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Posts published in “Day: July 6, 2016”

Galena Park & Jacinto City 4th of July Celebrations

Jul 6, 2016

july 4th celebrations

CITY OF GALENA PARK will hold its 1st Annual 4th of July Festival, at 1600 16th Street from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Sponsored by the Committee for a Better Galena Park, it will feature Activities, Food, Games, Music and Fireworks at 9:00 pm. Also a Rock Wall, Petting Zoo, 24 ft. Slide, 65 foot obstacle course, and 20 vendors. The pool will be open, and Free from 4 pm to 7 pm. Everyone welcome.

CITY OF JACINTO CITY will have its annual fireworks on “the High Road” between the cities. Begins at dark. Free parking is available at the Galena Park Ag Center on Holland.

Gene Green’s Chemical Safety Act signed by Obama

Jul 6, 2016
REPRESENTATIVE GENE GREEN, standing behind President Obama with other Congressmen and women, watches as the Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is signed into law at the beginning of June. The bill simplifies and updates standards and regulations for the chemical industry nationwide.
REPRESENTATIVE GENE GREEN, standing behind President Obama with other Congressmen and women, watches as the Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is signed into law at the beginning of June. The bill simplifies and updates standards and regulations for the chemical industry nationwide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the first overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act in 40 years the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. This landmark bill passed the House of Representatives on May 24 on a 403-12 vote and it was approved by the Senate on June 7 by voice vote.

“For nearly a decade, I have worked to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) because it directly affects communities in and around Eastside Houston and Harris County, home to one of the largest collection of chemical facilities in the country,” said Rep. Green. “The reforms contained in the new law will enhance protections for the fence-line communities next to the plants and the workers in our chemical plants, and respond to the concerns of industry to provide regulatory certainty for job creators throughout our economy.”

The legislation received strong bipartisan, bicameral support as well as support from industry, manufacturers, and environmental and public health organizations. (more…)

$10 million Waste Pits grants announced

Jul 6, 2016

waste pit grants

San Jacinto Waste Pit Grant Program to fund Parks, Boat Ramps, Environmental Education

HARRIS COUNTY – As part of a long-term effort to assess and mitigate environmental impacts from toxic waste pits along the San Jacinto River near I10 east of Houston, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Harris County are awarding $10 million to provide new or expanded public recreation and access facilities along the river, plus fund environmental awareness and education efforts.

The 84th Texas Legislature appropriated $10 million to the department to be transferred to Harris County, money that came as part of a lawsuit settlement. The legislative appropriation was “for use along the San Jacinto River and in its watershed to mitigate the effects of environmental contamination and the effects of that contamination on natural resources and the public use of natural resources.”

In the mid-1960s, waste ponds were impounded next to the lower San Jacinto River to dispose of wastes from a nearby paper mill, including toxic dioxins. Since the 1970s, subsidence, erosion and storms caused the release of contaminants into the river several miles upstream from the San Jacinto Battleground. The waste ponds were designated a federal Superfund site in 2008. The Environmental Protection Agency installed a temporary cap over the ponds in 2011, and evaluation of the extent and impacts of the contamination continues.

In 2011, Harris County filed suit against the operators of the waste pits and the paper company that had generated the waste for environmental damages and reached a $29.2 million settlement with the operators. Of that sum, $10 million went to the State of Texas, and in 2015, state lawmakers appropriated those funds to TPWD to be transferred to Harris County. TPWD and county officials worked with community advocates to accept grant proposals, and held a public meeting to get input on Feb. 8 at the San Jacinto/Highlands Community Center. The result is a series of grants, including:

(more…)