Kudos to the El Paso Herald Post

Yes, the Herald Post. It's been online for several weeks now and doing a great job. When Luke Metzger of Environment Texas sent out the press release about fracking on UT lands, he asked me to get the word out to media here in El Paso. Out of all of the contacts that I made, so far only the Herald Post has run the story. Editor-in-Chief, Chris Babcock, was on top of it immediately yesterday.

Kudos. Read the Herald Post online.

New Report: Fracking on UT Lands pollutes air and water

[Below is a press release from Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. It was released just minutes ago. A copy of the full report may be read HERE. Metzger co-authored the report with Jeff Inglis of the Frontier Group. You can still sign and share an online petition calling for no fracking on UT land next to El Paso County.]

Report: Fracking on UT Lands pollutes air and water

Student leaders call on UT to adopt strong environmental standards for drilling

AUSTIN – Fracking for oil and gas on one million acres of land owned by the University of Texas system has a substantial impact to the environment and public health, according to a first of its kind report by Environment Texas Research and Policy Center and Frontier Group. The groups were joined by student leaders at UT Austin and UT San Antonio and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club in calling on the University Lands office to end the worst practices of fracking and write strong environmental protections in to leases they sign with oil and gas companies.

“Fracking of thousands of wells on university-owned land in recent years has consumed enormous quantities of water, introduced vast amounts of toxic chemicals into the environment, and threatened land that is valuable to the environment and wildlife,” said Luke Metzger, one of the report’s authors and Director of Environment Texas Research and Policy Center. “If UT is going to continue to allow fracking, it must, at the very least, act immediately to eliminate the worst industry practices and safeguard the environment and public health.”

The report found that as many as 4,132 wells drilled on university-owned land in west Texas since 2005 have been subject to high-volume hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” The drilling has had significant impact to the environment, including:
·         Use of at least 6 billion gallons of water amid a historic drought in which Texans were asked to scale back water use

·         Use of vast quantities of toxic chemicals, including 8.5 million pounds of methanol, which is suspected to cause birth defects

·         Release of methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – equal to between 50,000 and 1.5 million cars in a year of driving

·         Potential threats to endangered wildlife and natural areas including untainted stretches of the Pecos River and the Diablo Plateau

The report also found that the oil and gas industry has spilled at least 1.6 million gallons of pollution on UT lands. Cleanups are not yet complete at five of the spill locations.
The group called on the University Lands Office to review best practices around the nation and write strong environmental protections into leases with oil and gas companies, including:
·         Prohibiting drilling on lands with special environmental value, such as Diablo Plateau, the Pecos River watershed, and all land that is habitat for migratory birds and endangered species

·         Aggressive reduction of water use

·         Strong clean air standards that minimize methane leakage, including minimizing the use of flaring and fully prohibit venting except in rare circumstances.

“Students are alarmed by the growing environmental crisis resulting from our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Xavier Rotnofsky, President of the UT Austin Student Government. “We expect UT to be a leader in minimizing damage to our environment. We’re making progress here on campus through installation of solar panels and use of reclaimed water. UT should show the same leadership with the oil and gas operations.”

Rohit Mandapalu, Vice President of the UT Austin Student Government, expressed optimism that the University would take these recommendations seriously, pointing to comments made earlier this year by UT Chancellor McRaven who told an audience at a Texas Tribune event that he would support stronger environmental standards as part of UT oil and gas leases. Mandapalu also highlighted the UT System sustainability policy which directs institutions to “pursue the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions” and “encourage suppliers to demonstrate environmental stewardship.” “UT should bring these oil and gas operations in line with our stated values on sustainability and climate impact,” said Mandapalu.

"Fracking threatens the lands, resources and health of too many Texans,” said Representative Eddie Rodriguez, Vice Chairman of the House Environmental Regulation committee. “I hope university leaders, energy producers and environmental experts act quickly and creatively to eliminate bad industry practices that threaten our health and environment."

