Posted in Global Warming, tagged #EarthX #PublicCitizenTX, Texas on April 21, 2018 |
Live from EarthX in Dallas! Our very own David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen’s climate program discussing the role of the mainstream media in covering the climate crisis. 12 PM CT
The live feed is completed for the day. Check back in a couple of days if you missed it to watch the whole panel session.
Posted in Climate Change, tagged #EarthX, #EarthX2018, Public Citizen, Texas on April 19, 2018 |
We will be at EarthX in Dallas this weekend giving a talk on the role of the mainstream media in covering the climate crisis.
Not going to EarthX? No worries – we are live streaming the presentation on our facebook page here on Saturday at 12 pm CT.
@publiccitizentx
Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming, tagged Texas on April 18, 2018 |
Join a panel of local DFW citizens as they talk about their experience in getting letters to the editor of the Dallas Morning News printed and DMN’s response to Climate Change on Sunday, April 22nd from 2 to 3 pm on the Discovery Stage in the Automobile Building in Fair Park. Public Citizen’s Rita Beving will be moderating this discussion.
If you are at the Expo on Saturday, be sure to include on your event list one of the speaker series on Saturday, April 21st from 12 noon to 1:00 pm on the Centennial Discovery Stage. This will feature David Arkush – Managing Director, Public Citizen’s Climate Program – as he participates on a panel moderated by Betsy Rosenberg, an environmental talk show host and producer of The Green Front on Progressive Radio Network.
Wake Up and Smell the Carbon!
The Role of Mainstream News Media in Covering Climate and Environmental News.
Saturday, April 21st from 12 noon to 1:00 pm on the Centennial Discovery Stage
This and much, much more is happening at EarthX. Check out the Expo Guide here to make the most of your visit to this year’s EarthX event.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Texas on April 16, 2018 |
This year, you can still get into the EarthX Expo free by registering. You can do this at the gate or by filling out the registration online, printing it out and bringing it along with you. Advance registration will get you into the exhibits and other Earthday activities faster. Stop by and see us in the Centennial Building, Booths 5317-5319.
Once there, you can make navigating the multiple events and exhibits easier with the EarthX 2018 official mobile application which you can get on google play or apple itunes. We look forward to seeing you at Fair Park for Earthday!
https://earthx.org/attend-mobile/
Posted in Air Quality, Fracking, Pollution, tagged Texas on April 12, 2018 |
Fracking site near homes.
Risks of respiratory, hematological, neurological and developmental health problems increase considerably among those living within 500 feet or less of oil and gas sites.
That’s the conclusion of a new study from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus at Aurora, CO.
Researchers found that, over a lifetime, people who live 500 feet from an oil and gas site have a cancer risk eight times higher than the limit called “acceptable” by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The problems, those researchers said, are non-methane hydrocarbons such as benzene, which were found at concentrations much, much higher within 500 feet of wells than were found a mile from such sites.
Executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentDr. Larry Wolk said in a statement on Monday that the new study showed increase risk only at distances within 500 feet.
That conclusion confirms current Colorado regulations requiring homes and businesses to be more than 500 feet from petroleum-related sites; 1,000 feet from buildings such as schools and hospitals.
Another problem is the finding that benzene concentrations within 500 feet were higher at night than in the daytime, because benzene and other chemicals disperse at a much slower rate without sunshine.
The study primarily used air emissions found along Colorado’s Front Range.
Wolk said the study emphasizes the need for more comprehensive air quality studies and increased collection of data among those living close to petroleum-related sites so that firmer conclusions can be reached in the future about possible dangers of oil and gas production.
Also see the Austin American Statesman story that says in 116 Texas counties (or 45% of Texas counties), oil- and gas-related air pollutants surpass the EPA’s threshold for increased cancer risk. Those counties are home to 3 million people and make up half of the counties nationally identified as having an elevated cancer risk. Caldwell County is among the high-risk Texas counties.
