Texas Campaign for the Environment: News
Air Pollution
Port Arthur News, April 24, 2013 ByTwo local plants on list of repeated breakdowns, pollutionA number of environmental groups are banding together in their bid for an investigation of federal and Texas regulators’ response to repeated breakdowns at the facilities. |
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Liberty County Vindicator, April 23, 2013 ByTexas groups ask EPA Inspector General to investigate thousands of tons of pollutionThe Environmental Integrity Project and 9 community and public interest organizations sent a letter to the US EPA Inspector General requesting an investigation of the federal and Texas regulators’ response to repeated breakdowns at nineteen gas and petrochemical facilities in Texas, releasing thousands of tons of pollution over the past four years. |
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Dallas Business Journal, March 22, 2013 By Nicholas SakelarisDallas Plan Commission again denies drill sitesThe Dallas Plan Commission denied Trinity East Energy's proposal for three drill sites in northwest Dallas Thursday, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd, the Dallas Morning News reported. |
CultureMap Dallas, March 22, 2013 By Claire St. AmantDallas rejects fracking and natural gas drilling on parklands yet againFor the second time in three months, the Dallas City Plan Commission has denied gas drilling permits to Trinity East Energy. The March 21 decision was handed down in three separate votes, all of which narrowly passed. |
Dallas Observer, March 22, 2013 By Brantley HargroveTrinity East Appeals Plan Commission Defeat, Will Continue Fight for Drilling PermitsCity Council chambers erupted in applause Thursday afternoon as the Plan Commission voted to deny controversial drilling permits to natural gas producer Trinity East. It was a victory for drilling opponents, to be sure; it means the permits will take 12 votes to get past the City Council, instead of a simple majority of eight council votes. |
Dallas Morning News, March 22, 2013 By Randy Lee LoftisDallas panel’s ‘no’ votes set up City Council clash on gas drillingThe stage was set for a gas drilling showdown late Thursday after Dallas’ Plan Commission voted for the second time to deny applications to drill dozens of natural-gas wells on three sites and build a gas-processing plant. |
WFAA News Dallas, March 21, 2013 By Brett ShippDallas drilling efforts plugged by planning commissionersVideo: The controversial attempt to locate gas drilling rigs on Dallas park land was rejected Thursday afternoon by Dallas City Planning Commissioners. Click here to watch! |
KERA News Dallas, March 21, 2013 By B.J. AustinStrike Two For Gas Drilling On Dallas Park LandRadio: Gas drilling on park land in northwest Dallas has been turned down for a second time. The City Plan Commission heard three hours of debate over drilling permits for Trinity East Energy. Click here to listen! |
Dallas Morning News, March 20, 2013 By EditorialEditorial: City Plan Commission should reject fracking proposalNorth Texans have learned a lot about Trinity East’s gas drilling plans since December — and most of what we’ve learned is troubling. It’s been a train wreck of policy and process that has revealed both potential environmental concerns and questionable behavior at Dallas City Hall. |
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Dallas Morning News Op-Ed, March 15, 2013 By Julia BurgenJulia Burgen: Plant trees, not drill sites, in parksIt was with a heavy heart that I learned that the city of Dallas plans to locate natural gas drill sites within L.B. Houston Park. As a Dallas resident from 1949 to 1978, I worked with friends and organizations on environmental issues and hiked the deep woods of the park, marveling at the lushness of bottomland forests. |
Dallas Observer, March 12, 2013 By Jim SchutzeTrinity East, Staunch Defender of Truth and Above-Board Dealing, Threatens to Sue an Environmental GroupTrinity East, the gas drilling company that did a secret deal with the Dallas city manager to drill on city-owned parkland, is threatening to sue an environmental group because the group demanded more transparency about previous drilling operations. |
CultureMap Dallas, March 11, 2013 By Claire St. AmantGas drilling company threatens lawsuit against Texas Campaign for the EnvironmentAs the debate over the permissibility of natural gas drilling on Dallas parklands rages on, Trinity East Energy is picking a new fight. The Keystone Exploration subsidiary alleges that Texas Campaign for the Environment is spreading "baseless and groundless attacks" against the company. |
Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2013 By Rudolph BushTrinity East Energy threatens to sue environmentalists over statements about failed well casing in IrvingThe energy company at the center of Dallas’ gas drilling debate has threatened a Texas environmental group with a lawsuit over statements about a well-casing failure in Irving. |
Courthouse News Service, February 22, 2013 By Cameron LangfordUtility Agrees to Reduce Coal Plant EmissionsA Texas public utility reached a settlement with environmentalists that requires it to reduce emissions from its coal-fired power plant. In a March 2011 federal complaint, the Environmental Integrity Project, Texas Campaign for the Environment and Environment Texas claimed that the utility had violated the Clean Air Act at its Fayette County power plant. |
Dallas Business Journal, February 8, 2013 By Nicholas SakelarisDallas drill sites, compressor vote postponed until March 21A state senator asked Mayor Mike Rawlings to withdraw support of three drill sites and a natural gas compressor until an environmental study can be done.On Thursday, the City Plan Commission postponed a vote on the drilling permits until March 21. |
Dallas Morning News, February 6, 2013 By Randy Lee LoftisProcessing plant becomes focus in Dallas’ gas well debateDallas will have dozens of gas wells and one gas-processing plant if Trinity East Energy gets the official blessing for the city’s first drilling and production. |
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CBS 11 News, January 31, 2013 By Steve PickettDallas Plan Commissioners Tour Proposed Natural Gas Drilling SitesVideo: Members of the Dallas Plan Commission boarded a convoy of tour vans, and headed to the L.B. Houston Golf and Sports Complex, to see for themselves proposed sites for natural gas drilling on city-owned land. |
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Dallas Morning News, January 23, 2013 By Ed Meyer and Jim Schermbeck, Op-EdDallas mayor wrong on Trinity East dealDallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is experiencing his own Bananas moment over old gas drilling leases. The City Plan Commission will hold a do-over vote Feb. 7 on gas permits sought by Trinity East because the first vote, which opposed the permits, wasn’t to the mayor’s liking. |
Austin American-Statesman , January 17, 2013 By Sarah CoppolaCouncil OKs preparations for affordable housing election, settlement in lawsuit over Fayette Power PlantAt its meeting Thursday, the Austin City Council: Approved a settlement with Texas Campaign for the Environment in a lawsuit over emissions at the coal-fired Fayette Power Plant. The settlement will involve installing monitoring equipment that will cost the city as much as $1 million, city attorneys said. |
Dallas Morning News, January 11, 2013 By Rudolph BushAmid cries of 'Shame!,' Dallas panel agrees to reconsider gas drilling permitsOn Thursday, the City Plan Commission — to shouts of “Shame!” from many in the audience — once again agreed to consider granting drilling permits to let a company called Trinity East Energy look for gas in a flood plain of northwest Dallas. The commission rejected the permit applications in late December. |
WFAA News, January 10, 2013 By Bud GillettProtestors Oppose New Life For Dallas Fracking ProjectVideo: Angry shouts disrupted a Dallas City Plan Commission meeting today when a controversial natural gas fracking project killed weeks ago was reintroduced. The protests actually forced a recess of the meeting. The coalition of environmental and homeowner groups felt they had no say in the matter and felt they were undone by a legal trick. |
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KERA News, January 10, 2013 By B.J. AustinDallas Re-Do On Gas Drilling Permits OK'd, But On HoldThe City Plan Commission vote to reconsider rejection of drilling permits by Trinity East Energy angered a large crowd of drilling opponents at the commission meeting. They erupted into chants - holding signs that said “shame”. |
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Dallas Morning News, January 10, 2013 By Jim Mitchell, Editorial WriterThe fracking debate takes another weird turnBet you thought the gas drilling debate couldn’t get stranger? Well it did today when the Plan Commission agreed to reconsider gas drilling applications it previously denied. The vote to reconsider drew a public shout down from members of several environmental and neighborhood groups that showed up to protest the board’s decision to take another look at the issue. |
Dallas Observer, December 21, 2012 By Brantley HargrovePlan Commission Punts Floodplain Fracking Proposal To City Council, Where They Might Finally Have To Make a DecisionCity Plan Commission members were in a decidedly awkward situation as they listened to Trinity East rep Dallas Cothrum make the case for drilling, while a parade of incredulous citizens spoke loudly in opposition. |
