Lone Star Sierran: April 2017

May 1, 2017

WE BEAT EXXON! 

It's very rare these days to take on the big and powerful and win, but that's just what we did in our years long lawsuit against ExxonMobil for more than 16,000 violations of the Clean Air Act at its Baytown, Texas, refinery. This may be the largest ever penalty from a citizen-initiated environmental lawsuit under the Clean Air Act. A federal district court has ordered ExxonMobil to pay nearly $20 million! This victory would not have been possible without members willing to step up and say no to polluters, and the unbelievable work of our Clean Air Program Director, Neil Carman.
  
Many people recognize the critical work Dr. Carman and others put into these efforts to seek justice. But our work can't be done for free. Please give today so we can continue to hold polluters like Exxon accountable to the people. 

 

RRC Reform

TAKE ACTION - Support Ethics Reform At The Railroad Commission

 
There's a good bill held up in committee and time is running out in the Texas Legislature. We need to get HB 464 out of committee and approved by the Texas House quickly! The bill would prevent members of the Railroad Commission (the oil and gas regulatory authority in Texas) from taking campaign contributions from individuals who have certain matters pending before the commission. If Committee Chair Sarah Davis (R-West University Place) allows a vote on this bill that has bipartisan support, we will need support on the House floor to get it to pass. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Texas Senate has passed SB 277, an anti-wind bill that prevents wind facilities from receiving tax breaks if they are within 25 miles of certain military aviation facilities. The bill, by Sen. Donna Campbell, is being described as a bill to preserve the military bases in Texas by preventing certain wind development which could impact radar and flight paths. However, all wind development already must check with and get permission from the FAA, the Department of Defense, and ERCOT before they can interconnect any wind facility, meaning the bill arbitrarily punishes wind development, potentially impacting thousand of megawatts of new wind energy. Now it moves to the House.

Please contact your State Representative and urge them to oppose SB 277!

 

Feral hogs

Company Behind Kaput Feral Hog Bait Withdraws Registration Request 

It's good to sound alarm bells, and sometimes it can yield results. Such was the case last week as Scimetrics, the company behind Kaput Feral Hog Bait announced it had withdrawn its request for registration in Texas. Kaput Feral Hog Bait is a low dose warfarin-based poison that causes death from internal bleeding. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's plan to allow Kaput Feral Hog Bait to control Texas' feral hog populations had been met with fierce opposition from hunters, ranchers, veterinarians, wildlife specialists, property owners, and environmental groups (like us).
 
 
Read more

 

 

 

Saving Laguna Madre

Saving Laguna Madre - A Mini-Series by Deborah Contreras

Deborah Contreras has lived in Brownsville all nineteen years of her life. The communities that shaped her are now under threat by three proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals. This is her contribution to the fight against the environmental threat that could destroy her home. Saving Laguna Madre -- a new web series on the resistance to LNG in the Rio Grande Valley.
 
 

Watch the Trailer

 

 

 

HinojosaLucio

Texas Senate Sneaks In Vote To Approve Kelcy Warren For Parks & Wildlife Commission

In a swift move, the Texas Senate approved the appointment of Kelcy Warren, CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on the Senate floor last week. The vote was 22-9 and came with little notice. Voting with Republicans in favor of Warren's nomination were Democratic Senators Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) and Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen). All other Democratic Senators voted no. The quick nature of the vote indicated Senate Republicans did not want to draw attention to it. Warren's name was not even mentioned when the vote was called. He was only referred to as "the nominee" on the floor.

 

  

 

Wildlife wall

TOPS ON FACEBOOK 
  1. Check out this visual guide of the wildlife and plant life the "wall" could further endanger and the flood risks it could create.
  2. Two "plugged" oil wells beneath Choke Canyon Reservoir leaked into Corpus Christi, Texas water supply records show.
  3. Trans Pecos: A Pipeline and the Taking of Texas Land -- a story about the unexpected bipartisan alliances that occur when companies put private gain before the good of the public.
  4. EPA staffer leaves with a bang, blasting agency policies under Trump.
  5. Amazing. For the first time since the 1800s, Britain goes a day without burning coal for electricity.
  6. Meet Georgetown, Texas, one of the 25 cities in America that is 100% renewable. 

