H-GAC Community and Environmental Update- OCT 2006

Manager's Welcome
This is the October 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
Environmental Education Award  Nominations Due 
A Quiet Invasion: A Guide to Invasive Plants in the Galveston Bay Area
Spotlight on CEC Synergy Award Winners Steve Hupp and Mary Ellen Whitworth
Update - Hurricane Rita CDBG Disaster Recovery Program
CDBG Grant Application Deadline Extended to December 15th
H-GAC Solid Waste FY07 Supplemental Grant Application Now Available
Nominations Now Open for Texas Environmental Excellence Awards
Everything Under the Kitchen Sink and More...
H-GAC Recruiting Housing Oriented Staff Positions

H-GAC MEETING NOTICES  
Clean Rivers Program Regional Monitoring Workgroup
Regional Recycling Roundtable: Metals
ORCA Non-Border Colonia Construction Fund Workshop
ORCA Microenterpise and Small Business Loan Fund Workshop
Trash Bash Steering Committee Meeting
Solid Waste Management Committee

OTHER MEETING NOTICES 
Low Impact Development Seminar
Compost Advisory Council: 2006 Compost Camp

IN THIS ISSUE
Environmental Education Award - Nominations Due November 3
If you have been involved in a youth education project that benefits the environment (or know someone who has), now is the time to apply for a Texas Environmental Excellence Award (TEEA).  Presented by the Governor's office and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, these awards recognize teachers, students, and members of the community-at-large who are educating the next generation about environmental stewardship.  Among the 10 award categories are three potential areas for educators:  Education, Youth, and Individual.  Past recipients have included schools, teachers, students, and youth groups with environmental projects.
Winners receive publicity surrounding their win, a video profile of their project, and recognition at the TEEA banquet in Austin in May. For more information or to apply online, go to www.teea.org or contact Dana Macomb at awards@tceq.state.tx.us or 512/239-4745. Nominations must be submitted by November 3, 2006.

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The Quiet Invasion: A Guide to Invasive Plants of the Galveston Bay Area - Now Available
Developed by the Galveston Bay Estuary Program and the Houston Advanced Research Center, this handy guide will help home owners, land managers, and landscape architects identify invasive plants known to be harmful to local habitats. Species identified in the guide are plants from other parts of world that, when planted in the Houston-Galveston region, survive, reproduce and crowd out native plant species. Invasives negatively impact local habitats and the wildlife that depend on them. Examples of invasive plants include: Chinese tallow, deep-rooted sedge and water hyacinth.

The guide contains color photos to help the readers in Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris and Liberty counties identify each of the 20 invasive plant species described in the printed guide. An additional 20 species are presented on the Web version at—www.galvbayinvasives.org. To request a free hard copy, contact Jeff DallaRosa at jdallaro@tceq.state.tx.us or (281) 486-1242 or Lisa Gonzalez at lgonzalez@harc.edu or (281) 364-6044.
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Spotlight on CEC Synergy Award Winners Steve Hupp and Mary Ellen Whitworth 
Each year, through its Synergy Awards, the CEC honors individuals and groups who are working to make a difference in the Houston area. Steve Hupp, assistant technical manager of the Pollution Control Division of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services Department, is one of two winners of the Government award. Hupp has been instrumental in the county's workplace recycling program and massive clean-up work along the bayous. He chairs the Solid Waste Management Committee of the H-GAC, serves on the Harris County Natural Resource Management Committee, and is a member of the advisory board to the Environmental Institute of Houston.

The Founders award will be presented to Mary Ellen Whitworth, executive director of the Bayou Preservation Association. Whitworth represents BPA on numerous boards and committees that affect water quality in the Houston area, including the Stormwater Joint Task Force technical advisory committee. She is also an interim member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee of the Gulf of Mexico Program.

The awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Oct 10, at the downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tickets to the event are $75, and sponsorship and table packages are available. For tickets, please call (713) 524-4232. Donations of unique, environmentally themed items for the silent auction will be appreciated. If you have a product, work of art, excursion, or service you would like to contribute, please contact Alesha Herrera at (713) 269-4881. 
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Update – Hurricane Rita CDBG Disaster Recovery Program 
H-GAC, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Office of Rural Community Affairs have developed a $10.7 Community Develop Block Grant (CDBG) funding program to address unmet housing and public infrastructure needs associated with the impacts of Hurricane Rita. The recent call for infrastructure grant applications resulted in over 37 submissions totaling over $8.4 million dollars. 

Requests far exceeded the $3.6 million dollars currently allocated for infrastructure projects and fully demonstrated that unmet needs in or region far outweigh the amount of funding currently available.  H-GAC developed a prioritized list of projects by evaluating each proposal based upon our program scoring criteria and eligibility guidelines.  This process resulted in the recommendation of 16 projects, including: home buyouts, flood and drainage projects, community shelters and generators for critical infrastructure (i.e. water and sewage plants), and dune restoration. Details on the housing portion of our program will be announced soon. A summary of the program can be viewed at /HGAC/Programs/Community+Resources/default.htm If you have any questions or need further information, contact Chuck Wemple at (713) 993-4514.
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CDBG Grant Application Deadline Extended to December 15, 2006
The Texas Community Development Program is administered by the Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA). Grants are available for a broad range of eligible program activities to those cities and counties which do not receive direct federal entitlements. Top priorities included water, wastewater, and housing rehabilitation.  Maximum funding awards are $350,000 for water, sewer, or multi-jurisdictional projects and $250,000 for all others.  The deadline for grant applications is December 15, 2006. Eligibility guidelines and the 2006-2007 Applicant's Handbook can be viewed at http://www.hgac.com/HGAC/Programs/Community+Resources/Community+Development+2.htm. For more information, contact Chuck Wemple at 713-993-4514 or cwemple@h-gac.com
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H-GAC FY07 Solid Waste Supplemental Grant Application Now Available
H-GAC has received solid waste grant funds from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for solid waste implementation programs.  For FY07 solid waste implementation grants, $353,614 is available for local implementation projects.  The local government implementation funds are intended to provide grant funding for projects which will provide a direct and measurable effect on reducing the amount of waste going into regional landfills, by diverting various materials from the municipal solid waste stream for beneficial use, or by reducing waste generation at the source. 