In Texas, state law grandfathered old well sites, and primitive early permits allowed perpetual new drilling on existing sites as close as 200 feet from residences.
In November 2014, after an expensive campaign, Denton became the first Texas city to explicitly ban fracking within the city limits, however the Denton victory was short-lived. The next day, the Texas Oil and Gas Association and Texas General Land Office separately sued the city. But before these issues could be litigated, Texas legislators introduced bills to overturn the Denton fracking ban and prevent similar bans elsewhere. In March 2015, Rep. Drew Darby introduced House Bill 40, which easily passed both houses. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on May 18.2015
There is no state-wide setback rule for oil and gas wells or pipelines in Texas. The state agency charged with governing oil and gas production, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), has passed no such state-wide regulation. According to the Texas Railroad Commission website, “The Railroad Commission does not regulate how close a gas or oil well can be drilled to a residential property.”
Instead, the RRC has generally left this authority up to ordinances or zoning laws passed by individual municipalities (which was certainly curtailed by HB40 in 2016). For example, the City of Ft. Worth passed an ordinance requiring 600 feet between an oil and gas well and a structure. The City of Denton passed an ordinance requiring a 1,200 foot setback.
Additionally, there is a provision in the Texas Local Government Code Section 253.005 that provides “a well may not be drilled in the thickly settled part of the municipality or within 200 feet of a private residence.” While the Railroad Commission seems to read this as applicable to any land leased within a municipality, the statutory provision specifically addresses leasing of minerals by a municipality and it could at least be argued this 200 foot requirement applies only to land leased by a municipality and not private landowners.
Also relevant, the International Fire Code requires that wells not be drilled within 100 foot of a structure or 75 feet of a roadway, providing very little protection for landowners and clearly intended to address the issue of flammability near a structure rather than long term exposure to toxic emissions by residents, workers in an office or children in a school.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged #EarthX, climate change, Earthday, Texas on April 11, 2018 |
In addition to hundreds of exhibitors, there is a slate of speakers and panels scheduled throughout the days of the expo in the Centennial and Automobile Buildings. Be sure to catch David Arkush – Managing Director, Public Citizen’s Climate Program – on Saturday, April 21st from 12 noon to 1:00 pm on the Centennial Discovery Stage as he participates on a panel moderated by Betsy Rosenberg, an environmental talk show host and producer of The Green Front on Progressive Radio Network.
Wake Up and Smell the Carbon!
The Role of Mainstream News Media in Covering Climate and Environmental News.
Saturday, April 21st from 12 noon to 1:00 pm on the Centennial Discovery Stage
This and much, much more is happening at EarthX. Check out the Expo Guide here to make the most of your visit to this year’s EarthX event.
Posted in Nuclear, Radioactive Waste, tagged Texas on April 10, 2018 |
UPDATE: Today (April 10, 2018), Public Citizen with a number of local organizations, kicked off an anti-nuclear waste tour in New Mexico. Protesting Holtec’s proposed license application to accept and create interim storage for high-level radioactive waste on the border of New Mexico and west Texas, this tour will provide media and local citizen’s with information about the dangers of storage of this type of waste. Watch Halt Holtec‘s live video of the tour kickoff event in Albuquerque, NM.
Since this story was posted, it was announced that after nearly a year of putting it on ice, Waste Control Specialists aims to revive its application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for consolidated interim storage of used fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors (a sort of purgatory before a final storage facility – Yucca Mountain?) . It is doing so in a joint venture planned with Orano USA.
Establishment of the joint venture and a formal request to restart the NRC review are expected in the second quarter of this year.
The plan remains to build a facility on Waste Control Specialists’ property in Andrews County, Texas, to temporarily hold up to 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel until the Department of Energy finds a permanent home for the radioactive waste.
When the NRC receives the WCS request to resume, a new schedule will be developed for continuing the review, publishing a new notice of hearing on the license application, and re-opening the environmental scoping period for 60 days.
