Bluebonnets

Texas Shines in Siemens Competition

Three Texans were among the two dozen high school students nationwide selected for the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement based on their scores on the AP math and science exams. The trio ranked in the top 0.00773% of the 310,371 students who took the exams. Three Texas teachers were also honored by Siemens and the College Board, along with one Texas high school.

The three Texas winners (joining four each from California and New Jersey, three from Illinois, and two each from Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts) are home schooler Alex Schwendner of Austin, Hae Xu of Highland Park High School in Dallas, and Kirtana Raja of St. John's School in Houston. Honored teachers included Amy Cote of Dallas, Linda Gann of Helotes, and Beverly McCarthy of San Antonio. Highlands High School in San Antonio was one of 12 honored nationwide.

Hopped Up in Houston

Just days after TCEQ Executive Director Glenn Shankle had to apologize for failing to attend a meeting in Houston's East End to discuss results of the agency's air pollution report, Mayor Bill White called a special city council meeting at which he promised residents of Houston's most polluted areas that "it's a new day and a new approach."

Council Member Carol Alvarado urged the state to impose an immediate moratorium on new permits and permit renewals for any facility emitting known chemical carcinogens into the air (presumably in any amount) and for new legislation requiring TCEQ to adopt emission levels for toxic pollutants that are not subject to federal regulations. Such regulations would replace the effects screening levels which are used as guidance in determining permit conditions.

Alvarado also proposed that the city of Houston file civil lawsuits and issue fines to any facility that violates federal, state, or local regulations and that the city increase staff and funding for its Bureau of Air Quality Control to upgrade monitoring, data analysis, and evaluation.

USFWS Okays Texas Salamander Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has officially notified Texas that the federal government will recognize that new, optional water quality measures serve to protect certain federally listed endangered species if they are voluntarily implemented in developments over the Edwards Aquifer. Governor Rick Perry called the agreement "a winning solution for all Texans," noting that it eliminates duplicate permitting procedures (TCEQ and USFWS) and ensures continued protection of endangered and threatened species and Texas water. TCEQ Chairman Kathleen Hartnett White called the agreement a "win-win."

The optional measures include a variation of current "best management practices" which are implemented to reduce the impact of developer activities on water qulaity in and upstream of the Edwards Aquifer. They also include measures to address stream channel erosion resulting from increased impervious cover, sensitive feature protection practices, guidelines for sealing sensitive features, and methods to improve BMP maintenance documentation. The agreement also envisions broader based cooperation to operate an elaborate water quality monitoring network. Projects requiring a federal permit and some other projects will still require direct consultation with USFWS.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Environmental Insider News
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group