"UT can and should require oil and gas producers to follow cost-effective and achievable best practices it allows fracking of its lands," noted Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter. "For example, UT should require that all producers implement leak detection and repair programs, recycle their water, and utilize technologies like vapor recovery on storage tanks and no-bleed pneumatic devices when moving their product."

"Fracked wells on University Lands pumped 275 million pounds of chemicals deep underground," said report co-author Jeff Inglis, a policy analyst at Frontier Group, a non-profit public policy think tank. "Some of those chemicals come back up to the surface, creating toxic waste. And some of them stay underground, where they can contaminate our drinking water. Either way, they're a danger to the Texas environment."

FMSP Corridor Project Lets!

It's official. TxDOT is now calling for bids for the FMSP connectivity project (animal corridor with a hike and bike trail). The corridor will be constructed near the entrance to the Tom Mays Unit of the Franklin Mountains State Park. The El Paso conservation community has long awaited for TxDOT to ask for bids and then begin and complete the project. Here we go.

Click image to enlarge.

To see the bid online go to http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/cmd/lettingschedule/2016/current-month.pdf and scroll to page 68.

The Friday Video: Urban Wildlife Facebook Page

Burrowing Owls

Swainson's Hawk

Burrowing Owl

Harris's Hawk

Check out the El Paso Urban Wildlife - Texas Parks and Wildlife Facebook page. Like it. Follow it. Share its posts. Go there to see a number of great videos of burrowing owls.

I mention this page because this morning I took a Celebration of Our Mountains tour of the burrowing owls of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. Lois Balin, our Urban Wildlife Biologist for TPWD, guided us. Not only did we see the owls (who weigh about a fourth to a third of a pound), we saw Swainson's Hawks, Harris's Hawks, a Roadrunner, a Kestrel or two, a Snowy Egret, Mexican Ducks and more. It was a perfect morning - mostly overcast and cool. The bit of sunlight that broke through made the Franklins and the Sierra de Juarez look as if they were covered with dazzling white snow. We saw the footprints of what we believe to have been a gray fox. Our tour was not only educational, it was joyful.

Lois is leading another tour next Friday,  September 11th, beginning at 7:30 AM. Reservations are required and there is a maximum of 7 people. (Our birdblind was the TPWD vehicle that can seat 7. It was better than a ride at Disneyland.) Check out Events on Celebration of Our Mountains for more details.

Where Are We with the Petition to Preserve Land?

What's going on with the efforts to preserve land on both sides of the Franklin Mountains? A petition sponsored by Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coaltion, elpasonaturally and others drew more than 6,000 signatures. I personally presented the results to City Council and to the Public Service Board. Since then members of FMWC have spoken with City Council members and other local officials. 

A very significant step in determining what can (and cannot) be preserved was taken this morning. Twelve people gathered at the El Paso Water Utilities to begin discussing a "preservation plan". PSB/EPWU Attorney Lupe Cuellar chaired the meeting. Besides myself, there were representatives from city planning and parks departments, the building and development community, a conservation educator, a wildlife expert, a licensed architect experienced in urban planning, two representatives from the city's resiliency and sustainability office, a land conservation expert along with two attorneys (including Ms. Cuellar) from EPWU.

As the land in question is managed by the PSB, it is appropriate that the conversation begin there and a preservation plan originate there.  The group will work with two foundational principles in mind: there is land that can and should be preserved and there is land that can and should be developed. 

There was some initial discussion about criteria for preserving the land such as ecosystem services. The conservation educator, the wildlife expert and the land conservation expert mentioned ways to quantify those services. The architect hit a homerun when she said that we identify ecologies that we should preserve. 

The group will continue to meet monthly.

I'm excited. Stay tuned. - Jim Tolbert

P.S. You can still sign the petition online.


Please visit www.celebmtns.org for information about 2015 Celebration of Our Mountains events.

Say NO to El Paso Electric

I wrote the following text for a change.org petition yesterday afternoon. Eco El Paso (along with elpasonaturally) is sponsoring the petition.

