More Details on HB 595 Hearing

On March 17th, Annalisa Peace and Raymond Slade testified on behalf of GEAA at the House Natural Resources Committee hearing on HB 595 and HB 1508, which would prohibit discharge of sewage effluent and pollutants into waterways that recharge the Edwards.

The testimony by David Leibowitz and Valinda Bolton in support of the bills they filed - HB 595 and HB 1508 (respectively) - was educational and inspirational, as was all the testimony by the experts in support of this important legislation. Thanks so much to the City of Austin, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, Raymond Slade on behalf of GEAA and HCA, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, Mayor Bob Lee of Castroville, and Randy Johnson of the San Geronimo Valley Alliance, for their support and compelling testimony. Thanks, too, to the Edwards Aquifer Authority for registering their support.

Also of interest are comments by a couple of our regional legislators who serve on that committee. A tip of the hat to Trey Martinez Fischer! If he represents you, thanks are in order.

If Doug Miller is your representative, take a good look at his participation during the hearing and contact him to urge his support of HB 595 and HB 1508.

Present but silent at the hearing was San Antonio Water Systems. We need your help in getting SAWS to actively support this legislation. Stay tuned for more on this.

Public Transit to Austin!

For those of you who'd like to use public transportation to travel to Austin, check out Texas State's Bobcat Tram system! Also called the BT Interurban Service, this route stops in Austin, Kyle, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and San Antonio. It is offered to Texas State students, faculty, and staff - and the general public, at an additional cost. The route runs on most weekdays, excluding school holidays.

Thanks to Daniel Day for letting us know about this service. To read a detailed account of his experiences with this bus route, visit the Echo Green blog.

A very curious proposal

Senate Bill 690, sponsored by Jeff Wentworth (R) of San Antonio, would nearly quintuple the number of signatures needed to trigger a referendum to amend the charters in the two largest Texas cities and at least double the needed signatures in the rest of the 346 home rule Texas cities.

This is an assault on the rights of 20 million Texans. Why would any legislator want to do this? On March 18, 2009, the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee heard testimony on SB 690. The hearing seems to have exposed arrangements involving multiple taps into the taxpayer purse by various real estate developers. The taxpayer dollars involved are unknown - it is probably billions. A problem for developers used to getting public subsidies is that the public is waking up. Citizens are starting to use their right to propose amendments to their local charters --- amendments to prohibit the diversion of taxpayer money to insider interests. SB 690 is a retaliatory strike crafted by politically connected real estate interests in the Austin and Dallas areas to raise the hurdle, already too high, for citizens to amend home-rule charters in Texas. The higher threshold makes it unlikely that citizens can ever place another charter amendment proposal on the ballot.

The current law was adopted in 1973 because the old threshold was too high. SB 690 takes Texas back to the old threshold of 10% of registered voters. Passage of SB 690 means insider developers can keep their gravy train going. The hearing raised another question: Did these interests in Austin and Dallas who seem to be pulling the strings behind SB 690 misinform Sen. Wentworth about how much charter amendment elections actually cost taxpayers? Testimony from activists who have used the law showed clearly that taxpayer costs to hold referendums hover around $0 because they can be held simultaneously with other elections.

Take action!
Call Senator Wentworth at 512-463-0125. Dallas Rep. Dan Branch (R), has sponsored a companion House Bill 3458. To reach Rep. Branch, call (512) 463-0367.

This Press Advisory was furnished by:
Mike Ford
www.InitiativeforTexas.org
1750 Timber Ridge Road #116 Austin, TX 78741
512-447-2086
mikeford@quik.com

Natural Resources Committee Hears GEAA's Top Bill

The House Natural Resources Committee met yesterday to hear comments about HB 595 and HB 1508, among others. Several GEAA members and supporters came to speak in support of these bills - thank you!

If you'd like to see a recording of yesterday's hearing, go to the Natural Resource Committee's archived broadcasts and click on the broadcast listed for 3/17/09, starting at 12:06 pm.

You'll need to download RealPlayer first to view this video... Go here to download and install this software for free!

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For a list of relevant bills considered at yesterday's meeting, read below:

HB 595: Leibowitz/Rodriguez - Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing discharges of sewage effluent into any water in the contributing or recharge zone of the San Antonioor Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer

HB 1508: Bolton - Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing direct discharges of waste or pollutants into water in certain areas associated with the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer.

HB 1662: King, Phil- Relating to the availability of certain Upper Trinity GWCD financial information on the district's internet website.

HB 1664: King, Phil - Relating to an exemption for groundwater used for certain purposes from production fees assessed by the Upper TrinityGWDC

HB 1318: Legler - Relating to the eligibility, service, and removal of persons appointed to the TCEQ

HB 1518: Corte - Relating to the additional f territory to and the amount of production fees imposed by the Trinity Glen Rose GWCD

HB 43: Corte - Relating to permitting requirements of groundwater conservation districts, including permits to transfer water

HB 1992: Martinez Fischer - Relating to the authorization of certain reuse water system contributions and discharges

Welcome To Our New Blog!

Citizens from throughout the Texas Hill Country are concerned about the impacts of high-density development on our water resources - both in terms of the quantity of water available and the quality of our groundwater. The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), working with our member and the region’s elected officials has crafted a legislative agenda that includes:

· Expand authority for Hill Country counties, including buffer zones between incompatible uses. GEAA supports HB 1119 by Valinda Bolton and HB 2167 by Patrick Rose, as advocated by the Hill Country County Commissioners group, that will give much needed authority to manage incompatible land uses by local option.

· Prohibit treated sewage effluent discharge into Edwards Aquifer waterways. HB 595 filed by State Representative David Leibowitz and its companion SB 822 filed by Leticia Van de Putte prohibit permits authorizing the discharge of sewage effluent directly into any water of the Contributing or Recharge Zones of the San Antonio or Barton Springs segments of the Edwards Aquifer. HB 1508 filed by Valinda Bolton and SB 1099 by Kirk Watson prohibit this practice in the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards.

· Grandfathering projects from regulation has severely inhibited municipal enforcement of water quality and other ordinances that promote environmental protection. HB 2506 filed by Mike Villarreal essentially limits vesting to five years, allowing adequate time to protect investment in a project while protecting the public from development that does not conform to ordinances within this reasonable time frame.

· Invest in clean water by using proceeds of the federal stimulus for green infrastructure and requiring the state to assess the penalties of water polluters that at a minimum recover the economic benefit of noncompliance. Make improvements to sewage treatment facilities and sewage mains a high priority for Federal stimulus funding.

· Reform the Texas Department of Transportation in the sunset review process to promote a comprehensive and environmentally sound state transportation policy. GEAA supports transportation systems that protect rural values and avoid habitat fragmentation.

· Provide Authority and Resources to Hill Country Groundwater Management Districts that will enable them to effectively manage scarce water resources.

· Give municipal and county governments the ability to assess Impact Fees on new development adequate to pay for the cost of new and additional infrastructure required by new growth. Get involved! Sign up on our web site to recieve action alerts. Keep us posted about your efforts to promote legislation during the session by using this blog. Working together, we can make the 81st Session of the Texas Legislature the best ever.