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August 11, 2014

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: August 12, 2014

Featured

  1. Correction: Wetlands-Water Reuse story (Houston Chronicle, 8/3/2014)
    As murky water snakes through a man-made wetland between Dallas and Houston, its shallow ponds of lush vegetation slowly filter out phosphorous and nitrates until, a week later, the water runs clear as a creek into the area drinking supply. The 2,000-acre wetland system in Fairfield converts what is mainly treated wastewater that would otherwise flow into the Gulf of Mexico into an additional 65 million gallons per day feeding the Richland-Chambers Reservoir — a significant contribution in a state enduring prolonged drought. At $75 million, the wetlands system cost far less to build than traditional filtering infrastructure.
    www.chron.com
  2. Galena Park residents urge new EPA pollution controls on refineries (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 8/5/2014)
    Galena Park, a refinery town along the Houston Ship Channel, has long dealt with dust and pollution. Scores of people from Galena Park and other communities near refineries recently urged the Environmental Protection Agency to require more aggressive measures for reducing harmful emissions. The proposed rules include the first federally mandated monitoring of the facilities’ fence lines for the human carcinogen benzene. The hearing at a Galena Park community center was the second of two held nationally on the proposed rules; the other was in Los Angeles.
    www.houstonchronicle.com
  3. Future power demand from electric cars sparks study (Ryan Holeywell – Houston Chronicle, 8/3/2014)
    Even though electric vehicles aren’t yet causing traffic jams, the car companies that make them and the power companies that charge their batteries are working to keep them from tying up the electric grid in the future. Houston-based transmission company CenterPoint Energy is one of a handful of utilities across the nation partnering with automakers to figure out how to manage the demands of plug-in electric vehicles in order to keep them from overwhelming parts of the grid. Only about 296,000 electric vehicles are on U.S. roads right now, but the number will exceed 2.7 million within a decade, according to forecasts from Navigant Research.
    www.houstonchronicle.com

EcoNotes

  • 11 August
    • Some Texas Cities Turn to Higher Water Impact Fees (Eli Okun – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 8 August
    • Public Calls for Health Protections at Refinery Hearing in Texas, Industry Defends Status Quo (Marcelo Norsworthy – Environmental Defense Fund)
      http://blogs.edf.org
    • Texas may ignore EPA climate rule (Timothy Cama – The Hill)
      http://thehill.com
    • EPA Finalizes 50th GHG Permit in Texas (Environmental Leader)
      www.environmentalleader.com
  • 7 August
    • Texas’ Gulf Coast, Still Battered From Ike, Not Ready for Next Storm (Neena Satija – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • Price of Wind Energy Goes Down in Texas (Dylan Baddour – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • Forecasters Decrease Number Of Hurricanes For 2014 (Pat Hernandez – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Battles continue over local bans on hydraulic fracturing (Heather Corken Palmer and Michael Weller, Bracewell & Giuliani – Oil & Gas Financial Journal)
      www.ogfj.com
  • 6 August
    • Two Texas Parks and Wildlife Properties Achieve International ‘Dark Sky’ Status (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      www.tpwd.state.tx.us
    • Residents Tell EPA: We’re Not Secondary To Refinery Profits (Dave Fehling – StateImpact)
      http://stateimpact.npr.org
    • The Need to Develop Flora and Fauna Biometric Tools for Urban Planning (Mark Hostetler – The Nature of Cities)
      www.thenatureofcities.com
    • Should Refineries Face Tighter Regulation? (Michael Hagerty – Houston Matters)
      www.houstonmatters.org
  • 5 August
    • Galena Park residents urge new EPA pollution controls on refineries (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Southeast Houston Neighborhood Dealing with Chemical Spill (Martha Martinez – News 92 FM)
      http://news92fm.com
    • Company looks to reinvent itself with small gas-to-liquids project (Rhiannon Meyers – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • EPA hosts public hearing in Texas on proposed standards for oil refinery air pollution (Fox Business)
      www.foxbusiness.com
    • Politicians, Texas companies still figuring out the new rules for carbon dioxide (James Osborne – Dallas News)
      www.dallasnews.com
    • Texas joins top ranks for solar construction (James Osborne – Dallas News)
      http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com
    • Texas minnows added to endangered list (Rebecca Salinas – My SA News)
      www.mysanantonio.com
  • 4 August
  • 3 August
    • Future power demand from electric cars sparks study (Ryan Holeywell – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Correction: Wetlands-Water Reuse story (Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 2 August
    • TEXAS VIEW: Texas leads in emissions, fights change (OA Online)
      www.oaoa.com
  • 1 August
    • Hydroelectric dominance is water under the bridge (Don Mason – Fuel Fix)
      http://fuelfix.com
  • 31 July
    • Texas Parks and Wildlife CO-OP Grants Helping Texas Children Reconnect with Nature (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      www.tpwd.state.tx.us
  • 30 July
  • 29 July
    • SECO set to consider adopting more efficient building codes (Cyrus Reed – Sierra Club)
      http://texas2.sierraclub.org
    • H-GAC presents possibilities for Greater West Houston mobility (Alex Endress – The Rancher)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com
    • The loophole energy companies got away with that POTUS wants to stop (Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • Waste Management to divest nearly $2 billion trash-to-power subsidiary (Josh Cain – Houston Business Journal)
      www.bizjournals.com
    • The Arboretum’s Booming Bunny Population (Amy Barton – Houston Arboretum)
      http://houstonarboretum.org
  • 25 July
    • Houston-area bridges in need of repair (Dana Guthrie – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 24 July
    • City of Houston may seek water from Lake Conroe (Howard Roden – The Courier of Montgomery County)
      www.yourhoustonnews.com