El Paso Electric Company's proposed rate hikes are not just a burden on all rate payers such as yourself but punish those who use solar panels and discourage the use of clean, renewable solar energy. The utility argues that added infrastructure costs are not shared equitably because solar users are not buying all of their electricity from them. Yet, if more people used clean, alternative photovoltaic solar power, there would be no need for added infrastructure - power lines and power stations. The simple fact is that El Paso Electric Company wants you to buy all of your electrical energy from them and they want you to buy more of it. And, btw, traditional electrical production requires massive amounts of water - a very scarce resource for all of us. Photovoltaic solar power uses just enough water to clean off the panels maybe twice per year.Support solar energy. Support conservation. Tell the Mayor and City Council of El Paso to say NO to EPEC's request for higher rates on all of us.

When I created the change.org petition yesterday, I told just a few people. I had not posted it to social media yet. I hadn't blogged about it. Almost instantly it got 83 supporters. Let's see what happens now that the news starts getting out.

Go HERE to say HELL NO to El Paso Electric's rate hike proposal. Spread the word.

El Paso's Natural Open Space: Some Questions for Policymakers and Citizens

Just words on a sign. The picture was taken in 2010. What progress has been made on the Palisades open space since then? Ask the taggers not the City.

[The following was written by elpasonaturally reader, Marshall Carter-Tripp. Not only are her points and questions thought-provoking, they represent the frustratioon that many citizens have with the open space policies of the City of El Paso. elpasonaturally had always looked at the Boulder, Colorado ordinances as the best examples of controlling sprawl and preserving open space. Do not expect the any strides in a similar direction from the current reactionary El Paso City Council. To do the right thing will require a sea change in the next two City Council elections in which conservation-minded persons are elected and the sprawler puppets retired.

The Open Space Advisory Board meets tomorrow, September 2nd, at 3PM in City Building 3, 801 Texas Avenue, in the unmarked Thorman Conference Room in the basement. The meeting is open to the public and there is a public comment section at the beginning of the meeting for any item not on the agenda.]

Through the PSB stormwater set-aside and the City of El Paso’s Quality of Life funding for Open Space acquisition, El Paso can preserve hundreds of acres of undeveloped Open Space, for the benefit of those who live here – humans and wildlife.  This effort began with City Council approval in late February 2007 of a master plan entitled ”Towards a Bright Future: A Green Infrastructure Plan for El Paso, Texas” (the Open Space Master Plan). A few months later the Plan was awarded the Excellence in Planning Award from the National Association of Recreation Resource Planners (This plan, unfortunately, is no longer readily available on the internet.)   Implementation moved slowly; Council created an Open Space Advisory Board some two and a half years later, in June 2009.   This Board makes recommendations to Council about priorities under the master plan.  It has no authority to require that any action take place; even its ability to discuss various is limited. 

The, perhaps inevitable, result is that Natural Open Space is not a priority for city management and the goals laid out in the Master Plan do not appear to be incorporated into city staff activity.  For example, the Open Space Master Plan calls for expansion of Keystone Heritage Park (as does the City’s Parks Master Plan).  In July 2012 the Open Space Advisory Board progress report noted that the city had purchased 29 acres south of Keystone Dam, which could be used to buffer Keystone.  But in early February 2015, supporters of Keystone learned that the city’s Environmental Services was planning to build a large trash collection site on this land. The possibility that the land in question might contain unexplored cultural resources had not been investigated.   Leaving aside the considerable noise and debris inherent in a trash collection station, which could seriously affect the quality of a visit to Keystone, the decision to build it meant that the Keystone expansion goal could not be realized.  The city had already taken no action to buy land to the north of the park, land that was now under development.

