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CEC ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS UPDATE 9/12/03 COALITION Notes New EPA site lists compliance history The newly launched Enforcement and Compliance History
Online web-site at Livable Houston presents lesson from DC Recently the Center for Houston's Future sent a team of smart-growth experts to Washington D.C. for a "learning journey" related to its Scenario Development Convocation that is proceeding through this fall. Members of the team, mostly representing suburban areas west and north of Houston will present their observations on urban transit and development Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. For more information call the Gulf Coast Institute at (713) 523-5755. Grand Parkway opponents on KPFT nest week Tune in to KPFT, 90.1 Thursday at 10 am, for Thresholds.
Host George Reiter will be interviewing Christine Sagstetter director
of Houston Sierra Club's anti-sprawl campaign and other community activists
opposed to the further construction of the Grand Parkway. Discussion will
include the effects of the parkway on the communities it will go through,
the environment of the Katy Prairie, and the long term development of
the city of Houston. They'll be talking about who's supporting the Grand
Parkway, and what's being done to stop it. Threshold's is a call-in show,
so listeners can participate in the conversation by calling (713) 526-5738.
Green groups host candidates' forums With city elections eight weeks away, local environmental groups are trying to find out which candidates will work toward a greener Houston. Several candidates’ forums are scheduled during upcoming weeks.
Local Proposition 4 could mean more parks fro Harris, other counties Proposition 4 on the statewide ballot is being touted by local conservation groups as a way to increase green space in Harris County. If passed the measure would rewrite state law to allow Municipal Utility Districts to use taxpayer money to build parks. The law would apply to 13 counties across the state including Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Brazoria and Waller Counties. The new revenues will result in more parks, according to Glenda Barret, executive director for the Park People, a non-profit groups that supported the measure. Barret is confident Proposition 4 will pass because of what she perceives as growing conversation about quality of life in Houston. "This is a point that’s becoming more and
more popular, I think more people are realizing the importance of parks
and green space and are trying to do something about it," she said. Still, the measure would primarily impact unincorporated areas. Harris County Parks Department director John De Bessonet said by passing Proposition 4, voters would help the department in their race against developers. "Someone has to look to the future," De Bessonet said. "If commissioners didn’t buy land 25 years ago that we’re using today we would really be in trouble; if we can get to what we call the ‘frontier area’ of county before development gets there, we can get substantial parcels of land fairly reasonably (priced)." Proposition 4 will be up for vote this Saturday, Sept. 13. Air quality focus of leadership conference Held for the first time in Houston, air quality issues inevitably emerged as a theme of the environmental conference over the weekend. At a workshop hosted by the citizens' air monitoring group, the Texas Bucket Brigade, Ken Martinez showed attendees how to collect samples to test for industrial toxins. Martinez said the group will soon launch a new project to measure pollution levels in the Galveston Bay Area on a daily basis. Martinez said daily monitoring would be an important
tool to hold chemical refineries accountable for their emissions. Local
regulators agreed they desperately need a new tool when it comes to enforcing
clean air laws. Chief of environmental crimes unit for the Harris County
District Attorney's office, Roger Haseman said state laws weakened by
industry lobbyists make it almost impossible for him to go after violators.
As a result, Haseman said the county prosecutes very
few air cases. "Republicans needed a chance to govern and now we've
gotten an up close and personal view of just how badly they're screwing
it all up," Bell said. When weak environmental laws fail to protect citizens, the courtroom is often the last line of defense for victims of corporate polluters. That’s why conference attendees took time out from workshops to hold a rally against Proposition 12, a measure they say would cap compensation for a variety of legal actions including suits against polluters. One environmentalist, Colin McKelleps a student from Austin said he planned to vote against Proposition 12. "I think would be letting corporate polluters off the hook because they know they can dump their toxins, pay the fines and then go on doing business," he said. "And we can't afford to do that right now with our air bad as it is." Like any of the attendees said the conference helped them refocus their energy in combating Houston smog.
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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