Waste Control Specialists first submitted its application in April 2016, in partnership with NAC International and AREVA. The NRC completed its acceptance review of the application in January 2017, but the company in April of that year asked that the regulator halt the full technical review ahead of WCS’ then-pending merger with EnergySolutions. A federal judge blocked that deal on antitrust grounds, and Waste Control Specialists was acquired in January by private equity firm J.F. Lehman.
Orano USA was previously AREVA Nuclear Materials prior to its parent company’s renaming in January
Retired Public Citizen Texas Director, Tom “Smitty” Smith, continues environmental justice fights. Here’s an update on proposals to dump high-level radioactive waste on the Texas/ New Mexico border region.
TEXAS – WCS
Here’s the latest involving WCS – Waste Control Specialists – the low-level radioactive waste dump company in Andrews County. They’ve been seeking a high-level radioactive waste storage license in addition to their current low-level waste licence, but have temporarily pulled back the license that was under review by the NRC. They could start up again any time, and could move lightning fast if they do.
Meantime, they’re busy working on bringing decommissioned reactors to Texas for shallow burial. The new owners are part of the Northstar Group, which is deep into decommissioning.
In addition, WCS is trying to get licensed for greater Than Class C Waste… it’s not the fuel rods, but is incredibly hot in terms of radioactivity.
NEW MEXICO – HOLTEC
There’s a huge threat from the Holtec proposal for consolidated interim storage of high-level radioactive waste. They want to put the nation’s nuclear reactor irradiated fuel rods at a site in between Carlsbad and Hobbs, NM, not far across the Texas border, and massive rail shipments would likely go through Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/ Ft. Worth, Midland, El Paso and more.
That would be over 10,000 shipments, in a process that would take over 24 years. The DOE expects at least one train accident.
The Texas WCS site wants 40,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste; the Holtec site is for 100,000 tons. Today, that is all that has been produced by U.S. reactors. The likelihood that this waste would ever be moved to a permanent storage facility is nil, making this part of the country the de facto permanent site for the nation’s radioactive waste.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Texas on April 7, 2018 |
15 Companies and Groups, 60 People Are Backing a new organization, Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA) Kicks Off Electric Vehicle Coalition, With Energy and Momentum.
The Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance (TxETRA) is a nonprofit organization composed of electric energy vehicle manufacturers, industry leaders, developers, distributors, producers, utilities, and environmental and transportation equity groups. Their mission is to guide and accelerate the adoption of electrical transportation in all its forms, in the most cost-effective way, providing maximum benefit to the citizens of Texas. Fifteen companies and groups, and more than 60 people are involved in the formation of TxETRA which launched on Friday, April 6th at the Austin Club in downtown Austin, TX. You can watch the kickoff on our facebook page – @publiccitizentx.
“Texas – with its huge transportation network – can be a leader or a laggard,” said Bobby Hill, vice president of American Sales for BYD, a global manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs) and a founder of TxETRA. “Transportation is electrifying at high speeds across the world. We in the industry are joining with the utilities, the researchers and the advocates to create TxETRA and to work together to develop the policies we need to become a world leader in the development of these technologies. Electric vehicles are cheaper to own and maintain, and are far less polluting than a conventional vehicle. A dozen countries have banned – or are considering banning – the sale of gas and diesel engines.”
“TxETRA was formed to ensure we develop policies to make Texas one of the leaders in that transition,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, TxETRA’s interim director. Smith was the director of Public Citizen’s Texas office for more than 30 years and has been a leader in identifying good renewable energy policies for Texas, including in the transportation sector. “If we develop the right policies, we can absorb that increased demand for electricity and lower our electric rates. We want to accelerate the deployment of EVs and make it possible for electric vehicle owners to have enough charging stations, pay fair rates for electricity, have controls in place to reduce unnecessary charging at times when the grid is stressed due to peak demand and get paid when their car batteries are used to provide reliability services to the grid.” (more…)
Groups Call on Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to End Rule Suspensions, ‘Return to Normalcy’
UPDATE: We want to thank Governor Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for their quick action. The public spoke up about their concerns and the state responded. Environmental rules are there to protect the public and it’s important that they stay in place and are enforced.
