Lone Star Sierran - April 2015

Director's Message

Assuming there are no special sessions contemplated, we have about six weeks left until the end of this legislative session. First off, I'd like to offer kudos and gratitude to the selfless stalwarts who have been working nonstop to defend past environmental and public health gains from a serious onslaught from special interests. Take a look at the legislative update below for a sample of the short-sighted and self-interested proposals making their way through the process.

In the short-sighted column, SB 931, which would repeal Texas' Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) passed the Senate and has moved on to the House. We reported earlier that the RPS has helped establish wind power in Texas and that its repeal would make it much harder for electric utilities in the state to comply with Federal Clean Air Act rules.

On the topic of myopic proposals, while we rarely oppose "study" bills, we are opposing SB 1907, which would direct the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to study how to implement a statewide water market and water conveyance network for Texas (see illustration). In addition to the $2 million fiscal note, the proposal would divert attention away from the common sense solution of water conservation - which is what ought to be studied and what ought to be done. There's more on the long and short of short-sighted ideas in the legislative update.

The self-interested column is a bit longer and much is referenced in the update. The contested case bill, SB 709, which has also passed the Senate, is an example. It would "streamline" environmental permit cases at the expense of the rights of people living near the industries seeking state permission to pollute the air and/or water.

Top position belongs to HB 40, the oil and gas Industry backed bill that would strip local government of most of their power to protect their communities and people from oil and gas operations, specifically fracking and deep well injections. Ironically, just days before the House vote, there was a gas well leak in Arlington requiring citizens to evacuate the area. The bill easily passed the House and is now pending in the Senate. HB 40 supporters argue the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), the state agency regulating oil and gas, is all that is really needed to keep people and property safe from oil and gas operations located near residential areas. They cite the City of Denton's earthquake-prompted ordinance banning fracking within the city as a prime example of local interference with the inviolable property right of drillers. As the bill was moving to the Senate, Oklahoma's Governor acknowledged the link between injection wells and earthquakes, partially based on just experience but also supported by the experts at the U.S. Geological Survey who recently reiterated that the increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio. Note the difference between the scientists at USGS and the RRC, which states on its official Hydraulic Fracturing Q&A webpage: "Oil and gas activity occurs statewide with more than 280,000 active wells around Texas. At this time, the Commission has no data that links hydraulic fracturing activities to earthquakes."

Perhaps there's no definite causation, but this Texans for Public Justice data does tend to link this legislative fault to oil and gas activities.

Texas Legislature 2015

April Update - Pro-Polluter Bills Move Forward Despite Concerns; Budget Conferees Named

April was indeed the cruelest month (so far). It saw advances in bills that serve the interests of the oil and gas industry and Texas Chemical Council, despite legitimate concerns about their potential to undermine basic citizen and city rights.

Action Alert #1

Stop the Assault on Individual Rights

To all of you who have taken action in April, thank you so much for contacting your State Representative and Senator on HB 40. Unfortunately, the assault on individual and community rights continues. The House is about to vote on another bad bill that restricts the rights of citizens like you, and we're running out of time to stop it.

Action Alert #2

Help Us Protect Our Borderlands!

S.750 and H.R.1412 Are Too Extreme for the Borderlands. The Bush Administration took border militarization to the extreme when it waived 37 federal protections along the border. Unfortunately, pending legislation would take that waiver even further, exempting any surveillance or apprehension activity of the Border Patrol from “any” provision of law in some areas! Even the Border Patrol has opposed this kind of extreme proposal, stating that it can achieve its mission while working in compliance with public land laws such as the Wilderness Act. Border wildlife, habitat, and landscapes are too precious to be sacrificed in the name of a problem that doesn’t exist. Please take a moment to send a message to Congress. Tell them that expanding the waiver of law in our borderlands is a bad idea!

Action Alert #3

Sign the Petition - Trans-Pecos Pipeline Through Big Bend Is A Bad Idea

The Big Bend area is what some consider the last frontier of Texas; with its clean air, open spaces, and natural beauty. But that beauty is being threatened by a large natural gas pipeline that is slated to run through the region to supply natural gas to Mexico. The Trans-Pecos Pipeline is to be built for the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to deliver up to 1.4 billion cubic feet of Permian Basin natural gas a day. Big Bend residents have created the Big Bend Conservation Alliance to fight the pipeline. They have launched a petition to ask President Obama not to sign the permit required to build the Trans-Pecos International Pipeline.

