NEW BILLS COULD ENDANGER TEXAS BEACHES AND PUBLIC ACCESS
by Sarah Morgan

Two bills before the state legislature, if passed, would exempt Brazoria County’s Treasure Island from the Texas Open Beaches Act, setting a dangerous precedent for future exemptions and accelerating the rate of erosion along the coastline, some beach advocates argue.

According to the Texas chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting oceans and beaches, House Bill 1603 and its companion, Senate Bill 740, would exempt 4,500 feet of coastline from public access and the environmental protections provided under the Texas Open Beaches Act and the Dune Protection Act.

The Open Beaches Act states, as Texas policy, that the public has free and unrestricted access to beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Further, the Act states that it is illegal to construct any barrier or restraint, or post any signs or warnings, restricting access to these beaches. The Dune Protection Act is designed to protect dunes, which play a major role in preventing beach erosion and protecting inland areas. Dunes are commonly damaged and destroyed by development, Surfrider says.

Under these acts, Surfrider says, homes built in Treasure Island should be removed, and should never have been built in the first place.

"Your tax dollars are being spent to protect people who rent houses too close to an eroding shore. Two-thirds of the Texas coast is eroding at 2 to 10 feet per year," said Ellis Pickett, secretary and spokesman for the Surfrider Foundation’s Texas chapter, in a notice about the bills. "We're not against development, but we insist on sustainable development. Our goal is to be able to stand on the beach 30 years from now and say we made the right decisions."

Treasure Island already has a long history of public access violations and erosion problems, according to Surfrider. The development was built in the 1970s, but by the ‘90s high erosion rates had already pushed the public beach area into Treasure Island. Also, the subdivision has posted illegal signs restricting vehicular access to the beaches, warning that vehicles of owners not living in the area will be towed.

Then, in January of 2000, Treasure Island’s Municipal Utility District constructed a geotextile tube, placing it along the coastline in an effort to combat erosion. A few months later the tube had collapsed, and now property owners have lined the shore with concrete and boulders. These efforts, Surfrider contends, have actually accelerated the erosion process and damaged ecosystems.

Authors of the bills, Rep. Dennis Bonnen and Sen. Kyle Janek, say the bills are designed to protect Treasure Island residents, saying there is confusion along the coast about the property line. The line is supposed to be determined by the line of vegetation, which changes over time. Bill supporters argue that this legislation will set the property line more permanently.

The new bills would move the line of vegetation behind a property owners’ shore protection structure, Surfrider says, encouraging the construction of illegal structures. Residents of Treasure Island can continue to build geotextile tubes, rock structures, or various other protection devices, and other property owners, such as those in Surfside, could follow their example.

Pickett said these bills benefit only the fewer than 50 people living in Treasure Island but harm another 21,000,000 Texans. Pickett pointed out that 50 percent of the Texas population lives within 100 miles of the coast.

Surfrider is proposing that the money that might be used to build shore protection structures should instead be used to assist property owners in relocating. It also holds that the State of Texas should require more sustainable development practices to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.

For more information and photos that illustrate the issue, visit http://www.surfrider.org/texas/issues/2005-Leg/index.html.

PUBLIC MEETING ON GRAND PARKWAY TOLL FACILITY PROPOSAL
By Sarah Morgan

The Texas Department of Transportation will conduct an open house public meeting on May 4, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Cinco Ranch High School Ninth Grade Center, 23440 Cinco Ranch Blvd., in Katy.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the operation of section D of the Grand Parkway in Harris and Ft. Bend Counties as a toll facility and to solicit public comments. The toll facility would follow the alignment of the SH 99 controlled access highway between Highland Knolls Drive and Kingsland Boulevard, a distance of approximately 2.1 miles. Currently, segment D is a free 19-mile stretch of road between US-59 south and I-10 west, built to include 1 mile of segment E to Franz Road (north of I-10).

Only new construction would be subject to tolls; travel on existing public access lanes would be toll free. The proposed SH 99 toll facility will be displayed at the public meeting on an aerial photographic base map. According to Chris Sagstetter, a member of the Texas Commission on Natural Resources, segment D was built using federal funds made available for the purpose of providing an emergency hurricane evacuation route. However, during normal rainfall, flooding occurs on the feeder roads, causing segment D to be shut down. All signage referring to the evacuation route was removed by the state.

Sagstetter has raised concerns as to whether a toll project would fix the flooding problems associated with segment D, and whether the segment could serve as an evacuation route, if it were converted to a toll facility. Other concerns include the repayment of the federal funds allocated for an evacuation route, if this segment becomes a toll facility.

Some are also concerned that this project may be another attempt to convert a free road into a toll road, a process that many transportation and community groups oppose.

All interested citizens are invited to attend this meeting to discuss the project with TxDOT representatives and provide comments. Written comments may be submitted electronically to hou-piowebmail@dot.state.tx.us. The deadline for submitting written comments is May 18.