We are happy with the announced outcome today, and we thank Governor Greg Abbott and the TCEQ for taking this step to protect the people of Texas.
Generally, we don’t think that rule suspensions are appropriate. The TCEQ always can choose not to fine facilities that pollute during a disaster. But with 46 environmental rules having been suspended across 60 counties for six months, there could be consequences to public health. If TCEQ chose to enforce against any violations that occurred during that time, companies might use the rule suspension as a defense against enforcement. This could limit the TCEQ’s ability to hold polluters accountable. When the next disaster happens, Public Citizen believes the governor should leave our public health and environmental protections in place.
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) should reinstate public health and environmental protections suspended in response to Hurricane Harvey, nine groups said in a letter (PDF) sent to the agency today.
Public Citizen’s Texas office and its allies warned that the public health and environmental harms outweigh any justification for the continued suspension of 46 TCEQ rules ranging from air pollution limits to vehicle fuel standards to wastewater standards. The letter was signed by representatives from Bayou City Waterkeeper, the Coalition of Community Organizations, Environment Texas, Gulf Restoration Network, the One Breath Partnership, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services and Turtle Island Restoration Network. Accompanying the letter was a spreadsheet (PDF) listing the 46 rules and explaining why they should be reinstated.
“We believe that many of the rule suspensions were never appropriate. We also believe that, more than six months after the hurricane, there is no justification for continued suspension of these forty-six rules,” the letter reads.
“There may be serious public health consequences to leaving these suspensions in place. If they aren’t needed any more, they should be ended now,” said Adrian Shelley, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, who spoke about the rules suspension at a TCEQ public meeting today.
One rule that should be reinstated limits visible emissions from flares to five minutes in any two-hour period. Pollutants from these flares have been linked to nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, coughing, difficulty breathing and premature death in people with heart or lung disease. A suspension of this rule carries grave consequences for public health, Shelley said.
“We are not aware of any companies that are experiencing continued operational difficulties as a result of Hurricane Harvey that would necessitate suspension of this rule,” the letter said.
The groups made three recommendations. First, the TCEQ must weigh the costs to public health and the environment against the value of continuing to suspend the rules. Second, the TCEQ needs to provide more information to the public about the continued rule suspensions. And third, if companies are not taking advantage of rule suspensions, those rules should be reinstated.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Texas on March 30, 2018 |
A new study by an SMU geophysical team found alarming rates of ground movement at various locations across a 4000-square-mile area of four Texas counties. (Zhong Lu and Jin-Woo Kim, SMU) Credit: Zhong Lu and Jin-Woo Kim, SMU. This shows where WCS is locating their proposed high-level radioactive interim waste storage facility in relation to the area in the SMU study.
A geophysical team from Southern Methodist University, near Dallas, TX is reporting that various locations in large portions of four Texas counties (Winkler, Ward, Reeves and Pecos) are sinking and uplifting with significant movement of the ground across a 4000-square-mile area—in one place as much as 40 inches over the past two-and-a-half years.
The scientists made the discovery with analysis of medium-resolution (15 feet to 65 feet) radar imagery taken between November 2014 and April 2017 which cover portions of four oil-patch counties where there’s heavy production of hydrocarbons from the oil-rich West Texas Permian Basin.
The imagery, coupled with oil-well production data from the Texas Railroad Commission, suggests the area’s unstable ground is associated with decades of oil activity and its effect on rocks below the surface of the earth.
The SMU researchers caution that ground movement may extend beyond what radar observed in the four-county area. The entire region is highly vulnerable to human activity due to its geology—water-soluble salt and limestone formations, and shale formations.
