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September 20, 2015

Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: September 20, 2015

Featured

  1. Construction Begins on Two Stormwater Detention Basins in the Greens Bayou Watershed (The Tribune, 9/14/2015)
    “The Harris County Flood Control District has begun construction on two regional stormwater detention basins that will reduce flooding risks and damages in portions of the Greens Bayou watershed in north Harris County. The basins are part of a suite of new flood damage reduction projects in the watershed known as Progress Greens. The two basins were bid as one project and represent the largest single construction contract ever managed by the Flood Control District, involving the excavation and removal of a total of nearly 5.8 million cubic yards of soil. The two basins are referred to as the Kuykendahl Stormwater Detention Basin near Kuykendahl Road and Ella Boulevard and the Glen Forest Stormwater Detention Basin near Greens Road and Interstate 45.”
    www.ourtribune.com
  2. Army Corps Of Engineers: ‘No Surprises’ In Dismantling Of Radioactive Barge In Galveston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media, 9/14/2015)
    “When the Army Corps of Engineers proposed floating a radioactive barge to a shipyard in Galveston for demolition, you can imagine what some people thought. Islanders grilled the Corps at a public meeting. But the initial push-back died down and this spring, the barge arrived in the Port of Galveston. In the 1960’s, the barge, named the Sturgis, had been outfitted with a mini-nuclear power plant for use by the U.S. Army. Now, crews are almost ready to begin cutting the Sturgis apart. ‘We’ve done an entry into the reactor containment area to get some additional radiological dose readings on some of the larger components we will be pulling out later,’ said Brenda Barber, the Army Corps’ project manager. Barber says the nuclear reactor has no fuel in it but that the metal in and around it remain radioactive but she says at low levels… The actual removal of the radioactive parts won’t happen until later this winter. They’ll be buried at a disposal site possibly in West Texas.”
    www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  3. The Fight to Save a Prairie Chicken (Erica Goode – The New York Times, 9/11/2015)
    “The prairie chicken has urgently needed help for some time. Almost a million of them once roamed the coastal prairie of Texas and Louisiana. But by 1919, the birds had disappeared from Louisiana, and in 1967, with only 1,070 left, the chicken, in fact a type of grouse, was listed as endangered. Since then, its numbers have declined precipitously, despite a vigorous captive breeding program and painstaking efforts to protect young chicks in the wild. In 2002, the yearly count of the birds by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the refuge, dipped to 40, an all-time low. This year’s total was 104.”
    www.nytimes.com

EcoNotes

  • 18 September
  • 17 September
  • 16 September
    • Challenges loom as Houston grows (Erin Mulvaney – Houston Chronicle)
      www.houstonchronicle.com
    • Methane Rule Aims to Strike Balance between Business and the Environment (Brian Butler – airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Wildfire thwarted by county preparations (Texas A&M Forest Service)
      http://txforestservice.tamu.edu
    • Digital Photography Workshops Coming to Texas State Parks (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Water demand from fracking less than 1 percent of U.S. total: study (Richard Valdmanis – Planet Ark News)
      http://planetark.org
    • Climate-forced migrations and prospect of refugee crises concern experts (Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Q&A: Refugees International, climate displacement program manager (Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • NOAA Fisheries Announces the Gulf of Mexico Greater Amberjack Recreational Fishing Season will close on September 28, 2015 (NOAA)
      http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
    • EPA chief: Agency did not shirk responsibility in mine spill (Matthew Daly – KCBD)
      www.kcbd.com
    • Texas State Parks to Host National Public Lands Day Events (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
    • Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Lavaca County Captive White-tailed Deer; Linked to Index Herd (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
      http://tpwd.texas.gov
  • 15 September
    • New Study Finds Pollution Kills — Even With Stricter Air Quality Standards (airCurrent News)
      http://airalliancehouston.org
    • Rice farmers get unexpected support from NASA study (Logan Hawkes – Southwest Farm Press)
      http://southwestfarmpress.com
    • Where was the support? Lawmakers hear concerns over environment, ag policy (Trey Mewes – Austin Daily Herald)
      www.austindailyherald.com
    • Water demand from fracking less than 1 percent of U.S. total: study (Reuters)
      www.reuters.com
    • CEC Entertainment, Inc. Wins Environmental Sustainability Award for Ongoing Commitment to Protecting the Environment and Improving Energy Efficiency (Market Watch)
      www.marketwatch.com
    • Climate Change Threatens Electric Grid Reliability in the Southeast (Myriam Alexander-Kearns – Center for American Progress)
      www.americanprogress.org
    • Red tide shows up off southern Texas coast, some fish kills (The Brownsville Herald)
      www.brownsvilleherald.com
  • 14 September
    • Construction Begins on Two Stormwater Detention Basins in the Greens Bayou Watershed (The Tribune)
      www.ourtribune.com
    • Army Corps Of Engineers: ‘No Surprises’ In Dismantling Of Radioactive Barge In Galveston (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • America’s city rankings set for Texas-sized shake up; Houston to edge past Chicago (Jon Herskovitz – Reuters)
      http://mobile.reuters.com
    • Shift to Lake Conroe surface water set for fall in Woodlands (Bridget Balch – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
    • Deadly Heat: OSHA Says Houston Worker Death Was Preventable (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Gulf Council to Meet in Galveston, Texas (Gulf Of Mexico Fishery Management Council)
      http://gulfcouncil.org
    • NSF invests $20 million to enhance resilience of critical infrastructure (National Science Foundation)
      www.nsf.gov
    • STW Resources : Reports Completion of Desalination Unit for Horizon City, Texas (4-Traders)
      www.4-traders.com
    • Innovative polyurea secondary containment liner solves EPA mandate for spill control (Eagle Ford Texas)
      http://eaglefordtexas.com
    • Global warming pause could be ending, UK says (Timothy Cama – The Hill)
      http://thehill.com
    • Drought conditions expanding in Texas (Ron Smith – Southwest Farm Press)
      http://southwestfarmpress.com
  • 13 September
    • San Antonio desalination plant near completion of first phase (The Statesman)
      www.statesman.com
  • 11 September
    • Who’s Most At Risk From Climate Change? Not The People Who Caused It (Fast Company)
      www.fastcoexist.com
    • Another deer tests positive for CWD (Craig Nyhus – Lone Star Outdoor News)
      www.lsonews.com
    • In the garden with Urban Harvest: Use nature’s patterns to reduce garden labor (Bob Randall – Houston Chronicle)
      www.chron.com
  • 10 September
    • Toxic pollution from the coal-fired power plant blows over neighborhoods, schools and parks, threatens public health (Sierra Club)
      http://content.sierraclub.org
    • One Deadly Pollutant Persists In A Fast-Growing Houston Suburb (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
    • Nose-like biosensor sniffs out stinky drinking water (Popular Science)
      www.popsci.com
    • SBA now offering help with drought in Texas (Corsicana Daily Sun)
      www.corsicanadailysun.com
  • 9 September
    • Water Board Moves to Resolve Reservoir Conflict (Kiah Collier – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
    • New Law May Not Thwart Hays County Water Project (Kiah Collier – The Texas Tribune)
      www.texastribune.org
  • 8 September
    • Studies project soaring heat-index ‘danger days,’ AC demand in Texas (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
      http://texasclimatenews.org
    • Why Fewer Atlantic Hurricanes May Not Lower Risk On Texas Coast (Dave Fehling – Houston Public Media)
      www.houstonpublicmedia.org
  • 4 September
    • The Fight to Save a Prairie Chicken (Erica Goode – The New York Times)
      www.nytimes.com

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