss results of the Failing Septic System Initiative study in Westfield Estates. Staff from H-GAC, HCPC2, and GBEP present to discuss the study and respond to questions from the public. The main purpose of the meeting is report the results of the study and provide area residents, businesses, realtors, and homebuilders the opportunity to discuss correction strategies. In addition, the meeting sponsors will have information on the proper care and maintenance of septic systems that will help individuals protect public health and the environment in the community. Westfield Estates is a well-established community in North Harris County with sewer service provided by septic systems. Bacterial contamination from old or failing systems may pose a problem. Contamination, along with pressures from regional population growth and flooding threaten the water quality of adjacent Halls Bayou.The public meeting is the final phase of a study covering the Westfield Estates and surrounding area. Featured improvement strategies could decrease bacteria levels in the community and improved ambient water quality in Halls Bayou. H-GAC hopes that the Septic System Initiative Study will serve as a template for future studies, to address septic system usage in developing areas. For further information, contact Kathleen Ramsey at 713-499-6653 or kathleen.ramsey@h-gac.com. Environmental Enforcement Roundtable
January 18, 2007
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027
Contact Amy Boyers for more information at 713.993.2441 or amy.boyers@h-gac.com Solid Waste Management Committee
January 24, 2007
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
For more information, Cheryl Mergo at 713-993-4520 or contact cmergo@h-gac.com. Clean Rivers Program Regional Monitoring Workgroup
January 30, 2007
10:00 a.m. - Noon
Conference Room C, 2nd Floor
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027
For more information, Jean Wright at 713-499-6660 or contact jwright@h-gac.com.
Back to Top OTHER MEETING NOTICES State of the Bay Symposium
The Galveston Bay Estuary Program, a non-regulatory program administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and its partners work together to implement The Galveston Bay Plan, a 20-year, science-based plan designed to protect and restore the bay. The Estuary Program hosts the biennial symposium to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to interact and share successes, the latest monitoring and research findings, and challenges for the future. This year's theme is Charting the Course to 2015: People, the Bay, and the Future. We will explore the challenges facing the bay and its environs posed by the region's population growth and highlight solutions to those challenges, at the project level and at the management level. The symposium will provide the latest on the overall environmental health of the bay, habitat conservation and restoration, invasive species, freshwater inflows, water quality, watershed management, public health, economics, coastal hazards, ecosystem modeling, planning, environmental education, and outreach.
Who should attend?
All stakeholder groups and the public are invited to the symposium, where you can learn from, and interact with, local and national experts. The symposium field trips on January 23rd will take you out on the bay for fun and information and the presentations and exhibits will get you up to speed about our wonderful Galveston Bay Estuary!
January 23-25, 2007 at the Galveston Convention Center. For registration and hotel information please go to the GBEP web site at: http://www.gbep.state.tx.us/hot%2Dtopics/.
Back to Top 2007 Texas Environmental Law Enforcement Association Conference
Longview, Texas
March 5-8, 2007
Conference Fee: $100.00
(membership included)
Conference registration and fees must be received before February 19, 2007 or a conference fee of $150.00 will be charged. The host hotel is the Homewood Suites, 205 N. Spur 63, (903) 234-0214
TELEA rate of $80.00/night plus taxes. All rooms must be booked by February 19, 2007.
For more information contact:
Cynthia Guajardo-Sorrell
Sgt. Game Warden
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Environmental Crimes Unit
281-850-9537
Back to Top
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