And right on the edge of the study area sits WCS’ proposed interim storage site for high-level radioactive waste. One of the geophysical team conducting the study, Zhong Lu, a professor in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU and a global expert in satellite radar imagery analysis, told reporters, “These hazards represent a danger to residents, roads, railroads, levees, dams, and oil and gas pipelines, as well as potential pollution of ground water. Proactive, continuous detailed monitoring from space is critical to secure the safety of people and property.”
With the NRC license application now going forward again, this is a new development about which Texas should be very concerned. We hope NRC will have SMU expand the scope of their study to include the area immediately surrounding the WCS site near Andrews, Texas and the Holtec site just across the border in New Mexico.
You can read about the findings in Phys.org or see the study in Nature.
Posted in Energy, Renewables, solar, tagged Texas on March 29, 2018 |
La Loma Community Solar Farm – Photo by RALPH BARRERA / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Just northeast of Springdale Road and Airport Boulevard and adjacent to the Austin Energy’s Kingsbery substation, La Loma boasts more than 9,000 panels. The 2.6 megawatt project will produce at least 4,400 megawatt-hours of electric power per year. Community solar allows multiple customers to share the output of a central facility rather than installing solar on their own roofs. Customers include renters, people with shaded roofs, and residents who can’t afford the upfront costs of rooftop solar. More than half of Austin Energy customers are renters and have limited access to rooftop solar.
Following Austin City Council approval in December, Austin Energy dedicated half of La Loma’s capacity to low-income customers in the City of Austin Utilities’ Customer Assistance Program at a discounted rate. At the time of the opening, 130 had signed up for the 220 slots available in the discount program. The market-rate community solar option is fully subscribed with 220 participants and another 38 on the waitlist for future projects.
“Austin Energy’s Community Solar Program is another great example of what happens when the City Council, the community and the utility work together to drive value for all of our customers,” said Jackie Sargent, General Manager of Austin Energy. “Our new program will help bring the benefits of our local solar offerings to even more of our customers.”
Austin Energy has offered solar incentives to customers since 2004, and today more than 7,200 customers have solar panels on their rooftops. The Utility’s Community Solar Program launched more than a year ago with a 185-kilowatt rooftop solar array at the Palmer Events Center in Central Austin, which serves 23 customers. The program allows residential customers to meet their electric needs with 100 percent locally generated solar energy, and participants lock in the price for 15 years.
Austin Energy’s Customer Assistance Program provides utility discounts to some 37,000 energy customers who qualify by participating in at least one of seven specified social service programs.
Posted in Ethics, Good Government, Right to know, tagged Texas on March 27, 2018 |
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Press Association, the Texas Association of Broadcasters and Public Citizen presents
Texas once led the nation in government transparency, but a series of recent developments have stymied the public’s ability to access information and provide opportunities for public comment about how your tax money is being spent and about who is acting on your behalf. This new dynamic has spurred many to call for change. Join the Texas Tribune’s Ross Ramsey and our panel of policy experts to discuss what changes, if any, can be made to strengthen the Public Information Act and how Texas can let more sunshine in. This is a free event, so register early to get a ticket – Open Government, Engaged Citizens: A Conversation on Texas’ Public Information Act
It is not often that Public Citizen’s name appears in concert with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, but this is an important issue and we encourage our supporters to attend. Be sure to register by clicking on attend below.
Thursday, March 29, 2018 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (CDT)
Texas Public Policy Foundation
View Map
901 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
Complimentary lunch will be served.
For a map of downtown Austin public parking, please click here.
Posted in Renewables, solar, wind, tagged Texas on March 18, 2018 |
City owned Palmer Events Center features Austin’s first community solar project. This and individual home solar installations are spurring solar employment nationwide.
The Solar Foundation recently released the National Solar Jobs Census 2017, an annual survey of solar employment nationwide and by state.