Taking a second example, the Palisades Canyon land acquired by the PSB once it had the purchasing power (the Master Plan had considered it too expensive to list it as a key goal).  Hikers and bikers had visited these 202 acres for many years, despite the “no trespassing” signs.  Usage expanded once the parcel was purchased by the PSB in 2010 and a “welcome to the Palisades” sign was installed.  Nearby residents noted, however, that many of the users did not adhere to the announced rules, such as dogs on leashes, and no private motorized vehicles.  Graffiti appeared along the trail and was not removed, even after requests were made to the streets and maintenance graffiti unit. (The city’s website asserts that graffiti removal is done in public spaces, specifically citing parks.  Apparently because the Palisades is not a park, and the graffiti cannot be seen from the street, removing it is not important.)  Trucks and other vehicles go up the trail almost every day, now apparently to service the transmission tower at the end of Sierra Crest, built in mid-2015.  These are not PSB vehicles; who granted an easement for this traffic?  How much such traffic could be tolerated in Natural Open Space? No city agency takes responsibility for what happens in the Palisades – the “official owner,” the PSB, has no component to supervise Open Space, and the Parks and Recreation Department will only occupy itself with the trailhead, once constructed.  To date even a doggy bag dispenser is lacking.  (And as the Palisades is not a city park, the dog waste ordinance would not apply, so could fines be levied?) 

The city has not supplied staff for other components of the Open Space inventory.  Keystone land is owned by the city, but it has been entirely built and maintained by a private charity, and public outreach is through its Friends of Keystone group.  Similarly, the Rio Bosque wetlands, now owned by the PSB, are managed by UTEP, and a private non-profit Friends group manages public involvement.  Park Partnerships are available for designated city parks, for help with equipment, maintenance and cleanup, but these Natural Open Space areas are not city parks.

Let’s consider what has been done in some other southwestern/western cities.  Boulder is perhaps the poster child for Open Space protection.  Voters there approved a city charter amendment in 1959 that restricted the provision of city services to development below a certain altitude, protecting the mountain from development.   In 1967 the citizens of Boulder followed with a special sales tax to provide revenue for Open Space.  Boulder County then created a Parks and Open Space Department, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.  Key to its operation is a partnership arrangement in which businesses, civic groups, and individuals provide financial and volunteer support to monitor and care for the 100,000 acres plus of Open Space now preserved in Boulder County.

http://www.bouldercounty.org/os/getinvolved/pages/ospartnership.aspx
https://bouldercountyopenspace.org/40/

Nearer home, Albuquerque has nearly 30,000 acres of city-owned Open Space, based on the 1988 comprehensive city plan, complete with Visitor Center!  (And there are many more neighboring acres under state or federal control.) Volunteer programs allow for “adoption” of particular Open Space, and the Open Space Alliance serves as a “Friends of Open Space” group.  Albuquerque’s land is managed by a division within the Parks and Recreation Department.  The management principles are to: 

• Conserve Natural and archaeological resources; 
• Provide opportunities for outdoor education; 
• Provide a place for low impact recreation (in some but not all of the Open Space land), and
• Define the edges of the urban environment. 

https://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/open-space


Looking at these success stories, we in El Paso might ask ourselves:

#1  Where does the acquisition of Open Space fit in Council’s Strategic Plan, if it does?  What concern, if any, is there for conservation of El Paso’s unique asset, the mountain range, excluding further development on it?

#2  Is there a schedule for acquisition of land, and what is the goal in terms of acres?  (El Paso is fortunate to have the Franklin Mountains State Park, nearly 25,000 acres, comprising the largest urban park in the country. But these acres are not enough!)  Should Council consider setting aside at least one meeting a year to review progress and remind staff of the Open Space and Parks Master Plans? 

#3  What might trigger creation of an Open Space division, with staff, in the Parks and Recreation Department?  And associated programs for partners for Open Space or Friends of particular Open Space areas?  (The Parks Department page on the city website shows Marci Tuck as the Open Space, Trails and Parks Coordinator.  Ms Tuck left the department in mid-May, 2015.  Apparently her role is not important enough to replace.   In any case she had no responsibility for open space per se, just connections through trailheads.)

#4  How are citizens to interact with the OSAB and the PSB regarding land acquisition or other Open Space concerns if they cannot attend the daytime meetings and speak during the Call to the Public?  Who determines how much of the PSB Open Space fund is used for Park Ponds rather than the purchase of Natural Open Space?  How can citizens affect these decisions?

- Marshall Carter-Tripp