UPDATES

Sorry I have been away!  But I am back:

Meetings:  NTAEP is meeting Next Wednesday at the Spring Creek BBQ in Irving, Texas.  Speaker and topic:

Barbara Koerble, AICP, CFM 

North Texas: A Green Future?

 
Vision North Texas is an award winning partnership of private, public, and academic organizations that has held stakeholder workshops throughout the 16-county North Texas region to find out what people think about our region's future. Through Vision North Texas, leaders and experts around the region have worked together to imagine a future that is better than ‘business as usual’. North Texas 2050 is a major new ‘gamebook’ for our region that was released at the Regional Summit 2010.  In addition, North Texas 2050  has been shaped by research and the experience of experts in transportation, land use and development, housing, the environment, health and all the other issues that will determine how livable and successful North Texas will be in the coming decades.

 How can we ensure that North Texas retains its green spaces, clean air and water amidst expanding development and a rapidly growing population? Retaining and managing natural areas is one of the five major policy areas in North Texas 2050. "Greenprinting" is one strategy for identifying high-priority natural areas for preservation, so they can serve as prototypes for an emerging Regional Ecosystem Framework.  Low Impact Development (LID)is another strategy that will be featured in an upcoming North Texas competition. The presentation will address other area initiatives to protect north Texas watersheds, tree canopies and ecosystems.

Another Meeting Annoucement!

The Fort Worth Chapter of STEP will be meeting January 27th!

Topic:  The Texas Drought - How Much Longer and What to do?
Speaker:  Ms. Rebecca Miller, Chief meteorologist Channel 33 News

Date:  January 27th
Time: 11:30 am - 1pm
Cost:  Members:  $17, nonmembers: $23, Students- $15

Location:  Joe T Garcia's Mexican Restaurant, 2201 North Commerce Street, Fort Worth, Texas.  The La Puertita Building across the street from the main restaurant.

Another Meeting Announcement & More

The Gulf Coast Environmental Affairs Group (GCEAC) will have their quarterly meeting on:

January 12, 2012 (Thursday) at the Double Tree Hotel-Downtown in Houston, Texas

RSVP is required.  Check out their page!

http://gceag.org

ALSO:

The deadline for the  EPA proposals for Urban Waters Small Grants are due on January 23, 2012.  The EPA is expected to award between $1.8 to $3.8 million in funding to help restore urban waters by improving water quality and support community revitalization.

The Environmental Regulatory Compliance Conference (Hosted by the Louisiana Municipal Association, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Health and Hospitals, and Departments of Agriculture and Forestry) will be January 25-26 at the Alexandra Riverfront Conference Center.

http://www.cityofalexandriala.com/erccla

check it out...

Meetings and such

Don't forget that today is the:

DALLAS STEP Meeting!
Holiday Inn Express
Richardson, Texas

11:30 am til 1 pm

Speaker is Cindy Bishop
Topic is : Hydraulic Fracturing - Myths and Maneuvers


ALSO, don't forget that NTAEP is next week on Wednesday January 18, 2012

Spring Creek BBQ
Beltline and 183 in Irving, Texas

11:30 am til 1 pm

Speaker is Nina Hutton from XTO/Exxon Mobil
Check out there new webpage too!  www.ntaep.org
I like it.  They also have a facebook page and a linkedin group now too.  It seems that they finally realized that they need to be more technology savvy.  Kudos NTAEP.

Also WE (Women in the Environment) has a meeting coming up as well.
Tuesday January 17
11am til 1 pm
Facility Tour & Lunch at the Lighting Resources Texas.

Check them out.  http://womenintheenvironment.org

I'm BACK with more meeting notifications!

I am back after a bit of a break.  Sorry for those of you who missed me!  Lets get down to business!

Dallas STEP Meeting Tuesday January 10th.
Speaker:  Ms. Cindy Bishop, Environmental Attorney, C Bishop Law PC
Topic: Hydraulic Fracturing - Myths and Maneuvers
Location:  Holiday Inn - Richardson, 1655 North Central Expressway, Richardson Texas 75080
Time: 11:30 am
Cost: $21 for members, $26 for nonmembers

RSVP to Nicole Callahan at nichole.callahan@tradebe.com

NTAEP Meeting Wednesday January 18th!
Speaker: Exxon Mobil (actual speaker name TBA)
Topic: TBA (but since it is Exxon Mobil I am going to assume oil and gas related)
Location:  Spring Creek BBQ in Irving Texas (Beltline and Hwy 183)
Time: 11:30 am
Cost: $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers
ADDITIONALLY:  2012 Memberships are due!!! AND checkout their new website! www.ntaep.org

JOB LISTINGS:

EPA has two job listings in the DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA!  check it out on www.usajobs.com

GHG Permit Issued to a Texas Company

I don't know if you know about the issues regarding the GHG permitting issues in Texas.  Well it seems that the EPA has issued the very first Texas GHG Permit fo rthe Lower Colorado River Authority Thomas C Ferguson Power Plant in Llano County, Texas.  LCRA is in the process of modernizing and expanding its plant.  It is replacing its older units with new more efficient ones and a natural gas powered unit as well. 

It took about 8 months to get.

EPA is currently reviewing 10 other GHG permits for Texas.

Is this a sign of some resolve on the whole who permits what issues for Texas?

Rick Perry is an @$$

http://news.yahoo.com/perry-slashed-environmental-enforcement-texas-080755432.html

Here is the source of my vent.

According to Yahoo - Perry has made the State of Texas one of the most industry friendly states in teh nation environmentally.  Why?  Well, let's make a list:

- Cut funding for clean air programs
- sued EPA to avoid enforcing clean air laws
- Cut TCEQ budget from 833.3 million to 565.5 million over the next two years

He targets everyone who supports or puts in place stricter environmental standards.  He thinks that Obama's plans are a radical agenda and Perry plans on "killing" the EPA if he becomes president.

Rick Perry is quoted as saying "Our nation does not need costly new federal restrictions, espcially during our present economic crisis".  Well, the EPA isn't the only one's putting out new federal restrictions.  What is his next plan?  Targeting OSHA?  Maybe he'll be part of that movement that believes that Chysotile Asbestos isn't harmful..that it is all the OTHER types of asbestos that is.

Perry is using the EPA as his soapbox for his presidential campaign.  Even though I am a Texan, I can no longer support this man in any way, shape or form. 

Perry blames enviornmental regulations for the lack and loss of jobs  but there is little to no real evidence that the job market is any worse today than it has been historically because of the environmental regulations.  Most economist believe that companies are not hiring because there isn't enough consumer demand for the product.

Oh and then there is this:

"Another new measure made tightening air quality permits on the oil and gas industry more difficult. That law, which Perry signed in June, requires the Texas environmental agency to analyze the effect of new regulation on the economy — including how it might hurt a company — before implementation. The economic impact could override the environmental benefit of the new regulation."

and this:

"..... the EPA became so frustrated with how Texas was enforcing air quality laws that it took away the commission's authority to grant air pollution permits to some refineries. The state has filed suit to go back to the old rules."

So you want to blame someone for the EPA coming down on Texas?  Blame Perry.