Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention - Syndicate News & commentary feed

Hope is a real thing

John Wilson — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 13:00:00 -0800

As someone who works on air pollution issues, I get to hear stories from a lot of people. People have shared stories about kids with asthma, parents who got cancer from exposures at work, neighbors who got nauseous from the unavoidable accident at the plant down the street, employees who participated in illegal dumping, and just questions from average people about whether or not it is safe for them to take a walk in the morning.

Fresh ideas - and a fresh attitude, too?

John Wilson — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:00:00 -0800

Texas environmental officials are once again planning . . . to clean Houston's air.

Meetings will be held on March 22 and March 27 to discuss traffic, rail, construction and other such sources. Pollution from industry and smaller fixed point sources will be discussed at meetings on April 19 and May 24.

Don't stay inside

GHASP — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 21:00:00 -0800

- submitted to the Houston Chronicle (but not published)Â

"Stay inside until the smell is gone, or until the air isn't so heavy." That's what Rosaria Marroquin, one of our constituents, tells her children when they want to go outside to play with squirt guns. Parents should be urging their children to go outside, but in the industrial east end of Houston, the toxic air creates a daily parenting challenge.

Similar concerns have been voiced in a project sponsored by Mothers for Clean Air and funded by EPA. The Southeast Houston Project is addressing the problem of air quality by bringing together elected officials, universities, regulatory agencies, residents and local industry at monthly meetings. Residents are monitoring the air using organic vapor monitoring devices at 23 stations.

Air quality outlook 2006

John Wilson — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:00:00 -0800

This year, air quality should get better in the Houston region. Better science, new technology and, especially, stronger regulations will all come together this year to make a difference. As an advocate for clean air in Houston, I expect to enjoy 2006.

Things haven't been quite the same since 2000, when hundreds of independent scientists convened in Houston to take a close look at our air quality as part of the first Texas Air Quality Study. They brought vision and perspective to the issue at a time when city leaders were reeling from headlines proclaiming Houston as the nation's smog capital.

The silence before

John Wilson — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:00:00 -0700

Remarks to â€œCitizens State of the Bay,â€ GBCPA conference, September 10, 2005

As someone who works on air pollution issues, I get to hear stories from a lot of people. People have shared stories about kids with asthma, parents who got cancer from exposures at work, neighbors who got nauseous from the â€œunavoidableâ€ accident at the plant down the street, employees who participated in illegal dumping, and just questions from average people about whether or not it is safe for them to take a walk in the morning.

Iâ€™m fortunate to be in good health, and to have three children and a wife who are also in good health. We donâ€™t live very close to a chemical plant. Yet I am going to beg your indulgence and begin with my own story.

Are permits just paperwork? Gulf Chemical and Metallurgical seems to think so.

John Wilson — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:46:18 -0700

It isn't difficult to find an air pollution scandal. The evidence is in plain view, if only someone looks. That's what I found when I reviewed the file of Gulf Chemical and Metallurgical, a metal recovery facility in Freeport.

Photographs, lab tests and inspection reports warn of urgent hazards. Neighbors have described the metallic vapors passing through the neighborhood as something that "burns your throat." Yet the public has been largely unaware of the serious failure of environmental programs that have allowed excessive emissions of toxic pollutants in Freeport.

No-show at air pollution hearings

John Wilson — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 21:00:00 -0800

Wednesday evening, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality once again verified that it cannot be relied on to show up when it is time to deal with Houstonâ€™s air pollution problem. At the last minute, TCEQ cancelled the appearance of its two representatives who had agreed to attend a town hall meeting organized on February 2 by Councilmember Carol Alvarado, and co-hosted by Congressman Gene Green, County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, and State Representatives Joe Moreno and Melissa Noriega.

We can only hope that this action is an aberrant throwback to days gone by, as the new chair, Kathleen Harnett White, has proven that she wants to improve communication between citizens and the stateâ€™s environmental agency. As an advocate for cleaning up Houstonâ€™s air, I deal with the staff and leadership of the TCEQ on an almost daily basis. I have noticed a marked improvement in the willingness of TCEQ staff to engage in honest dialogue about Houstonâ€™s air pollution over the past year.

Clean Air Lawsuit Filed

John Wilson — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 21:00:00 -0800

If environmental groups filed lawsuits every time the state's environmental agency made an insincere promise or missed a deadline, the courts would be clogged. Yet few such lawsuits are filed, as the latitude allowed by judges gives great flexibility to state and federal environmental agencies. With such flexibility, comes a responsibility to lead and innovate, not to break promises and make excuses.

With a track record of broken promises and excuses, it is time for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to be held accountable for failing to clean up Houston's air. For this reason, the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention recently joined with the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association in a lawsuit seeking federal sanctions against the State of Texas and key polluters.

Who runs the TCEQ?

John Wilson — Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:00:00 -0700

Who, exactly, runs the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality?

On paper, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reports to three commissioners, appointed by the Texas Governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Yet in practice it is widely assumed that the oil, gas and chemical industry has an extraordinary amount of influence over the commission's business.

Recent events suggest that industry actually has a formal place in the bureaucracy, and that its consent is required before the commissioners may act. No law grants such sweeping authority to industry, but the evidence suggests that nonetheless the staff at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is responsive to decisions made by industry.

Environmental enforcement under threat

John Wilson — Thu, 24 Apr 2003 21:00:00 -0700

Protecting the air and water of Texas requires a partnership between the citizens, companies, and state and local government. Two laws being considered by the Texas Legislature would weaken an already shaky partnership.

The first bill, sponsored by Senator Todd Staples, simply states that the state's environmental enforcement agencies, "may not use information received from a private individual or testimony by the private individual regarding that information as evidence in an enforcement action."

While members of the public regularly send videos, give identifications in lineups, and provide countless other types of evidence to assist with the conviction of violent criminals, this bill would leave our state agencies to act alone when it is necessary to take action against pollution and other environmental crimes. Polluter's lawyers will own the courtroom when they can exclude any and all "information" received from a "private individual." How far will lawyers hired by deep-pocketed corporations be able to stretch this exclusion?

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