Killing Algae at Ascarate Lake

Photo by KFOX News

You probably have heard about the algae problem at Ascarate Lake that is killing fish. The El Paso Times story is HERE. The proposed remedy is a product called GreenClean Liquid 5.0. A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department official says: "As the GreenClean kills the algae it may be causing a dissolved oxygen problem that would kill the fish. The lake may need more aeration or they may not be following the directions on the label. The information is contradictory as to whether it is toxic to wildlife and the label places 77% of the ingredients under the category of 'other'."

The matter will take more time to discover if GreenClean Liquid 5.0 is really safe for lake life and people. TPWD personnel are working on it.

Question: will the County wait for the verdict or just go ahead and apply the broad spectrum algaecide? According to Commissioner David Stout the County is holding off on the treatment for now in order to explore options.

Commissioner's Court Gets It Right

Members of the El Paso County Historical Commission (Facebook) and their supporters have much to celebrate today. The County Commissioner's Court approved unanimously a motion made by Commissioner David Stout to fund an historic survey of several areas in El Paso including downtown. The survey will not force owners to do anything to their buildings. However, should they want to renovate and keep the historic integrity of their buildings, they can count on state and federal incentives. 

Last July City Council just did not get this. They rejected a similar proposal which also included a $56,000 grant to cover the costs of the survey. That grant is no longer available but that did not stop the Commissioners from funding a survey up to $140,000. 

County Judge Escobar praised the Historic Commission and thanked Stout for his work in bringing the proposal before the Court.

The Vice-Chair of the El Paso County Historical Commission, Max Grossman, released this statement to elpasonaturally:

"This victory is a huge win for the City and County of El Paso. Our plan will incentivize historic preservation rather than mandate it. The federal and state tax credits, which are extraordinarily generous, will be so attractive to real estate investors that they will want to restore their assets rather than demolish them. If the successes of these credits in other Texas cities are any indication of what we can expect in El Paso, our downtown economy is about to take off. Moreover, the downtown national historic district that will soon be established will drive heritage tourism, the fastest growing sector of our state's tourism economy. Yesterday's unanimous vote gave us enormous satisfaction, and we look forward to partnering with the County until this project is complete."

El Paso County Commissioners Court Passes Anti-Fracking Resolution

Click image to enlarge.

Kudos to Cemelli De Aztlan who has worked tirelessly to stop fracking in Hudspeth County. Today by a nearly unanimous vote the El Paso County Commissioners passed a resolution opposing fracking. (Only Republican Haggerty opposed it.) Here is what Cemelli posted on her Facebook page:

"El Paso County Commissioners Court passed a Resolution to Ban Fracking in El Paso County. Next step, Hudspeth County Commissioners and our El Paso Water Utilities, who plan to sell us water from the basin above Fracking, despite evidence of Fracking toxins contaminating water basins. CALL ALL TEXAS SENATORS TO OPPOSE SB1165. [SB1165 is the Senate version of HB40.] Also, demand that UT System divest from Oil&Gas Companies. — with Aurolyn Luykx, Virgil Esquivel, Dan Monahan, Robert Leal, Mary Gourdoux, Jim Tolbert, Bill Addington, Nayra Vizcarra, EL PASO NATURALLY, EL PASO EQUAL VOICE NETWORK and WEST TEXAS WATER PROTECTION FUND."