For the FY07 supplemental grant round, there is no minimum grant award. For projects to be considered by H­GAC for Fiscal Year 2007 supplemental funding, the application must be received at the H­GAC's offices no later than 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2006.  No late applications will be accepted or scored.  Additionally, no faxed or emailed applications will be accepted or scored. Incomplete application packets will not be accepted. For more information or to download the application packet, please visit www.h-gac.com/2007swgrantssupplemental. You may also contact Kelly Doyle at 713-993-4566 or kdoyle@h-gac.com with questions or to request a copy of the application packet.
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Nominations Now Open for Texas Environmental Excellence Awards
If you are aware of an outstanding environmental project in your region, consider nominating it for a 2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Award (TEEA) in the Government category.  Presented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the TEEA is the highest environmental honor in the state.  Winners will be recognized at the TEEA awards banquet during the TCEQ Trade Fair and Conference in Austin this May.  A video profile will be produced to tell each winner's story, and the efforts of all the winning projects will be publicized through all appropriate media.  Applicants may submit nominations in one of 10 categories.  For more information, go to http://www.teea.org/ or call TCEQ Awards Coordinator Dana Macomb at 512/239-4745.  Application deadline is November 3, 2006.
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Everything Under The Kitchen Sink And More...
New Earth 911 Print HHW PSAs Available
What's under your sink? Like most of us, probably quite a few household hazardous waste (HHW) items that are in need of proper disposal. Earth 911 has a new print Public Service Announcement (PSA) to help direct the public to your local HHW programs, services and special events. The new HHW piece comes in two sizes (6"x9" and 8.5"x11") and reminds us that "Many Home and Garden Products are Household Hazardous Waste." View and order the new Earth 911 Household Hazardous Waste Print PSAs here, http://www.earth911.org/usa/master.asp?s=psa&a=psa/psa.asp
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H-GAC Recruiting Housing Oriented Staff Positions
H-GAC is now recruiting a variety of housing oriented staff positions to implement the housing element of the Hurricane Rita Recovery Program. Please check our web site http://h-gac.com/HGAC/Home/Jobs/default.htm for job descriptions and if you have interest and/or questions, contact Carl Masterson at cmasterson@h-gac.com.
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H-GAC MEETING NOTICES

Regional Recycling Roundtable:  Metals
October 19, 2006
H-GAC Conference Room A
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027 
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
For more information, Kelly Doyle at 713-993-4566 or contact kdoyle@h-gac.com.
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ORCA Non-Border Colonia Construction Fund Workshop
The Office of Rural and Community Affairs will hold an applicants workshop on the Non-Border Colonia Construction Fund at H-GAC on Monday October 23rd. This program is designed to Support community development projects such as sewer, water, and housing rehabilitation to county applicants for projects in unincorporated "eligible non-border colonia" areas. Eligible areas are located farther than 150 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. Other eligibility requirements apply. To learn more about the specific eligibility requirements of this program, please attend the workshop from 10:00 a.m. to noon at H-GAC, 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston, TX 77027. For more information on the workshop please contact Susan Grosz of ORCA at 1-800-544-2042.
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ORCA Microenterpise and Small Business Loan Fund Workshop
The Office of Rural Community Affairs will hold an applicants workshop on two new business development loan programs. The Microenterprise Loan Program offers monies for the development of microenterprises and small businesses at the local level. A "microenterprise" is a commercial enterprise that has five (5) or fewer employees, one (1) or more of whom owns the enterprise. The Small Business Loan Fund was created to provide a tool for rural communities to assist their small businesses access capital by providing awards to eligible cities and counties for loans to businesses with 100 or fewer employees. The workshop will run from 1:00 p.m until 2:00 p.m and be held in Conference Room A at H-GAC. For more information, please contact Heather Lagrone of ORCA at 1-800-544-2402.
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Trash Bash Steering Committee Meeting
October 24, 2006
10:00 a.m. - Noon
H-GAC Conference Room C
3555 Timmons, 2nd floor
Houston, TX 77027 
For more information, Jean Wright at 713-499-6660 or contact jwright@h-gac.com.
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Solid Waste Management Committee
October 25 ,2006 
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.
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Compost Advisory Council: 2006 Compost Camp
October 23-25, 2006
Texas Organic Products
Austin, Texas

Everything you needed to know about compost and more!  Activities and topics will include equipment demonstrations, industry and state regulations, operations management, networking and more.  For more information, or to register, visit the Compost Advisory Council web site at http://www.compostadvisorycouncil.com/.
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