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CEC ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE – 2/14/03 COALITION NOTES HAS acquires Horseshoe Marsh The Houston Audubon Society nears completion of a two-year project to acquire the 650-acre wetland complex on the Bolivar Peninsula known as the Horseshoe Marsh. This complex, located near the Bolivar ferry landing, includes salt marsh and wet coastal prairie surrounding a shallow tidal lagoon. According to Sally Tyler, HAS development director, the marsh is critical habitat for many bird species. "In addition to the value of this area as bird habitat, there is a significant contribution to the local economy by the thousands of birdwatchers from all over the world who visit the area each year," she said. The Horseshoe MarshÕs wetlands also provide food for fish and other sea life. The purchase of the land will increase Houston Audubon SocietyÕs holdings in Bolivar by more than 1,800 acres. HAS has worked to protect wetland habitat on the Bolivar Peninsula since the early 1980Õs and acquired its first tract in Port Bolivar in 1997. Tyler said that HAS launched a $300,000 fundraising campaign to pay for the Horseshoe Marsh and other acquisition projects. Donations may be made to Bolivar Fund, Houston Audubon Society, 440 Wilchester, Houston, Texas, 77079 and will be used exclusively for the purchase, habitat restoration and management of Bolivar Peninsula land. KPC hosts annual meeting The Katy Prairie Conservancy will host its annual meeting February 25 Board and staff members will provide an update on KPC's 2002 activities and accomplishments. This yearÕs guest speaker is Michael Talbott, Director of Harris County Flood Control District. He will discuss the District's mission to build storm water management projects that work with, rather than against, nature and partnerships with other organizations, including KPC. The meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. on the first floor of the Upper Kirby District Building, 3015 Richmond Avenue. For more information call713.523.6135. WaterSmart Landscaping The Fourth Annual WaterSmart Landscaping Workshop will be held Saturday, March 1, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the University of Houston-Clear Lake Bayou Building. More than a dozen local experts will present workshops on topics ranging from organic gardening to water gardening to landscape design. Keynote speakers are noted author Malcolm Beck, who will discuss organic gardening , and Heidi Sheesley, owner of Treesearch Farms, speaking on water-smart plant selection. Attendees will learn water-smart landscape design techniques and how to choose the best plants for our area, reducing the need for significant inputs of fertilizers, pesticides and water. These lush, beautiful water-smart landscapes can stand up to droughts, floods and bugs.
Tickets are $35 when purchased by February 21, or $45 at the door. Obtain a registration form by calling (281) 333-5067 or visiting Local City Council passes stronger tree ordinance Public hearing set for I-10 FEIS The Texas Department of Transportation released a re-evaluation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the I-10 expansion project on Tuesday. The re-evaluation addresses the use of four toll roads in the center of the freeway between State Highway 6 and the 610 loop and the addition of elevated Beltway 8 frontage-road lanes. The intent of the re-evaluation is to identify and evaluate refinements in design, proposed operations and any environmental consequences of replacing METRO's HOV lanes with Harris County Toll Road Authority’s toll lanes. According to Polly Ledvina, an organizer with the Katy Corridor Coalition, the TXDOT plan will not solve the area’s traffic problems. "Relying solely on more and bigger freeways and tollways is a crude and outdated strategy already shown everywhere not to work," she said. A public meeting to discuss the re-evaluation will be held on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 at the West Chester Educational Center, 901 Yorkchester from 6:00pm until 9:00pm. According to Norm Woodington, a public information officer with TXDOT, written comments would be accepted into March. Ledvina said that Houstonians concerned about transportation problems should attend the meeting, even if they do not live in the Katy corridor. "We need as many people as possible to help us send the message that Houstonians want cleaner, more modern, efficient and thoughtful solutions to our mobility problems than we are currently being handed," she said. The entire FEIS is available online at www.katycorridor.org. Houston’s bad air prompts study A new, federally funded study using 60-foot monitoring towers will take a close look at air quality near one of the world's largest concentrations of petrochemical refining plants. Scientists from the University of Houston, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin will participate in the Houston-Galveston study funded by a 2-year, $3.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Although there have been many air pollution studies in the area over the years, the new research will take more of a regional, long-range view using new technology, said Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. "We can do research that is going to have an impact over the next five or 10 years rather than just six months," he said. By next winter, the team hopes to have three towers erected in southeast Texas to monitor air pollution, weather conditions and air-biosphere exchange, said Nielsen-Gammon, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M. The towers will help answer questions about changes in
the air as it circulates around the oil refineries and petrochemical plants
in the Houston-Galveston area. The research team will also develop a computer-based, air quality forecast system which should be operating by the summer of 2004. Laboratory research will examine chemical reactions from air pollutants, what by-products come from them, and if the pollutants can be simulated to learn more about them. Nielsen-Gammon said the Texas research will benefit the entire nation because the severity of the problem in southeast Texas may be unique, but the same pollutants exist elsewhere. "The Houston problems are driving the research but
many other cities with ozone problems or a particulate matter problem
are going to get value from what we do," he said. Houston energy company responsible for spill Cleanup is finally complete after a pipeline carrying crude oil ruptured, dumping nearly 19,000 gallons onto the frozen Nemadji River, a tributary of Lake Superior last week. At least 100,000 gallons spilled at Enbridge Energy Terminal, about 2 miles from the lake. The leak happened Friday night, apparently during delivery from the pipeline to a storage tank, said Mark Sitek, regional general manager for Houston-based Enbridge Energy. The majority of the oil was contained within the terminal’s ditching and retention pond system but not all, Sitek said. The consistently low temperatures at the time helped create about a 2-foot ice cap that covered the river. The cap prevented the oil from seeping into the water itself and causing further environmental damage. After the oil was cleaned off the surface of the ice, personnel were then able to deal with the ice stain left from the oil spill, which covered an area about the size of a football field. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources monitored the clean-up effort. The company resumed transporting oil Saturday after bypassing the ruptured line, said Denise Hamsher, a company spokeswoman. Enbridge Energy owns the U.S. portion of the world's longest liquid petroleum pipeline, which transports crude oil and liquid petroleum from reserves in western Canada, the northern United States and the Gulf Coast to refining centers in the U.S. Midwest and Ontario. The company had a smaller oil spill in 2000, but that leak was contained within the terminal. ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION CEC Environmental News Update is a weekly publication by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, a 501(c)3 dedicated to fostering dialogue, education and collaboration about environmental issues in the Houston-Gulf Coast Region. Visit the CEC online at www.cechouston.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe, or to suggest items for inclusion, send your request via e-mail to Sarah Doss at sarah@cechouston.org. |
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