 

Anti-choice

 Texas House Robs Air Quality, Local Parks To Fund Anti-Choice Groups 

 
Read more
 

 

Spring

TOPS ON TWITTER 

  1. Opinion | Repealing the Clean Power Plan helps coal and hurts our state's energy industries. ow.ly/WJ1A30aJjHn
  2. French bank sells share in $2.5 billion Dakota Access pipeline loan #Divest #NoDAPL ow.ly/GaOf30aFtjw
  3. Fast growth of sand mining is 'real deal' after oil bust ow.ly/N6eC30aMa1z
  4. Officials: Oil no longer leaking from Cook Inlet pipeline, but scope and cause of spill still unknown ow.ly/tqyA30aAMuR
  5. 暢暢暢 ERCOT sets record wind output Friday. #Texas #WindEnergy ow.ly/SrLI30aAzCZ
 

 

 

Pete Rivera

Volunteer Spotlight: Pete Rivera


Pete Rivera, Executive Committee member of the Austin Sierra Club and Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association President, has continued to successfully organize the community to protect the Red Bluff area of East Austin. After successfully advocating for the city to clean up decades of illegal dumping on the property, SANA and Hog Pen Neighborhood Association members, along with ATX EJ, Austin Sierra Club , and other allies, came out to testify before the Urban Growth Policy and Development Joint Committee of the Environmental Commission on March 25. Dozens offered testimony on the importance of the area to the community and on their desire to see the land consolidated and protected as a natural area.  

Read more about Pete's awesome contribution to his community

 

 

Texas Capitol

Lege Update - Warren Confirmed in Senate, Budget Nonsense, But Some Good Bills Get Hearings

April is the time for things to really begin moving at the Texas Legislature. Unfortunately, a lot of it is bad in a session characterized by discriminatory legislation against immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and women. Our protected natural areas have also taken a hit. The Senate has moved fast to approve Kelcy Warren to Parks & Wildlife, stripped clean air and parks budgets to fund anti-abortion groups, and advanced a terrible anti-wind bill. Could they still do some good and move on Railroad Commission reform legislation?

 

Read more

Big bend

TOPS ON INSTAGRAM

In honor of #nationalparksweek and #TexasTuesday, we present Big Bend National Park! #BigBend is considered to be the largest Chihuahuan Desert protected region in the country, and there are more species of birds found there than in ANY national park in the U.S.ｦ�ｦ�ｦ�it's also home to more than 3,600 species of insects too! 雀裾 菅                                                                                             Do you have a photo you'd like to share with us? Please send it to Olka Forster at olka.forster@sierraclub.org. We'd love to share it with our growing Instagram community. Be sure to follow us @TexasSierraClub. 
 
RuthBlog

Ruth Kilsby is not native to Texas, nor doies she call the US her real home. Last August, she journeyed from the UK, arriving in Texas for the first time and began studying at UT Austin. Since January 2017, she has interned with the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter discovered a myriad of information about Texas and its environment. According to Ruth, the experience has broken a few misconceptions she had not only about working for the environment in Texas but the state itself.

 

 

Read more about Ruth's experience

Reggie James
What Does David Byrne Have To Do With Surface Water Rights? 

If you're Chapter Director Reggie James, the connection is obvious. Well, okay, maybe it's just a good lead-in to talk about chronic issues between surface water and ground water in Texas, and how environmental flows have been treated over the years. 
 
If you're new to water and Texas, this is a good place to start if you're unfamiliar with water policy and the essential work the Texas Living Waters Project does for water conservation efforts.