ECONOTES 2013-05-13: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. Safe passing ordinance passes Houston council (Houston Chronicle, 5/7/13)
   The City Council on Wednesday approved a safe passing ordinance requiring drivers to give cyclists, pedestrians, equestrians and other non-vehicular road users three feet of space at all times. Houston was the only major city in Texas that did not have a safe passing law, though officials have aggressively encouraged cycling in the region. The new law covers anyone not in an automobile or truck, including tow truck drivers.
   http://blog.chron.com/
2. Grass Roots Residents 12-Year Volunteer Effort Successful in Remapping Cypress Creek Watershed Flood Hazard Areas (CCFCC Look Upstream, 5/13/13)
   The Hurricane Allison flooding disaster in 2001 triggered a 2-year, $30+ million government project to upgrade existing flood maps for all 22 watersheds in Harris County. However, when technical experts reviewed the upgrade in mapping, they identified significant inaccuracies. Appeals seeking corrective action were denied by FEMA. Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Planning Department and the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition worked together to determine and correct the inaccuracies of the FEMA computer modeling.
   Look Upstream May13
3. Salty sea yields a fresh drink of water (Matthew Tresaugue – Fuel Fix, 5/7/13)
   Offshore platforms that produce oil also turn seawater into freshwater by filtering it through fine membranes in a complex process called reverse osmosis. While the process is not new, the systems on display at the Offshore Technology Conference are efficient enough to hold the possibility of desalination as a source of water in drought-prone regions across Texas and the U.S. The technology used for offshore oil and gas operations can produce tens of thousands of gallons of water a day.
   http://fuelfix.com/

EcoNotes

• 13 May
  • Grass Roots Residents 12-Year Volunteer Effort Successful in Remapping Cypress Creek Watershed Flood Hazard Areas (CCFCC Look Upstream)
    Look Upstream May13
• 10 May
  • Heavy Rains Don’t Mean Drought Threat Is Gone (Jack Williams and Edel Howlin – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Smaller Water Bills Flow Through the House, But Big Funding Misses Out (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Pipeline Bills Moving This Session, But Maybe Not the Ones You Were Thinking (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Criminal Investigation Launched for West Fertilizer Plant Explosion (Terrence Henry – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 9 May
  • Statewide Drought Worsens (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Up to $9 Million Available from EPA for 2013 Diesel Emission Reduction Grants (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
• 8 May
  • TPWD partners share their love of Texas’ natural wonders. (Louie Bond – Texas Parks & Wildlife)
    http://www.tpwmagazine.com/
  • Galveston Hopes Federal Money Will Help Keep Water Flowing After A Major Storm (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday Approaches (Ed Mayberry – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Community Groups File Suit Due to EPA’s Failure to Meet Clean Air Act Deadlines to Revise Rules to Require More Accurate Reporting of Pollution (Air Alliance Houston News)
    http://airalliancehouston.org/
  • Water Bills Flood the House (Olivia Gordon – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Texas House Approves Bill Ending Comptroller’s Endangered Species Duties (David Barer – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • How the West Fertilizer Explosion is Influencing Debate at the Legislature (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 7 May
  • UPDATE: Safe passing ordinance passes Houston council (Houston Chronicle)
    http://blog.chron.com/
  • Agenda Texas: What’s Left to Do? (Ben Philpott – The Texas Tribune)
    https://www.texastribune.org/
  • Texas Groundwater Levels Suffer Sharp Drop, Study Finds (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    https://www.texastribune.org/
  • Houston Gets New Rules For Sharing Roads with Runners And Bikers (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/
  • Salty sea yields a fresh drink of water (Matthew Tresaugue – Fuel Fix)
    http://fuelfix.com/
  • Texas Groundwater Levels Suffer Sharp Drop, Study Finds (Kate Galbraith – The Texas Tribune)
    http://www.texastribune.org/
  • More Than Their Fair Share? Texas County Questions Frack Water Disposal Wells (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
  • Nearly 26 Million Americans Continue to Live with Asthma, EPA says (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/
• 6 May
  • Rick Perry to Obama: Give coastal states more access & dollars (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Fuel Fix)
    http://fuelfix.com/
  • As water legislation stalls, Texas’ drought goes on and on (and on) (Texas Climate News)
    http://texasclimatenews.org/
  • StateImpact Texas Talks Energy Legislation with KXAN (Mose Buchele – StateImpact)
    http://stateimpact.npr.org/
• 3 May
  • Environmental groups sue EPA over refinery emissions (Matthew Tresaugue – Fuel Fix)
    http://fuelfix.com/
  • House Republicans Have Backup Plan To Revive Water Bill (Ryan Poppe – Texas Public Radio)
    http://tpr.org/
  • Water, MUD and Beer: Recipe for an Explosive Hill Country Development Fight (Forrest Wilder – Texas Observer)
    http://www.texasobserver.org/
• 2 May
  • Texas Water Shortages Could Put Limit on Fracking (Nathan Bernier – KUT News)
    http://www.kutnews.org/
• 1 May
  • House speaker vows to find money for water (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
  • Column: Don’t mess with Texas water, frackers warned (John Kemp – Reuters)
    http://www.reuters.com/