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The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most
valuable, irreplaceable and endangered public treasures.
The EPA recognizes it as a "Sole Source" water supply. It is the
only source of drinking water for millions of Texans.
It is our right and duty to preserve and protect the Aquifer,
its contributing Hill Country watersheds, its great springs,
and its native biodiversity for the benefit of all residents
and all future generations. As individuals and community-based
organizations, we invite everyone who shares the desire to
preserve the Edwards Aquifer to join with us.
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| On May 29th over 200 citizens showed up to give San Antonio's Mayor Castro and City Council an earful about why we oppose a high density development on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone next door to the Bracken Bat Preserve.
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When: Wednesday, May 29th at 6:00 pm
Where: City Council Chambers, San Antonio Municipal Plaza Building, 114 W. Commerce
Citizens will join the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, Alamo Group of the Sierra Club, Bat Conservation International and others to address the Mayor and City Council at Citizens to Be Heard to protest the SAWS contract for water and sewer service to the Crescent Hills development in Comal County.
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The Edwards Aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for more than two million residents. That's why it's important for scientists to understand how contamination travels in this karst aquifer. This report from WOAI TV news explains some shocking results of dye tracing studies conducted by the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
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On March 11, 2013, the Board of Trustees of the San Antonio Water System approved water and wastewater service to Crescent Hills, a development located entirely in Comal County on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.
We encourage all SAWS ratepayers and all people who don’t want to subsidize sprawl on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone to join us on May 22nd in urging the San Antonio City Council to rescind SAWS service to Crescent Hills.
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GEAA is pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected EarthShare of Texas to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for April, in recognition of Earth Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill.
H-E-B has supported many EarthShare of Texas organizations with corporate grants or in-kind contributions. The April tear-pad promotion enables H-E-B customers to support the program work of Earth Share of Texas organizations. GEAA will benefit, because the contributions will be divided among EarthShare of Texas organizations with program work in Central Texas.
Look for the EarthShare of Texas display and tear-off coupons at the check-out stands in H-E-B stores and the Central Markets store beginning in late March through April. And help support EarthShare of Texas and the Texas environment!
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| Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance has released our Legislative Agenda for the 83rd Session of the Texas Legislature. This agenda includes bills filed as of March 29th, 2013. This Legislative Agenda has been compiled by consensus and endorsed by all 47 of our member groups, spanning twenty-one counties in Central Texas. Collectively, our groups represent approximately 25,000 Texans.
For your convenience, we have also compiled a list of bills in numerical order, noting bills that we support, oppose, or have noted as bills of concern.
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Well, it is about halfway through the 83rd Legislative Session and things are picking up. Today I have good news and bad. The good news first. HB 105 to beef up funding for State Parks, and HB 449 to facilitate xeriscaping and rainwater harvesting will be heard in House committees this week. The bad news is that one truly awful bill, HB 824, will also be heard by the Natural Resource Committee on March 5th.
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| You may recall that I sent a message last month reporting that we thought our trees were safe for this session. Well, I spoke too soon. Representative Lois Kolkhorst has filed HB 1377 which would prevent municipalities from enforcing their tree ordinances in their Extra Territorial Jurisdictions (ETJ’s), resulting in more clearcut developments
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| Heads up on bad bill filed last Friday: H.B. 824 - Callegari would triple the volume of sewage spills that require reporting from the current 500 gallons to 1,500 gallons. It would also exempt from reporting a spill that “does not reach waters of the State”.
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The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) endorses the position stated jointly by the Lone Star Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation - Meeting Texas Water Needs.
Recognizing the need for Texans to address our water needs, GEAA supports Representative Ritter’s HB 4 and HB 11 authorizing a one-time allocation of $2 billion from the State’s “Rainy Day” funds to capitalize a new, dedicated revolving fund for use in financing water projects in the State Water Plan.
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| A team of four students from Dr. Yongmei Lu’s Geographic Information Science class at Texas State University (TSU), working with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), have created a map of sewage leaks within the Edwards Aquifer Region. Among the findings of this study is that between 2008 and May 2012 eighty three sewage spills totaling 809,000 gallons (or 2.5 acre feet) of raw sewage occurred on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Because the Edwards Aquifer does not filter surface runoff on the Recharge Zone, this is cause for concern.
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| The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance joined the Cibolo Creek Conservation Society and AGUA in issuing notice that they intend to sue for voilations of the Endangered Species Act and San Antonio's Water Quality ordinances as related to Century Oaks/Wortham Oaks, a high density development on the Edwards Recharge Zone.
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A new report released by the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance and Save Our Springs Alliance shows that the state’s permitting of land disposal of wastewater is failing to protect the Edwards Aquifer and Hill Country springs, creeks, rivers, and groundwater. According to the report, Land Applied Wastewater Effluent Impacts on the Edwards Aquifer, prepared by Dr. Lauren Ross, Ph.D., P.E. of Glenrose Engineering, a growing body of evidence establishes that poorly operated systems and a lack of permit standards are putting water resources at risk and leading to pollution ...
