 September 2008 |
| | | | | Focused on 2009 H-GAC is focused on 2009. We are beginning to develop a proposed Service Plan and Budget for consideration by the Board of Directors in mid-October.
H-GAC's budget is quite different from local government budgets because we are not a taxing entity. Rather, our revenues come from intergovernmental contracts with local, state, and federal governments. While many of H-GAC's activities have been ongoing for several years, it is important that we carefully estimate our revenues each year and budget realistically. H-GAC's Board gives vital oversight and policy leadership in this process which leads to adoption of a budget in December. Next month I will cover some highlights of H-GAC's proposed 2009 Budget..
Jack Steele
Executive Director |
| H-GAC Cooperative Purchasing Products |  H-GAC's Cooperative Purchasing program has announced that new contracts will be available for Street Maintenance equipment beginning October 1. Check their web site at www.HGACBuy.org for information. If you are already a participant with HGACBuy, you will be able to log in on the web site to view these and other products of interest. |
| 2008 Aerial Imagery |  The 2008 aerial imagery, flown and acquired in January 2008 on behalf of H-GAC by Sanborn Mapping, has recently been delivered to H-GAC. The data is being packaged and transfered to the 40+ cost-share participants. Once all of the cost-share participants have received the data, H-GAC will allow the public to request the data via the web by the end of this year on the Aerial Imagery web page: http://www.h-gac.com/rds/gis/aerial/default.aspx. For those who are interested in acquiring the data, please check the web site periodically during the fall. |
| | | | CDBG Applications Due to ORCA in October | Grant applications for the H-GAC Regional 2009-2010 TxCDBG Community Development (CDBG) grant funds are due to the Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA) by 5:00 p.m., October 17, 2008.
Applications and the application process have been changed this year. Previously, applicants delivered copies of their grant applications to both ORCA and to the appropriate COG. Under the new changes, the applicants need to send copies of the application to ORCA only, who will review and forward to the appropriate COG and Regional Review Committee after the deficiency period has elapsed and corrections are received. H-GAC recently released the Regional Review Committee's 2009-2010 Guidebook. The Guidebook provides applicants from the H-GAC region with the guidelines necessary to be scored under the H-GAC Regional Review Committee scoring criteria.
The application and the Application Guidebook for the 2009-2010 CD Fund are available on the ORCA website at www.orca.state.tx.us. Application questions should be directed to: Mark Wyatt, Director of Community Development, Office of Rural Community Affairs, Texas Community Development Block Grant Program, PO Box 12877, Capitol Station, Austin, Texas 78711. |
| H-GAC to Devote $5 Million to Clean Up Local Government Fleets | H-GAC has recently received a $5 million grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) TERP Program to administer Emission Reductions Incentive Grants to local governments within the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria non-attainment region. These funds will subsidize the incremental cost of upgrading or replacing older vehicles to result in a vehicle and fleet with fewer emissions and improved air quality for the entire region.
What Projects Are Supported?
Funds are available to subsidize the incremental cost for the lease or purchase of new vehicles or the replacement, repower or retrofitting of existing vehicles with engines or technologies which result in air quality improvement. Vehicles eligible to receive incentive grants and be upgraded under this program include government-owned on-road heavy-duty vehicles; non-road heavy-duty equipment; and marine vessels.
Who is Eligible?
Local governments from within the 8-county Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) non-attainment region are eligible. The HGB non-attainment region includes Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties.
How to Get Involved?
Contact Shelley Whitworth at Shelley.Whitworth@h-gac.com or 713-499-6695 or contact Andrew DeCandis at Andrew.DeCandis@h-gac.com or 832-681-2549 for more information about this exciting new program and instructions to begin the application process.
|
| Planning Control Strategies for New SIP for 8-hr Ozone Standard | The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area holds nonattainment status for ground-level ozone under the 8-hour standard which became effective June 15, 2005. Counties affected under this status are Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller. As requested by Texas Governor Rick Perry, the region will be reclassified as a "severe" nonattainment region with a maximum attainment date of June 15, 2019. Due to this re-classification, H-GAC and TCEQ are working on control strategies to be included in the new State Implementation Plan (SIP).
As part of developing possible on-road and non-road mobile source emission control strategies, a Final Master List of 150 and a list of 46 potential measures has been identified by stakeholders and posted on the H-GAC website: http://www.h-gac.com/taq/airquality/sip/mobile.
Based on public comments and further stakeholder meetings, a Short List of Control Strategies will be developed in the fall. This list will be analyzed quantitatively and submitted to TCEQ to be considered for inclusion in the upcoming SIP.
|
| Pollution Prevention Workshops Teach Businesses How to Save Money with Sustainability | The University of Texas at Arlington is offering a pollution prevention (P2) planning workshop to help businesses save money by reducing waste. The course will also help companies comply with the Texas Waste Reduction Policy Act (WRPA).
Held in partnership with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the workshop will teach lean manufacturing techniques and other strategies that businesses have used to improve efficiency while decreasing or eliminating pollution. Experts in pollution prevention, environmental management systems (EMS), environmental regulations, lean manufacturing, and energy efficiency conduct an interactive workshop with classroom exercises that allow businesses to immediately identify wastes in their process and evaluate money saving options.
The workshop is geared toward Environmental, Health, and Safety managers, plant managers, production personnel, engineers and related professionals. In 2007, workshop participants reported savings of more than $200,000 by implementing pollution prevention practices; they eliminated over 11,000 pounds of pollution, and reported improvement in compliance, energy use and water conservation. |
| H-GAC Board of Directors | | The agenda and attachments for the Board of Directors meetings are posted on our web site at www.h-gac.com. The documents are posted the week before each meeting. Board meetings are held at 10:00 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month on the second floor at 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston, Texas 77027. |
| | | Mary M. Spain, Intergovernmental Relations
Houston-Galveston Area Council |
|
|