Coalition Notes 07-09-2012

1. Surface Water Quality Public Comment Meetings. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold four public meetings to receive comments on the Bacteria Implementation Group’s (BIG) draft implementation plan to reduce bacteria in specified waterbodies across the H-GAC region. The meetings will be held:
   • Tuesday, July 10, at 10:30 a.m. at the East Montgomery County Improvement District, 21575 US Highway 59 North, Special Events Room, New Caney
   • Tuesday, July 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Westside Event Center, 2150 Countryplace Parkway, Pearland
   • Wednesday, July 11, at 10:30 a.m. at the Waller ISD Administration Building, District Board Room, 2214 Waller Street, Waller
   • Wednesday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m. at H-GAC, Conference Room A, Second Floor, 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston

   After the public comment period, the BIG may revise the draft implementation plan, if appropriate. The TCEQ will then consider the final plan for approval. Written comments should be submitted to Chip Morris, Water Quality Planning Division, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, MC 203, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas, 78711-3087 or faxed to 512-239-1414. Comments may be submitted electronically to www5.tceq. texas.gov/rules/ecomments by midnight on Monday, July 30, and should reference the  Implementation Plan for Seventy-Two Total Maximum Daily Loads for Bacteria in the Houston-Galveston Region. More information about the BIG project is available at www.h-gac.com/BIG.

2. Learn About Civil Prosecution at Upcoming Roundtable. Civil prosecution of environmental violations is the topic for the next Environmental Enforcement Roundtable from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, July 10, at H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor. During this roundtable, participants can learn more about preparing environmental investigations for civil prosecution, including what makes a strong case. Rock Owens, Harris County Attorney, and Jennifer Wheeler, Compliance Manager for Harris County Pollution Control Service, will provide information on common cases and how those cases are handled. Please RSVP by Monday, July 9, by contacting Erin Livingston at 832-681-2525.
3. Bayou Land Conservancy Mussel Pond Adventure Day. Join the Bayou Land Conservancy July 14, 8-11am, for a fun and environmentally friendly morning at the Mussel Pond Preserve (3750 FM 2854 Conroe, TX). Volunteers can help clear the trails at the Mussel Pond Preserve, learn about the 70 different species of birds and trees in the area, and explore the pond with kayaks provided by REI. RSVP to info@bayouland.org or call 281-576-1634 before July 12th. Learn more at http://bayoulandconservancy.org/.
4. Bayou Preservation Association Kayak Tour. The Bayou Preservation Association plays an influential role in protecting, conserving, and promoting all of our wonderful waterways. The Buffalo Bayou Shuttle Service is hosting a benefit kayak tour to help raise funds and awareness of the Bayou Preservation Association. The kayak tour takes place on July 15th at 2:30pm, starting at City Lot H ( located next to the Fonde Rec Center at 110 Sabine St). The Houston Skyline Kayak Tour begins at Woodway Memorial Park Access point, winds through the beautiful scenery and landscapes of Memorial Park and the Hogg Bird Sanctuary, and finishes with one of the most spectacular views of Houston. The tour ends at Sabine Street. The tour will be on tandem (2 person) sit on top kayaks. Learn more at http://bayoushuttle.com/.
   
5. Summer Salon: The Powerful Relationship between Education and Health. The Summer Salon Series continues on July 18th, 7:30-9pm, at Canopy on Montrose (3939 Montrose Blvd). The presentation will explore the powerful, and sometimes surprising, relationship of education and health, as published in Center for Houston’s Future’s 2012 Human Capital and Education Indicator Report. There is a fee of $15 to attend. RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/.
6. The Trust for Public Land’s 2012 National Survey on Conservation. The Trust for Public Land wants to know how you rate the importance of nature and open space in your life. What type of green space matters most to you? What type of parks do you like best? Take a few minutes to fill out The Trust for Public Land’s 2012 National Survey on Conservation by July 17th. Click here.
7. TAEP Call for Papers. The Texas Association of Environmental Professionals Environmental Challenges and Innovations Conference: Gulf Coast 2012 (ECIC12) Committee is seeking innovative sessions, panels and workshops presenting new information or insight into environmental practice, policy, and management issues, with emphasis on practical hands-on tools and techniques. Abstracts may be submitted for conference sessions, panel sessions and/or workshops. All ideas are welcome, and persons able to coordinate and lead sessions or workshops will receive special conference admission pricing and publication of their bios in the conference proceedings. Abstracts for sessions and workshops should be submitted to conference@taep.org beforeJuly 31, 2012.
8. Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens’ Summer Symposium. Mercer Arboretum is excited to announce the Summer Symposium. The day-long workshop focuses on hardy and bold tropical-looking plants that flourish in the heat. Gardening experts share tips on plant selection and water conservation during the summer months. The day begins with a specialty plant sale for participants. Plant sale is open to the public at 9 a.m. More at http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/.
9. It’s Nearly Hawk Watch Time. Before you know it, it will be August and time to start watching the skies for raptors. Actually, Swallow-tailed Kites will probably begin migrating in July so keep an eye out for them! The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with its Cuban Site Partner to obtain an estimate of the North American Swallow-tailed Kite population size. In order to have both counts operating at the same time, GCBO will begin counting at Smith Point on August 1 and run through November 15. Similar to last year, funding shortfalls require that GCBO run the count as a citizen science project. If you are interested in helping GCBO continue the collection of this very valuable and long standing dataset, please consider volunteering by contacting Susan Heath.
10. Wetland Plant Identification and Restoration Course. Texas Coastal Watershed Program is offering a wetlands plants course that runs through August. Learn about the work of the Wetland Restoration Team and receive basic plant identification training which will aid in your participation with the Team. The course runs 5 weeks in August, 9-12am every Wednesday, at Sheldon Lake State Park in northeast Harris County. A different plant family–-wetland grasses, rushes, sedges, and Sagittaria–-will be the focus of each week, plus an introduction to our wetland restoration efforts of the past five years, current projects, and future projects. Due to the popularity of the course and the limitation of the classroom size, the class is limited to 24 students. You must register with Marissa Sipocz (m-sipocz@tamu.edu) by July 25, 2010 and receive a confirmation email to reserve a spot in the course. The fee for this course is $20. For more information on the course, including a carpool from our Clear Lake office, please see the online flyer at http://www.urban-nature.org/urbanwet/documents/WetlandRestoreClass12.pdf.
11. RDA 2012 Design Charrette. Do you want to help shape one of Houston’s most prominent and most visited (8-12 million visitors a year) neighborhoods? Rice Design Alliance’s 2012 design charrette, “People, Places and Promenades,” will focus on creating a master plan for the Museum Park Super Neighborhood. The charrette will be held Saturday, August 4, 2012 from 8 am to 4 pm (The pre-charette site visit will be on July 28. A reception where the winning entries will be announced will be held on August 6, 2012 from 6 pm to 8 pm). More information is available at http://ricedesignalliance.org/.