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The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) is pleased to announce The Reliant EcoShareSM, a new way that Texans can support GEAA and offset their own carbon production at the same time.
Through this program, Reliant Energy in partnership with EarthShare of Texas has launched a program that allows Reliant customers to help reduce their carbon footprints -- while giving back to their favorite organizations -- through the purchase of carbon offsets ...
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Watch this video clip to learn about actions in the State Legislature that will take away your right to protect your property from pollution. Representative Craig Eiland discusses the impact of the Bonnen Amendment to SB 875.
Take action today, let your State Senator know that you oppose the Bonnen Amendment to SB 875 to give polluters immunity from civil suits.
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| Watch this video clip of State Representatives Anchia and Solomons discussing the ramifications to all Texans of the Chisum amendment (Amendment #40) to the TCEQ Sunset Bill (HB 2694). This motion passed by a 2:1 vote on April 19th. Thanks to Alliance for Clean Texas for providing this footage.
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Citizens across Texas suffered a significant loss of their rights protect private property and water resources when the State House of Representatives voted last night to adopt the Chisum amendment to the TCEQ Sunset Legislation. Even sadder, the 96 to 44 vote wasn’t even close. See how your representative voted here.
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A very serious threat to our ability to control pollution here in Texas is coming up in the House of Representatives today (Tuesday, April 19th). State Rep. Warren Chisum will attempt to sully HB 2694 - the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) "sunset" legislation - with an amendment that is identical to HB 3037 that would gut the process for contesting TCEQ permits - a process that currently allows citizens to improve pollution control permits or even stop the issuance of permits for bad projects.
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The Sunset Advisory Commission public hearing on TCEQ will take place on Wednesday, December 15th. Join us that day in the Capitol as we continue to participate in this once-in-a-decade opportunity to make our state a healthier and safer place to live, work and raise our families.
Click READ MORE for the day's schedule...
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Dear GEAA Members and Friends,
The holiday season is coming upon us fast! Once Thanksgiving passes, we will be bombarded with holiday paraphernalia, Christmas lights and snowmen (though probably no real snow...). Come December, we will be bombarded with new STUFF. The amount of clutter in our lives can become overwhelming. GEAA wants to help you clean out your closet! We are hosting oursecond annual ONLINE auction for the first two weeks in December. Donate items to GEAA and we'll sell them online. Thanks to programs like Mission Fish (Ebay's charitable auction service), Ebay grants nonprofit organizations 100% of their proceeds. That means none of the donations get lost in processing fees.
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Those of you to the north will have your opportunity to speak up in Austin on Wednesday November 17th from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at Bass Lecture Hall, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin campus Map and Directions
Perhaps we will see you there, orat the Sunset Review Commission Hearing at the State Capitol on December 15th. And, if meetings are not your thing, you can always submit your comments via e-mail to: http://www.sunset.state.tx.us/question.htm. We hope that these town halls will show legislators that Texans are making the TCEQ sunset process a priority, and that you will continue to be engaged throughout the legislative session.
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We are pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected EarthShare of Texas to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for November, in recognition of Texas Recycles Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work in the San Antonio area
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Forum to Address State Water Issues
SEGUIN − The League of Women Voters (LWV) and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) are co-sponsoring a regional public forum, "State Water: What You Should Know." The forum will be held 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at the GBRA River Annex, 905 Nolan, in Seguin, TX.
The purpose of the forum is to address issues regarding the allocation of water in Texas. Experts will describe the state water plan, the Region L water plan, information from the Headwaters region in Kerr County, current state regulations that govern the sale and transfer of water rights by river authorities, and the permitting of water transfers by groundwater districts. Participants will also hear about upcoming legislation relating to water allocation.
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Water is the cornerstone of our future.
-Protecting our water now enhances our future health, economy and quality of life.
-Voting for Proposition 1 on November 2 will give San Antonians the tools we need to protect our water for tomorrow.
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The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance invites you to join state, local and county elected officials from San Antonio and surrounding communities to recount your experiences with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and to share their suggestions for improving this agency, in light of TCEQ’s upcoming Sunset Review.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Sunset Review Town Hall Meeting.
Monday, November 8th from 6:00 – 8:30pm
San Antonio Central Library Auditorium
600 Soledad*, San Antonio, Texas
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| Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are postponing the TCEQ Sunset Review Town Hall Meeting that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 23rd. ...
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| Please alert your friends and family members to the upcoming North Sector Plan open houses, where they will have a chance to view the plan and comment. The first North Sector Open House will be held on Tuesday, June 15, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Semmes Library, 15060 Judson Road. The second Open House will be held on Saturday, June 26, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway ...
