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CEC ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE 8/8/03 Coalition Notes Play dramatizes struggle for environmental justice in 5th Ward Restricted Area is an original one-act play that
chronicles the struggle for environmental justice in the Fifth Ward. Presented
by the Fifth Ward Chapter of Mothers for Clean Air and UTMB's NIEHS Center/Sealy
Center for Environmental Health and Medicine, "Restricted Area"
brings to light the health problems - particularly the developmental impairment
of young children - associated with elevated blood levels of heavy metals.
The play focuses on the life of 5th Ward resident, Georgia Lee, who has
devoted her life to environmental activism & the struggle to improve
the health of her community. Lee’s life serves as a model for proactive
community activism and the play's outcome makes a plea for commitment
and environmental education. Thomas Melancon, the creator and director,
was raised in the Fifth Ward and has also written "The Diary of a
Black Man". The Fifth Ward Chapter of Mothers for Clean Air Forum
Theater Troupe will also perform brief scenes focused on community-building.
The first performance will be this Sat, Aug 9 at Fifth Ward Multi-Service
Center at 2 p.m. and the second is Wed, Aug 13 at St. Vincent’s
House in Galveston at 7 p.m. For more information contact Jane Laping
at 713-526-0110 or mfca@mothersforcleanair.org Rice Design Alliance hosts green building charrette This Saturday, the Rice Design Alliance will host "HOUSeTOwN:
Launching the Energy-Wise Dwelling for Houston". Participants will
design houses that address concerns such as natural site and landscape
depletion, water quality and scarcity, materials waste and toxicity, indoor
air quality, heat island effect, flooding, mosquito-borne disease, and
air pollution. Co-sponsored by Rice Design Alliance, the U.S. Green Building
Council – Houston Chapter, and the American Institute of Architects
Committee on the Environment. The event will take place at the University
of Houston, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information contact the Rice Design Alliance at 713-348-4876
or crushing@ruf.rice.edu State forest service accepting nominations for community awards Next Friday is the deadline for nomination for the 2003 Texas Community Forestry Awards. The Awards are open to anyone who has a role in building stronger communities by planting, maintaining and protecting trees. Each award winner will receive a numbered, remarked and framed limited-edition print of a painting especially commissioned for this award program. Award categories are available for individuals, civic organizations, professionals, local governments, businesses, developers and youth. Nominations may be submitted to the Community Forestry Awards Program, Texas Forest Service, 301 Tarrow Drive Suite 364 College Station, TX 77840-7896. Nominations must be received before 5 pm on Friday, August 15, 2003. For additional information on the awards program contact the Texas Forest Service at 979-458-6650 or http://txforestservice.tamu.edu Local West Alabama residents say their ready to sue over Spur 527 closure by Renee Feltz, KPFT News Concerned citizens met in a church auditorium last week alongside large posters showing maps of the traffic red zone that will be created by construction plans for spur 527 off of highway 59 into downtown. The meeting was the most recent in a series organized by the West Alabama Quality of Life Coalition. WALQ outlined its plan to sue the Texas Department of Transportation under the national environmental policy act. They’re backed by environmental Attorney Jim Blackburn who said he will argue that TXDOT failed to analyze the effect traffic mitigation plans. With recent indications that several downtown construction projects may be finished a year late in 2005, Blackburn said he is concerned about where traffic will be diverted. WALQ’s lawsuit against TXDOT is their last-ditch effort to prevent traffic that will gridlock their streets for what could be three years. For more than nine months, the group has worked with city and state and the city acknowledges that even side streets in the area will be clogged with traffic. Still, no action has been taken to prevent the influx of 80,000 vehicles in 24 hours that residents say they refuse to live with. WALQ founder Ray Jones, said he was pleased to see many city council officials and candidates in attendance at last week’s meeting. Among those present was City Councilman Mark Goldberg, who said he first found out about the plans to shut down spur 527 from a TXDOT liason while in a meeting to discuss other road construction issues. Residents asked Goldberg and fellow city council member Gordon Quan why the city has not joined in the WALQ lawsuit. Quan said he said concerned about staying on good terms with the department that distributes so much money to the city for its construction projects. Blackburn said he hopes to avoid a lawsuit- all it would take is for TXDOT to "seriously" alternative traffic mitigation plans put forth by WALQ. But, Blackburn said his clients are willing to move forward if TXDOT does not respond to residents’ requests. Residents are now collecting funds for their lawsuit and expect to file sometime in the next 30 to 90 days. Shell fined for natural gas violation Associated Press Shell Oil Co. will pay $49 million to the federal government to settle a lawsuit over the unauthorized release and burning of large amounts of natural gas from seven platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Shell did not have permission from federal regulators to burn off the gas and did not pay required royalties on it to the government, U.S. Attorney Donald Washington said. Washington said most of the gas was disposed of, through processes known as flaring and venting, from 1994 to 1998. The largest well involved was the company's Auger deepwater facility, about 150 miles off the Louisiana coast. Shell was concentrating on oil production at Auger and, because of the way Auger was equipped at the time, the company found it uneconomical to transport large quantities of the gas that was brought up with the oil. "It appears that what they did was trade oil for
gas," Washington said. Shell spokeswoman Mary Dokianos said the dispute arose from "differences in understanding and in interpretation" of federal regulations regarding disposal of natural gas. "Once we understood exactly what they meant by the wording, we have been working with them very closely to make sure we are in compliance with their needs," she said. She said new technology now enables Shell to capture and transport the natural gas economically. "We're pleased to bring the matter to conclusion," she said. Flaring and venting were common for years in the petroleum industry, since natural gas was considered a local commodity and difficult to transport. In recent years, however, it has become a valuable and transportable natural resource. As a result, the U.S. Minerals Management Service has imposed restrictions on flaring to protect natural gas and spare the environment. This was the third case settled by Shell in the last four years alleging underpayment of royalties to the federal government, the Justice Department said. In 2000, Shell agreed to pay $56 million to resolve claims of undervaluing gas produced from federal leases. A year later, the company paid $110 million to resolve claims that it undervalued crude oil extracted from federal land.
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 David Gresham at david@cechouston.org. |
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