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2016 Year In Review

We asked you, our readers, what have been the most significant environmental accomplishments, controversies, issues, news, and events in the greater Houston region.
Do you think we can narrow it down to a top ten list? Not without your help; that’s for sure. Please let us know which issues are most important to you:

 Here are the choices:
  • Public comment on the proposed solution for the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site
  • Local plastic bag regulations, state opposition to local regulation, and the City of Galveston’s unanimous decision to pursue regulation despite threatened litigation
  • NOT the Houston Bike Plan—but almost. (Fingers crossed!)
  • EPA petroleum refinery rulemaking, and legal efforts by Air Alliance Houston and others to ensure adequate opportunity for public input, including a special hearing here in Houston
  • Kick off of a revisitation of the Galveston Bay Plan
  • Climate Reality Project training here in Houston
  • The potential impact on the EPA, Department of the Interior, and other federal environmental programs as a result of November’s election
  • Tax Day Floods and subsequent floods–and a plethora of possible causes and consequences
  • Texas Supreme Court ruling regarding the City of Houston’s ability to enforce air quality laws
  • City of Houston recycling contract renegotiation (and elimination of curbside glass pickup)
  • Warehouse fire in Spring Branch (which the Houston Chronicle covered as part “Chemical Breakdown,” an in-depth analysis of chemical safety risks)
  • The 5th Circuit upheld lawsuit against ExxonMobil for 10 million pounds of illegal pollution at Baytown refinery and chemical plant
  • Pintail Landfill in Waller County and ongoing permit applications and denials
  • Encroachment of proposed roadways on the Katy Prairie
  • Build out of Bayou Greenways 2020