WATERSMART LANDSCAPING WORKSHOP AND PLANT SALE

The sixth Annual WaterSmart landscaping workshop and plant sale will address techniques that can make a yard and garden water smart – a lush landscape that requires less water and fewer fertilizers and pesticides, is also low maintenance and better for the environment. Hosted by Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Sea Grant, the workshop will be held Saturday, April 30, from 8 am to 5 pm, at the Pasadena Convention Center. Tickets are $40 at the door and admission includes continental breakfast, lunch, exhibits, a wide selection of classes, and a landscape plant sale. Landscape experts will present workshops on a range of topics from landscaping for wildlife to choosing Houston-tough plants, from backyard composting to dealing with pests. Keynote speakers include noted gardening author and lecturer Felder Rushing, writer and plant developer Greg Grant, and horticulturist and native plant expert David Creech. For more information, visit http://www.watersmart.cc or call (281) 218-0721.

NATURE CENTER SEMINAR: CREATING HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE

Learn how to provide habitat and attract beneficial wildlife to your landscape at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center’s seminar, "Creating a Habitat for Wildlife," on Saturday, April 30, from 9 am to 2:30 pm. Morning sessions are a talk about creating habitat for beneficial wildlife by Diana Foss, wildlife biologist for Texas Parks & Wildlife, followed by Bob Honig, local dragonfly expert, and Anita Nelson, co-owner of Nelson’s Water Gardens, who will describe building a pond as habitat. Afternoon sessions include information about local amphibians and bats and about integrated pest management. Pre-registration is required. The seminar is $20 for Nature Center members, $30 for nonmembers, and includes a box lunch and optional walk led by a Nature Center staff. Also, teachers can receive SBEC credit by attending this seminar. For more information, call (713) 681-8433 or visit http://www.houstonarboretum.org.

HOUSTON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL ROAD RALLY

The Houston Geological Society is gearing up for their annual Road Rally, where a team or individual contestants receive a packet with clues directing them to travel by car to secret cultural, historical, and geological sites in and around Houston. The team that answers the most questions based on the sites/clues, and does so using the least mileage, wins a trophy. This year’s event will be April 23 at 9 am. Coffee and donuts and a souvenir t-shirt are included, and the course takes three to four hours to complete, ending in a social event at which trophies are awarded. For more information or to register, visit . For volunteer information, contact Diane Yeager at (713) 646-1138.

EARTH DAY EVENTS

The Houston Zoo will celebrate Earth Day this year with the Waste Management Earth Day Festival, Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, from 10 am to 3 pm. The Houston Museum of Natural Science will celebrate with special IMAX events and activities all day Saturday, April 23. The Houston Zoo’s event will feature educational booths with earth-friendly organizations and their conservation and recycling ideas; also the Zoo’s annual paper drive, where participants can bring recyclable paper to the Zoo and receive free admission and/or the recycled art contest; and other onsite events highlighting the migration patterns of various animals; plus musical entertainment, touch animals, and lots of natural wonders to behold. For more information, contact (713) 533-6500 or visit http://www.houstonzoo.org.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science will show Blue Planet: Forces of Nature in the Wortham IMAX Theatre, and Earth's Wild Ride in the Burke Baker Planetarium, in addition to the museum’s other earth-friendly activities, including the rainforest in the Cockrell Butterfly Center. Participants can also enjoy free hands-on activities in an Earth carnival in the museum's entry hall and on the Cockrell sundial. For more information, contact (713) 639-4629 or visit http://www.hmns.org.

MOTHERS FOR CLEAN AIR SEEKS SCHOOL HEALTH COORDINATOR AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Mothers for Clean Air, a local nonprofit environmental organization, has received a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to implement EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program in Spring Branch Independent School District schools. The School Health Coordinator will work with SBISD and MfCA to organize training of school IAQ coordinators and assist selected coordinators in implementing EPA’s program in their respective schools. The School Health Coordinator will report to the MfCA project manager and will collaborate with SBISD’s Associate Superintendent of Facilities, Transportation and Support.

Responsibilities include facilitating the implementation of EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program in 46 SBISD schools. The School Health Coordinator will work with SBISD’s Facilities Department to develop a strategy for implementation, partner with EPA Region VI, Fort Bend ISD and Region IV Education Service Center to develop training sessions, arrange a Tools for Schools presentation for SBISD principals, and more.

The applicant should have a bachelor’s degree, reliable transportation and at least two years of work experience. The applicant should be an excellent communicator and have strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

The applicant should be passionate and committed because compensation is limited. The School Health Coordinator is a part-time, one-year grant funded position and does not currently include benefits. Time required is estimated at 15-20 hours per week and pay is $1000 per month.

MfCA has also received a US Environmental Protection Agency grant to work with the residents of Southeast Houston and area stakeholders to reduce the community’s exposure to hazardous pollution. The Community Outreach Coordinator will inform the community of the project, recruit residents and stakeholders to be part of the process, assist with implementation of the project and coordinate training of residents to take air samples in the community. The Community Outreach Coordinator will report to the MfCA executive director and will fulfill the requirements of the community organizer position in the EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving grant called Improving Environmental Quality through Collaboration.

Responsibilities include learning about the community through research and meeting with individuals in the community, building a network of community leaders and stakeholders, recruiting residents to participate in the project and to take community air samples, and more.

The applicant should have a master’s degree in a related field or a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of experience in community organizing, and reliable transportation. The applicant should be an excellent communicator in both English and Spanish and have strong organizational and interpersonal skills. The Community Outreach Coordinator is a three-year grant funded position that does not include benefits. This position can be either full-time or part-time and requires work on weekends and in the evenings.

To apply for either position, e-mail your resume and a cover letter stating why you think you would be good for this job to mfca@mothersforcleanair.org.

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