Kramer: Water Grid Proposal Not Right For Texas

Our "retired" chapter director, Ken Kramer, spoke out against a new legislative proposal that would have Texas follow California's flawed model of massive and costly pumping of water all over the state. This "water grid" approach leads to crisis management when the "wet" areas of the state face an extended drought, and communities relying on imported water are left high and dry. HB 3298 and SB 1907 would require the Texas Water Development Board to "evaluate improvements to the transfer of water entitlements in this state and the establishment of a water grid, including an integrated network of pipelines, pumping stations, reservoirs, and other works for the conveyance of water between river basins, water sources, and areas of water use in the state." A massive water grid has been proposed and studied before in Texas, and there's good reason why these unrealistic schemes never materialized. They are costly, energy intensive, environmentally destructive and politically combustible, pitting one area of the state against another.

It's Not Too Late to Shop and Help the Sierra Club Foundation at the Same Time!

Do you like food? Do you like the environment? If you answered yes to both questions, shop at H-E-B during the month of April and into the first week of May and tear off coupons to support our work! It's fast, simple, and helps organizations like ours a lot! In recognition of Earth Day, H-E-B has once again selected EarthShare of Texas (Sierra Club Foundation is a member) to be the April (and first week of May) beneficiary for its in-store coupon promotion. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work throughout the State of Texas for the entire month of April.

Lone Star Chapter Environmental Award Nominations

Each year, we take a moment to look back at the previous year and recognize the great work of our volunteers, staff, and other individuals with special awards to show our appreciation. The Awards Committee is seeking your assistance in selecting those individuals who, in 2014, on the Group or Chapter Level, excelled in some conservation, outings, administrative, or media capacity and deserve special recognition. The chapter environmental awards will be presented at a special banquet in Dallas on July 18. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information! Send your nominations (along with a detailed explanation of why this person should be nominated) to lonestar.chapter@sierraclub.org. The deadline for nominations is May 30, 2015.

Williams: Houston Group of the Sierra Club Donates Money to the USW Oil Workers Strike Fund

In support of the National Sierra Club's BlueGreen Alliance/Project Apollo, the Houston Group of the Sierra Club has made a cash donation of $250 in support of the USW Oil Workers strike. The USW has said that the strike is not about money but is about safe working conditions, a healthy working environment, loss of jobs to contractors, lack of apprenticeship training positions for young workers, and delayed maintenance in plants. The BlueGreen Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, and environmental organizations with the objective to offer a vision to catalyze the transition to a clean energy economy that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality green jobs.

Save the Planet: One Forkful at a Time!

[From the Northeast Ohio Sierra Club Group] Adopting a plant-based diet is the simplest and cheapest way to combat global warming, reduce water pollution, and even save the rainforests. In light of mounting evidence that the raising of cows, pigs, and chicken in factories generates enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, we are calling for a Meat-Free Monday Campaign. A 2010 United Nations report concluded that a shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change. The recent shutdown of drinking water for the entire city of Toledo, Ohio, raises a huge red flag. Manure run off from factory-raised animals and fertilizers used to grow feed-crops can cause algae-excreting deadly cyanobacteria. Rather than spending our hard earned dollars to upgrade sewer systems, there is another way. People can take personal responsibility and choose what they put on their dinner plates.

Outings Across Texas

• The EPA proposed to add the Main Street Groundwater Plume site in Burnet County to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites, a list of sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment.
• Although Texans are loathe to admit it, sometimes Oklahoma beats us. Such was the case in April when the Sooner state officially embraced a scientific consensus that the earthquakes rattling the state are largely caused by the wastewater wells for oil and gas.
• Not to be outdone, however, researchers at SMU released a report that found earthquakes near Azle were most likely caused by oil and gas operations.
• Concerned about the sustainability of our Gulf Coast? The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is currently seeking public comment on proposed changes in commercial shrimp and oyster regulations.
• Speaking of the Gulf, an AP investigation found that an oil spill that has gone largely unnoticed since 2004 is actually spilling much more oil than previously estimated.
• How about we end on some good news? From Texas Parks & Wildlife: 26 TPWD Local Grants Get More Kids Outside - More Texas kids will see more of the great outdoors thanks to the 26 grants awarded this year through Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP). Check this list to find out if a community near you received a grant. In this ongoing program, grants range from $5,000 to $40,000 and may be used to pay for equipment, cost of leasing transportation, liability insurance and up to 40 percent for staffing costs. They help fund community-based youth and family outdoors-oriented programs and activities like camping, backpacking, kayaking and service projects. "Research shows that 95 percent of science is learned outside the traditional classroom," says CO-OP Program Director Darlene Lewis. "State parks, hatcheries, birding centers and wetlands around the state will become the new classroom for these participants." Learn more about Recreational Grants. To find out more about the next available grant deadline, sign up to receive the Grant Opportunities newsletter.