H-GAC Community and Environmental Update- JAN 2005

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
H-GAC Celebrates 30th Anniversay as Metropolitan Planning Organization 
Pedestrian Accessibility Standards Workshop Coming to Houston
Environmental Circuit Rider Program (ECRP)
TCEQ offers FY05 Grant Funding
Technical and Financial Assistance Available for Habitat Restoration
Nominate a Local Environmental Hero in Your Area
Office Depot Publishes Industry's First Audited Environmental Report

H-GAC MEETING NOTICES 
Local Enforcement Roundtable
Pedestrian & Bicycle Subcommittee
Solid Waste Management Committee
Clean Rivers Regional Monitoring Workgroup
Storm Debris Workshop

OTHER MEETING NOTICES 
State of the Bay

IN THIS ISSUE
H-GAC Celebrates 30th Anniversary as Metropolitan Planning Organization
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) celebrated its 30th year as the Houston-Galveston region's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) during the December Transportation Policy Council meeting.

In 1974, Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe designated H-GAC as the MPO to assume responsibility for regional transportation planning in Harris County and the surrounding seven counties (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller). From its inception as an MPO, H-GAC witnessed major changes in the region – the population grew more than 100 percent, from 2.1 million in 1970 to 4.6 million in 2000 and employment grew by 150 percent over the same period, reflecting greater numbers of women in the workplace and workers retiring later. As a result of these and other demographic changes, people travel more than 110 million miles every day to work and other activities.

H-GAC has also assumed a greater role in transportation and air quality planning, initiating programs to encourage the public, business and government to get more involved with regional issues. H-GAC works with city and county governments, the Texas Department of Transportation and METRO to develop and implement regional transportation plans and programs, such as the three-year Transportation Improvement Program, which includes projects totaling more than $4 billion.

The future holds even greater challenges for the Houston-Galveston region. The draft 2025 Regional Transportation Plan forecasts the population to grow to more than 7 million people who will travel more than 200 million miles a day to 4 million jobs. Improving the quality of our air, increasing safety and preserving our environment are also key challenges. Rising to these challenges will require creative transportation strategies and innovative financing, better connections between transportation and land use, and increased clean vehicle technology. These measures will improve our quality of life and make the Houston-Galveston region an even better place to live and work.   
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Pedestrian Accessibility Standards Workshop Coming to Houston 
After nine years of work, new Federal Access Standards have been published in the Federal Register. These standards will replace the existing American Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) standards when they are adopted by the appropriate governing authorities. They now include the Architectural Barriers Act standards and some residential requirements so the new document is very complex and broad in its scope.

Accessology, a company that specializes in disability, regulations, and compliance, is  hosting a workshop on the new standards conducted by the U. S. Access Board. Marsha Mazz, Accessibility Specialist and Technical Assistance Coordinator and David Yanchulis, Accessibility Specialist and Technology Coordinator, both from the US Access Board, will be coming to Houston to provide a full day, 8 hour, training on these long awaited new standards.

You may register online or download a registration form at http://www.accessology.com/.

Date: Monday, January 31, 2005
Time: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Location: George R. Brown Convention Center - Houston, TX
Registration Fee: $250.00 / attendee
Attendees Receive: Copy of the 2004 Revised ADA-ABA Guidelines (in Compact Size), 8 hours Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) continuing education credits, Certificate of Attendance.
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Environmental Circuit Rider Program (ECRP)
H-GAC's Solid Waste Management Program invites county judges and commissioners, county and district attorneys, justices of the peace, county court at law judges, district court judges, county constables, sheriffs, and code enforcement officers to participate in an environmental education program developed for the needs of these elected county officials and code enforcement officers. County Court At Law Judges, District Court Judges, Attorneys, Peace Officers, and Code enforcement officers will receive continuing education credits.
 
The program is one component of the Environmental Circuit Rider Project (ECRP) which H-GAC has developed to address the environmental needs of county governments within its 13-county region. Over the next few years, H-GAC will be implementing the various ECRP components which were designed to educate and assist counties with environmental education, enforcement, prosecution, cleanup and funding.  To RSVP and for more information, please contact Michelle Belco at (713) 980-6663.  

January 21 - Wharton County Courthouse, 309 E. Milam St., Wharton, TX, 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
 
January 28 - Colorado County Service Facilities Center, 305 Radio Lane, Columbus, TX,   9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.   

