H-GAC Community and Environmental Update- JULY 2005

Manager's Welcome
This is the July 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
2005 Water Quality Management Plan Update
Bike Path, Pedestrian Trail set for Montrose
Clean Cities/Clean Vehicles Information
Dell Aims to Increase E-Waste Recovery by 50% in 2006
2005 Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute
Keep Texas Beautiful Waste in Place Training
EPA Debuts New Water Webpage for Kids
Water Efficiency

H-GAC MEETING NOTICES
Environmental Sampling Workshop
Pedestrian/Bicycle Subcommittee Meeting
Local Enforcement Roundtable - Creating & Managing Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
2005 Water Quality Management Plan Update
Clean Rivers Regional Monitoring Workgroup Meeting
Solid Waste Management Committee
Storm Debris Workshop

OTHER MEETING NOTICES
NRAC Parks & Natural Area Subcommittee Meeting

IN THIS ISSUE
2005 Water Quality Management Plan Update
The Houston-Galveston Area Council will hold a public meeting to receive testimony concerning the Water Quality Management: 2005 Update. Elements of the Gulf Coast Region Water Quality Management Plan subject to public meeting and certification by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are population projections and needs of wastewater treatment facilities over the next 25 years for the Lower Houston Ship Channel Watershed, which includes Greens Bayou, plus Cedar and Bastrop Bayous.

Copies of the materials to be discussed at the Public Hearing are available at H-GAC's offices. To obtain copies of the materials and to offer comments prior to the Public Hearing, contact Kathleen Ramsey via e-mail at Kathleen.Ramsey@h-gac.com, by mail at H-GAC Community and Environmental Planning Department, P.O. Box 22777, Houston, Texas 77227-2777; or call (713) 499-6653.

Following the Public Hearing, the Plan Update will be considered by the H-GAC Natural Resources Advisory Committee at its August 4, 2005 meeting, and recommended to the H-GAC Board of Directors for adoption and submittal to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, H-GAC will provide for reasonable accommodation for persons attending H-GAC functions. Requests should be received by H-GAC 24 hours prior to the function.
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Bike Path, Pedestrian Trail set for Montrose
The Montrose Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan is a project designed to provide local and federal funds to improve mobility in Montrose. H-GAC may receive up to $3 million in federal funding for transportation improvement projects by the end of the year. When those funds are received, H-GAC can provide 80 percent funding for community projects such as the Montrose Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. Borders for the plan are West Gray, Louisiana, Shepherd and Bissonnet. While Montrose is an area where a significant number of people bike and walk, conditions on streets in the neighborhood often make residents less able to do so. Sidewalks remain flooded after heavy rains and are in such poor condition that they force people to walk on the street, and the lack of wheelchair ramps at a number of intersections in the neighborhood all make it more difficult for people to walk and bike in the area. There is no exact timetable to begin making improvements to the area, the information-gathering stage of the process will take place throughout the summer as the H-GAC waits on federal funding. As part of the plan, a web site was created to give people in the area a chance to voice their opinions on what needs to be done to improve the neighborhood for bikers and walkers. A survey is available at http://www.livablemontrose.org/ that allows people to identify problem areas in the neighborhood, as well as stay informed as the plan continues to develop.

Next meeting: July 21 at Anderson Hall on the University of St. Thomas campus. Open to residents to share ideas to make Montrose more pedestrian- and bike-friendly. For more information on the Montrose Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, visit http://www.livablemontrose.org/.
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Clean Cities/Clean Vehicles Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of $7.5 million in grant funding for retrofit and/or replacement projects for school buses. Eligible projects will utilize EPA verified or certified and/or California Air Resources Board verified pollution reduction technologies to reduce pollution from school buses. There is a 5 percent cost-share required for these projects. Deadline for applications is July 22, 2005.See http://www.epa.gov/oar/grants/05-13.pdf