Download the report now or view the infographic on key findings. There is a lot of information in the report, including:
U.S. solar jobs declined 4 percent from 2017 as the industry scaled back installations, primarily because of changes in federal policies. Nevertheless, the U.S. solar industry, which has outpaced other industries in job creation, remains strong. Last year alone, the industry added 51,000 jobs, bringing the total number of Americans working in solar to more than 250,000 in all 50 states. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has also released 2017 data that puts the industry’s rapid growth into perspective and says the solar installer will be the fastest-growing job in America over the next decade. As the U.S. economy adds a projected 11.5 million jobs over the next decade, solar installer jobs will grow by 105 percent — more than any other occupation. (Note that The Solar Foundation’s Solar Jobs Census places any employee of an installer company in the “installer” category while the BLS considers just those physically getting on roofs to install panels.) Solar is truly an American success story and will continue if the government leaves the market alone.
The solar industry is already adding jobs 17 times faster than the rest of the nation’s economy, and as the U.S. Solar Market Insight report has said, the industry is expected to triple in size by 2022. But this won’t happen if the government blocks the solar job wave by messing with the market through the pending Section 201 trade case. The case threatens to raise the cost of solar and cause tens of thousands of Americans in solar to lose their jobs.
As you can see in the Bloomberg chart above, wind turbine technician jobs followed closely at No. 2, showing that clean energy jobs are driving the U.S. economy forward. We should keep an eye on the impacts of new trade agreements and tariffs on these booming industries.
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Texas on March 15, 2018 |
Two people were injured and another is missing in Cresson, TX (near Fort Worth) after an explosion and fire on Thursday at 9:45 a.m. The plant appears to belong to Tri-Chem Industries, a chemical blending facility. Some reports have identified it as a fertilizer plant.
Update: Officials recovered human remains about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21st and they are believed to be those of Dylan Mitchell, 27, the one worker who has remained missing since the March 15 fire and explosion, according to officials.
At least one more large explosion was captured by cameras and posted to Twitter. Plumes of black smoke from the plant closed a nearby state highway.
Texas has been the scene of other plant explosions in recent years, including the Arkema facility in Crosby after Hurricane Harvey and a massive fertilizer plant fire in West in April 2013 that claimed 15 lives.
In the minutes after such chemical disasters, knowledge can save lives. Twelve first responders to the Arkema explosion were injured by exposure to unknown contaminants in the fire. In today’s explosion, first responders were held back for their safety.
For surrounding communities, knowing how to react–whether to evacuate or shelter-in-place–is a matter of survival. Texans living near chemical plants and refineries know this all too well, but it can still be impossible to make the right decision without accurate and timely information.
Last legislative session, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez filed HB 1927, which would have establish a system to alert neighboring communities when a facility releases toxic chemicals or experiences a chemical disaster.
Unfortunately, the bill never made it out of of the House Committee on Environmental Regulation. But each time a disaster such as this occurs, it underscores the need for such legislation.
The bill would have directed the State Emergency Response Commission to develop a statewide system to inform the public of chemical emergencies in a timely manner using a multi-media approach, including traditional media, social media, and wireless emergency alerts.
This statewide system would have eliminate patchwork local approaches and relieve local governments of the burden of developing and maintaining their own systems. Residents would be directed to a hyperlink, which would provide:
Just like the Amber Alerts for missing persons and emergency weather alerts available on our phones, a Chemical Emergency Alert System should be available to keep our communities safe. Call your representatives or candidates and ask them to support chemical emergency alerts.
Posted in geothermal, Global Warming, Renewables, solar, wind, tagged Texas on March 10, 2018 |
CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, runs the global disclosure system that enables companies, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their environmental impacts. CDP has the most comprehensive collection of self-reported environmental data in the world. Of the 570 plus global cities reporting to CDP, over 100 now get at least 70% of their electricity from renewable sources such as hydro, geothermal, solar and wind.
Data on renewable energy mix is self-reported via CDP’s questionnaire. These cities report at least 70% of their electricity is from renewables. Because this is a self-reporting survey, some cities (such as Georgetown, TX) may noy appear on the list. Cities reporting they are powered by renewable energy are ‘city-wide’, not just municipal use only. Read on to see the whole list. (more…)
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