February 18 - Austin County Courthouse Basement Meeting Room, One East Main, Bellville, TX, 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
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TCEQ Offers FY05 Grant Funding
The TCEQ Nonpoint Source Program has set January 14, 2005 as the deadline for proposals for the next cycle of funding under the Chapter 319(h) Nonpoint Source Pollution grant program. Proposals received after that date will be held for consideration when any additional funds become available. The posted application guidelines must be followed for submitting a project proposal. Proposals which do not adhere to these guidelines will not be considered. For more information, call Helen Cox at 512/239-5751.
To download the application packet, go to http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/water/quality/nps/npsgrants.html . 
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Technical and Financial Assistance Available for Habitat Restoration
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering grants for its Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. This program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners, including local governments, for habitat restoration on their lands. A variety of habitats can be restored to benefit Federal trust species. Normally the cost share is 50 percent (the Service and the landowner each pay half of the project costs), but the percentage is flexible. There is no specific deadline for these grants. For more information, please visit www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=845.
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Nominate a Local Environmental Hero in Your Area
The Volvo for Life Awards honor individuals making outstanding contributions in the areas of environment, safety or quality of life. You have until January 10, 2005, to submit a nomination. In February 2005, Volvo will select 100 semi-finalists who will receive a Certificate of Merit to honor their accomplishments. Volvo will then select the top three finalists in the three awards categories. From the three environmental finalists, a panel of judges representing some of the world's foremost experts on care, conscience, and character will name one environmental winner to receive $50,000 to be donated to the charity of his or her choice. The remaining two finalists will each receive a $25,000 charitable donation. Go to http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/ to nominate a hero.  
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Office Depot Publishes Industry's 1st Audited Environmental Report
Office Depot Inc. has published the office product industry's first audited environmental report, presenting both corporate and customer environmental performance.  The Delray Beach, Fla. company released the report on November 30, making good on a promise it made last year to create a new level of responsibility, transparency, and accountability. PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Forest & Paper and Environmental Systems division verified the information in Office Depot's 2004 Environmental Stewardship Report. The report states that 52 percent of the office paper Office Depot's corporate offices used in 2003 contained recycled content, with an average post-consumer rate of 17.5 percent. About 14 percent of the paper customers purchased contained recycled material, at an average of 4.5 percent post-consumer content. The document further states that Office Depot recovered more than 3.5 million ink and toner cartridges in 2003, a 168-percent increase over 2002.
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H-GAC MEETING NOTICES
Local Enforcement Roundtable
January 13, 2005
10:00 am to noon
H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
2nd Floor, Room A

For more information, please contact Amy Smith at 713-993-2413 or via email at amy.smith@h-gac.com.
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Pedestrian & Bicycle Subcommittee
January 13, 2005
9:30 am to 11:30 am
H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
2nd Floor, Room B

For more information, please contact Dan Raine at 832-681-2525 or via email at dan.raine@h-gac.com.
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Solid Waste Management Committee
January 26, 2005
10:00 am to noon
H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
2nd Floor, Room A

For more information, please contact Cheryl Mergo at 713-993-4520 or via email at cheryl.mergo@h-gac.com.
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Clean Rivers Regional Monitoring Workgroup
February 1, 3005
10:00 am to noon
H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
2nd Floor, Room C

For more information, please contact Jean Wright at 713-499-6660 or via email at jean.wright@h-gac.com.
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Storm Debris Workshop
February 23, 3005
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027
2nd Floor, Room A

Attendees will hear from experts in the field on planning and recovery strategies for debris-generating storm events, including GIS applications, case studies and the role of state and federal entities.  H-GAC staff will also present an overview of the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.  We encourage attendance from anyone involved in the planning or recovery process for debris-generating storm events including solid waste coordinators, city public work directors, county engineers, county commissioners and emergency management staff.

For more information, please contact Kelly Doyle at 713-993-4566 or via email at kelly.doyle@h-gac.com.
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For more information, please contact either Sue Phillips at (512) 239-6327, sphillip@tceq.state.tx.us or Barbara Young at (512) 239-1940, bayoung@tceq.state.tx.us. 
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To unsubscribe, add another subscriber or offer any comments on the e-newsletter, please e-mail cep_news@h-gac.com.
H-GAC Community and Environmental Update January2005
End of document 12.30.04