Additional information may also be found at: http://www.educationfoundation.info/adopt.htm.
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Dell Aims to Increase E-Waste Recovery by 50% in 2006
Dell Inc. is expanding its global recycling goals, setting out to increase electronics recovery from its customers by 50 percent in fiscal 2006. The company set a similar goal for fiscal 2005 and recovered 24 million pounds of used electronics from U.S. customers during that period, a 234 percent increase over fiscal 2004. Worldwide, the Round Rock, Texas, computer maker recovered 66 million pounds of electronics. Dell also has set targets for its design for the environment initiatives. By fiscal 2008, the company will avoid the equivalent of 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and the use of 52,000 tons of lead and 33,000 tons of brominated flame retardants. It also plans to reduce packaging and shipping material use by 43,000 tons by 2008.
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2005 Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute for K-12 Educators
The Community Outreach and Education Program of the Center for Research on Environmental Disease at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Science Park - Research Division, Smithville is proud to announce: The 2005 Environmental Health Sciences Summer Institute for K-12 Educators
July 11-14, 2005
Thompson Conference Center
The University of Texas at Austin
TO REGISTER VISIT: http://k12summerinstitute.mdanderson.org/.
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Keep Texas Beautiful Waste in Place Training
Keep Texas Beautiful has trained almost 10,000 Texas teachers in Waste In Place, a K-8 curriculum which has been correlated to the Texas Education Agency's Essential Elements. These teachers are using the hands-on curriculum to teach young Texans about litter prevention, recycling/waste reduction, beautification and community improvement. The Texas Education Agency views this program as a model for future state mandated environmental education programs. This effort has the added benefit of reaching beyond the classroom as students take home the lessons they learn to influence their families. For more information, please contact 1-800-CLEAN-TX.
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EPA Debuts New Water Webpage for Kids
A special Kids Page is making a debut on the Web site of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. The star of pages is a new character called "Thirstin." The site contains games, activities, and narrated/animated classroom experiments. Some of the new activities include an animated water cycle, word scramble, word search, water trivia, and "Thirstin's Wacky Water Adventure." Teachers and students can work on-line or download some of the information for classroom use. The new pages are located at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/index.html.
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Water Efficiency
Did you know that toilets are the greatest water user in a house? Or that a leaky toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons per day? Inefficient and leaky toilets not only waste water but can effect your household budget. Fixing any leaky toilet is a must, but homeowners and businesses should consider replacing older toilets with newer, more efficient models. An EPA study finds that new residential 1.6 gpf toilets reduce water use by 23% to 46% -- a savings of about 21,130 gallons of water per year per household. Generally, this equates to about $130 in annual savings. With increasing pressures on our water resources, EPA is increasing its attention on water efficiency. Efficient water use helps to reduce the need for costly water supply and wastewater treatment facilities, helps maintain stream flows and healthy aquatic habitats, and reduces the energy used to pump, heat and treat water. More information about water efficiency and water efficient products can be found on EPA's Water Efficiency website at www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency.
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H-GAC MEETING NOTICES
Environmental Sampling Workshop
July 14, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
RSVP to Amy Boyers at aboyers@h-gac.com or 713-993-2413
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Pedestrian/Bicycle Subcommittee Meeting
July 14, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room B
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
9:30 am to 11:30 am

For more information, please contact Dan Raine at dan.raine@h-gac.com.
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Local Enforcement Roundtable - Creating and Managing Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)
July 21, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
9:30 am to 11:30pm
Contact Amy Boyers at 713-993-2413 or aboyers@h-gac.com for more information.
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2005 Water Quality Management Plan Update
July 26, 2005
H-GAC First Floor Conference Room
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
10:00 am to 1:00 pm

For more information, please contact Kathleen Ramsey at kathleen.ramsey@h-gac.com.
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Clean Rivers Program Regional Monitoring Workgroup Meeting
July 26, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room C
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
10:00 am to noon

For more information, please contact Jean Wright at jean.wright@h-gac.com.
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Solid Waste Management Committee
July 27, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
10:00 am to noon

For more information, please contact Cheryl Mergo at cheryl.mergo@h-gac.com.
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Storm Debris Workshop
August 17, 2005
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
9:00 am to noon

Please join us for this practical workshop. Participants will receive a workbook, or a "toolkit", that offers forms and information to meet your needs before, during, and after a debris generating storm event. For more information, please contact Kelly Doyle at kelly.doyle@h-gac.com.
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H-GAC Community and Environmental Update July2005
End of document 6.23.05