KERA News Dallas, December 21, 2012 By B.J. Austin & Shelley KoflerDallas Gas Drilling Gets Thumbs DownThe Dallas City Plan Commission voted against natural gas drilling permits on three sites in northwest Dallas on Thursday. That move becomes an influential recommendation to the Dallas City Council, which will have the final say on the start of drilling in Dallas. That vote will come next month. |
Culture Map Dallas, December 21, 2012 By Claire St. AmantNatural gas drilling denied in Dallas thanks to feisty forum speakersAfter hearing from passionate and articulate audience members, the Dallas City Plan Commission denied Trinity East Energy's request to begin drilling in L.B. Houston Park. The issue will still go before the City Council, but the commissions denial will be taken into consideration. |
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Dallas Morning News, December 21, 2012 By Randy Lee LoftisPlan Commission denies requests for Dallas’ first gas drillingAfter nearly three hours of advocacy and outrage, Dallas’ City Plan Commission late Thursday denied a gas company’s request to authorize the city’s first natural-gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. |
Dallas Morning News Op-Ed, December 20, 2012 By Zac TrahanSay no to Dallas driller’s requests for 3 fragile sitesThe City Plan Commission should reject these three drilling applications and tell the gas company to come back with different plans that don’t put Dallas residents at risk. Residents should attend today’s hearing and drive the point home. |
Dallas Morning News, December 14, 2012 By Rudolph BushDallas won’t extend Exxon subsidiary’s gas-drilling lease, mayor saysDallas City Hall continues to try to delicately unwind itself from two deals with gas drilling companies that padded municipal coffers by $34 million in 2008 but have caused nothing but controversy since. |
Dallas Morning News, November 28, 2012 By Randy Lee LoftisXTO seeks to drill at city airfieldExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy, which had put its plans in Dallas on hold while the city considered new rules on gas operations, filed applications for zoning changes that would authorize drilling at city-owned Hensley Field, the former Dallas Naval Air Station. |
Electronic Waste
Greenbiz.com, April 30, 2013 By Thibault WorthStaples brings responsible recycling across the U.S.Photos of computer parts strewn across natural landscapes and workers standing amongst mounds of lead-laden parts are troubling reminders of the dark side of our love affair with electronic gadgetry and how little responsibility manufacturers and retailers have in dealing with their proper disposal. |
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Electronic Waste - Legislative Campaign
KXAN News Austin, May 3, 2013 By Natalie StollGroups push for better electronic recycling effortsVideo: The Texas Campaign for the Environment is working with several state lawmakers, and House Bill 3465 and House Bill 648 have been voted out of House committees. |
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San Antonio Business Journal, April 25, 2013 By Mike ThomasBill would require certification for electronics recyclingA Texas House committee has approved legislation requiring certification for participation in computer and television recycling programs. The bill must now go to the House Calendars Committee to be scheduled for a vote. |
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Austin American-Statesman, March 15, 2013 By Asher PriceEnvironmental bills make rounds at LegislatureA couple of Republican lawmakers, with the support of Texas Campaign for the Environment, are carrying measures that would divert waste from landfills. State Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has proposed barring electronic waste from landfills. State Rep. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas, has proposed requiring paint manufacturers to take back unused paint. |
General TCE Issues
FoxNews.com, May 8, 2013 By Barnini ChakrabortyTexas appealing to other states for radioactive trash, looks to expand programA measure that would allow three-dozen states to dump even hotter radioactive waste at a West Texas nuclear facility is picking up steam as it makes its way through the state legislature -- despite growing opposition from environmental groups who argue the economic incentives shouldn’t trump public safety concerns. |
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Bloomberg News, April 27, 2013 By Darrell PrestonTexas blast illustrates bigger riskTexas environmental groups, including Public Citizen Texas and Texas Campaign for the Environment, said state lawmakers should pass tougher regulation and step up enforcement, including more inspections and disclosure of toxic threats. |
