CEC Notes
CEC Hiring Environmental Reporter
The Citizens’ Environmental Coalition is hiring a part-time environmental reporter/editor. Responsibilities include tracking local environmental issues, writing for the monthly Environmental Exchange and weekly email Environmental News Update, and editing stories from other writers. For a complete job description, visit www.cechouston.org/jobs.html.

If interested, please send a resume, cover letter, and samples of your written work to issues@cechouston.org.

Coalition Notes
Saving Seagrass
Did you know that Galveston Bay has lost 97 percent of its seagrass beds, mostly due to water pollution and subsidence?

“Seagrass is very dependent on water quality,” explains Jennifer Brian of the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF). “The water has to be very clear in order to support the photosynthetic process.”

Seagrass beds, which grow entirely under water, serve as nursery areas for fish, shrimp, crabs, and their prey, and are also valuable for shoreline sediment stabilization.

With the help of volunteers, the GBF is replenishing seagrass in several areas of the West Bay.

Since last October, the organization has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service to collect plant material from a filtering system at the Barney Davis power plant in Corpus Christi and broadcast it into Maggie’s Cove and Snake Island Cove.

Through a separate project, GBF, in partnership with the National Marine Fisheries Service, will plant 12,996 seagrass plugs in the Bay by the end of this year. Once or twice a month, volunteers will remove small plugs from Cold Pass, one of the only remaining natural seagrass beds in the Galveston Bay system, and transplant them into Redfish Cove.

“Water quality in West Bay has actually improved, and they’ve noticed that the seagrass is starting to come back,” says Brian. “We think if we bring the plant material in, it will do well.”

For more information and to sign up to volunteer, call GBF at 281-332-3381.

Eco Notes
Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area?
U.S. Congressman Gene Green and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison have introduced legislation (HR1776 and S1809) that would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of establishing Buffalo Bayou as a National Heritage Area. Such a designation could provide additional federal funds for the bayou. Both bills are currently in committee. The Quality of Life Coalition is urging Houstonians to support them by writing to their legislators at US House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515 or US Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

Fighting the Freeway
On April 24, about 200 citizens gathered at Fair Haven United Methodist Church to voice concerns about the proposed expansion of the Katy Freeway to 22 or even more lanes. Opponents to the project say the process is moving too fast, without allowing time to consider public opinion and mass transit alternatives. Specific issues discussed include increased traffic and congestion caused by induced demand, air pollution and its health effects, flooding, and noise.

From that public meeting, a group of organizations and individuals formed with a mission to stop the expansion through legal means. The coalition is considering filing suit, claiming the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) illegally neglects to cover all environmental issues thoroughly. “We don’t believe that the final EIS fairly and honestly presented the drainage, noise, and air pollution issues,” explains environmental attorney Jim Blackburn. Blackburn also voices concern over the EIS’ failure to consider rail alternatives. For details on the fight against the freeway, visit the Rethink Katy Freeway website at www.livablehouston.org/katyfreeway.

Above the Law
On May 9, the US House of Representatives approved legislation that exempts the Pentagon from major environmental laws it said are affecting military readiness. The exemptions, which were tacked onto a major military spending bill, would allow the armed forces to ignore Endangered Species Act protections on military installations if a separate natural resources management plan is in place. The regulations would also permit the Pentagon to kill migratory birds by accident during operations and have some relief from laws protecting marine mammals, clean air, and hazardous-waste cleanup. (AP 5/2/02, Houston Chronicle 5/10/02)