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Dallas Morning News, March 11, 2013 By Editorial BoardEditorial: Fighting for transparency in Texas governmentThere’s good news and threatening news out of the bill hopper in Austin for yesterday's kickoff of Sunshine Week, the national observance of the public’s right to know what goes on within government. |
Liquid Waste Issues
Valley Morning Star, May 13, 2013 By Fernando Del ValleGrease-trap bill axed due to technicalityA technicality led to the killing of a bill that would have eased state restrictions on the disposal on land of grease trap waste, grit trap waste and septage, or partially treated waste store in septic tanks, an environmental group said Friday. |
Valley Morning Star, April 16, 2013 By Fernando Del ValleEnvironmental group opposes grease trap billTexas Campaign for the Environment opposes a bill filed by state Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, which would ease restrictions on operators that dispose grease trap waste, grit trap waste and septage on land, organization Program Director Andrew Dobbs said from Austin. |
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Valley Morning Star, February 17, 2013 By Fernando Del ValleSewer plan nixed: Rio Hondo terminates grease contractCity commissioners voted unanimously Sunday to terminate a contract with a company that wants to treat liquid restaurant and car wash waste at the city sewer plant. The plant discharges into the Arroyo Colorado. |
Valley Morning Star, January 18, 2013 By Fernando del ValleGritty Protest: Rio Hondo residents push back against sewer planResidents on Thursday packed City Hall to request state officials deny a permit to a San Antonio company that proposes to treat liquid grease and grit waste at the sewer plant that discharges into the Arroyo Colorado. |
Valley Morning Star, January 14, 2013 By Fernando Del ValleWaste disposal meeting will go forwardA state agency has denied the city’s request to cancel a public hearing into a San Antonio company’s proposal to use the city sewer plant to treat liquid restaurant and car wash waste, a TCEQ spokeswoman said Monday. |
Valley Central News, January 14, 2013 By Richard MooreNature Report: Arroyo Colorado ThreatA proposal by a San Antonio company, Dewatering Partners Industrial, to locate an industrial waste treatment operation at the City of Rio Hondo's municipal water plant is alarming area citizens like Arroyo city resident David Mendez. |
Recycling
Texas Campaign for the Environment, May 15, 2013 By Texas Campaign for the Environment
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Dallas Morning News, April 30, 2013 By Candidate questionnaireWhere the candidates stand: Is Dallas moving quickly enough toward mandatory recycling for commercial properties?Dallas Morning News Candidate Questionnaire: Is Dallas moving quickly enough toward mandatory recycling for commercial properties? Answers from the would-be City Council members follow. |
Daily Texan, March 24, 2013 By Roy CatheyCleaning up, not cracking downOur insistence on convenience has allowed us to create an illusion of necessity, and this illusion is so well-established that something as minute as what our groceries are put into has turned into a hotly-contested policy debate. |
Resource Recycling, March 18, 2013 By Jake ThomasWho has love for Houston's proposed dirty MRF?In Texas, an environmental advocacy group has launched a campaign aimed at derailing the City of Houston's plans to secure funding for an ambitious project called "One Bin for All," which would allow residents to put all their discards in one container that will be sorted out at a new multi-million dollar facility. During the fall of last year, Houston's proposal to build a dirty materials recovery facility (MRF), which sorts recyclables out of trash, was selected as a top 20 finalist out of 305 entries by Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, a competition that uses cashes prizes to spur cities to come up with innovative ideas to solve urban problems. |
Public News Service - TX, March 15, 2013 By John MichaelsonShould Houston trash plans for "One Bin for All" waste collection?The city of Houston is being urged to trash its proposal for a one bin garbage and recycling system. It may sound like a novel idea on the surface, but some say it's really a step backwards. |
Houston Press, March 15, 2013 By Vanessa PinaNo Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Houston Activists Say New Recycling System is Not the Way To GoA day after Mayor Annise Parker jubilantly announced the city had won $1 million by being a finalist in a municipal-improvements contest, experts held a press conference to say the city's winning "One Bin For All" recycling project is bad for the environment. Experts like Tyson Sowell of the Texas Campaign for the Environment and Dr. Robert Bullard, Dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University said people want to recycle and are interested in the concept, but having a new system that does not assure a positive outcome is not the way to go. |
The Vindicator, March 15, 2013 By Ryan McVayShould Houston trash plans for "One Bin for All" waste collection?The city of Houston is being urged to trash its proposal for a one bin garbage and recycling system. City officials are considering a plan for residents to toss all waste into a single bin, with the separation done at a new materials recycling facility - known as a dirty MRF (mirff). It may sound like a novel idea on the surface, but Robert Bullard, dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, says it's really a step backwards. |
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, March 14, 2013 By Anna TinsleyLegislator wants to keep cities from banning plastic grocery bagsPlastic bags have been a mainstay in grocery and convenience stores and restaurants for decades, edging out paper bags in popularity soon after they were introduced. Environmentalists say that up to 1 trillion bags are used worldwide each year and that the so-called urban tumbleweeds clog water sources, get stuck in trees and bushes, block drainage systems, endanger wildlife, pile up in streets and take decades or centuries to decompose. |
Houston Chronicle, March 14, 2013 By Carol ChristianPrize-winning recycling plan could start in 2 yearsThe city's "One Bin for All" idea would allow residents to mix trash, recyclables, yard clippings, food and other waste in a single container, to be automatically sorted at a first-of-its-kind $100 million plant to be built and run by a private firm. The city plans next month to issue a request for proposals from companies interested in the plan, with construction starting as early as next year. Tyson Sowell of Texas Campaign for the Environment, however, called the idea "anti-recycling" and a "pipe dream." His group thinks the city will ultimately have to invest in the plant, and believes the technologies are unproven. Single-stream, composting and other such methods work, he said. |
Houston Chronicle, March 14, 2013 By Mike MorrisRecycling plan a million-dollar idea: Mayor collects big check for city’s ‘one bin for all’ proposal to boost participation, reduce emissionsHouston’s plan to increase its dismal recycling rate fivefold got a boost Wednesday, when Mayor Annise Parker accepted a $1 million prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Mayors Challenge, a contest rewarding innovation in American cities. The city’s “One Bin for All” idea would allow residents to mix trash, recyclables, yard clippings, food and other waste in a single container, to be automatically sorted at a first-of-its-kind $100 million plant to be built and run by a private firm. The city plans next month to issue a request for proposals from companies interested in the plan, with construction starting as early as next year. |
KTXD Dallas, March 7, 2013 By Texas DailyDallas moves toward Zero WasteVideo: Zac Trahan with Texas Campaign for the Environment joins Texas Daily to discuss the new Dallas Zero Waste Plan. Click here to watch! |
NBC 5 News D/FW, February 26, 2013 By Ken KalthoffDallas Trash Plan Earns Praise and ConcernsVideo: Environmentalists are praising a new Dallas trash plan to be considered by the City Council Wednesday, but some people who've worked on it still have concerns. It includes a goal of "zero waste" in Dallas by expanding recycling goals to businesses and rental homes that are not included in current city recycling programs. |
Dallas Morning News, February 26, 2013 By Rudolph BushDallas City Hall moving forward with long-range plan to reduce trashDallas has long had a goal of becoming a “zero-waste” city, in which recycling and composting replace the burial of trash. After a rocky start, City Hall appears to have devised a plan to start on that path. |
Austin Zero Waste Alliance, January 30, 2013 By Austin Zero Waste AllianceBag to the Future - Citizen Advocates Mark 30-Day Countdown to Austin's Single Use Bag OrdinanceCommunity leaders and environmental advocates marked the beginning of a 30-day countdown to implementation of Austin’s Single-Use Bag Ordinance by announcing a “Bag to the Future” concert and party, scheduled for February 28th, the day before the new law goes into effect. |
Austin American Statesman, January 9, 2013 By Addie Broyles
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