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Saturday, May 22, 2010
Steak Dinner and Drinks for Two - Open Bar
Vegetarian option available
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City of San Antonio Mayoral candidates, Castro, Cibrian and DeBerry-Meija discuss water issues at the Environmental Candidates Forum held at the Little Carver Theater on April 17th.
View the 3 video clips online or here:
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| Anne Adams and Dr. Kathy Ward will present an informal, outdoor class-with a GPS unit in your hand. Learn how to turn it on, scroll through screens, set up for use and practice basic navigation. Participants work in pairs and GPS units are provided. ...
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| The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance and Kinney County Ground Zero hosted a town hall meeting to inform the public about the designation of Critical Habitat for the Devils River Minnow in Kinney County, featuring experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). ...
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| Trustees of the San Antonio Water System on Tuesday approved a measure asking the City Council to toughen the city's drought rules, making restrictions on lawn watering kick in earlier.
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GEAA and San Geronimo Valley Alliance (SGVA) are very pleased to announce that a settlement agreement has been finalized between SGVA and BP Properties, Ltd. regarding the proposed Hills of Castle Rock development located ten miles northwest of Helotes.
The Hills of Castle Rock's application for a permit to release wastewater effluent into the San Geronimo Creek, a major conduit of recharge to the Edwards Aquifer, inspired State Representative David Leibowitz to file HB 595 (State Senator Leticia Van de Putte filed companion SB 822) to prohibit this practice. Under the terms of the agreement, no effluent will be released into the San Geronimo Creek and impervious cover is limited to 15%.
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The Texas A&M Graduate Water Program, Texas Agrilife Extension, and the Texas Water Development Board have planned a conference addressing pumping limits for Texas’ aquifers and the desired future condition process. The upcoming conference is scheduled for January 20-21, 2010, and will be held at the Thompson Conference Center on the UT Austin campus.
The slate of speakers represents some of the most important players in groundwater management in Texas and the various presentations are sure to address many of the most challenging issues currently facing groundwater managers in Texas. This process will also directly impact Texas landowners.
Read on for a detailed agenda and instructions for registration. ...
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| GEAA and AGUA (Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas) recently submitted initial comments on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process to assess improvements to Loop 1604 from Potranco Road to I-35 North. Read the full text here and let us know what you think!
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GEAA's lobbyist, Jeff Heckler, has provided a summary of our legislative efforts for the 81st Session. Donations to GEAA's legislative program are welcome and needed to ensure that we are set for success during the next session. | | READ MORE... | | |
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(AUSTIN, TX) Decisions about supplying energy and water to Texas’ growing population can no longer be made in isolation from each other, according to The Energy-Water Nexus in Texas, a joint report released today by the University of Texas and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
“Failure to consider the links between water and energy could undermine both resources, where constraints in water become constraints in energy, or vice-versa,” said Michael Webber, report co-author and associate director of the University of Texas Center for International Energy & Environmental Policy. “On the other hand, policies that address both energy and water can increase efficiency and reduce costs for Texans.” ...
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Did you miss Texas Parks and Wildlife's documentary, Texas: The State of Flowing Water? Don't worry! You can watch the full show online. Explore the threats facing Texas water and learn what can be done to help. Watch the video here ...
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The next San Marcos River Restoration Plan meeting will be on May 12th from 9am-12pm at the Price Center in San Marcos.
This meeting will include discussion on outreach and education (discussion to be led by Flo Oxley of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center), bank stabilization ( discussion to be led by Melani Howard of the city of San Marcos) and Fish Passage and Dam Alteration/Removal (discussion to be led by Mara Alexander of the USFWS ). ...
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| U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery denies a motion by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to dismiss as moot a lawsuit by GEAA member group AGUA and TURF. In elegant summation, Judge Biery writes, "No San Antonian is an island, entire of itself; each is a piece of South Texas, a part of the Edwards Escarpment. If our refuse washes into the aquifer, all are the less ..."
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| While strolling along the quiet northern end of the River Walk on Sunday, I was reminded of my pre-plastic childhood. In those days, seemingly all containers were either recyclable or biodegradable. Empty cans became planters for seedlings, jars found new uses, and we kids picked up all discarded bottles to collect the deposits ...
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| AGUA and CASE sign on to Lawsuits to protect Local Endangered Species In a final challenge to the Bush administration's political interference in endangered species decisions, the Center for Biological Diversity today filed seven separate lawsuits concerning designation of critical habitat for 18 species, including 12 Texas invertebrates that are unique to the Edwards Aquifer Springs and Caves in the Texas Hill Country ...
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| The House Natural Resources Committee met yesterday to hear comments about HB 595 and HB 1508, among others. Several GEAA members and supporters came to speak in support of these bills. ...
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| Growth in Hays County is straining our roads, open spaces and water supply. Citizens are demanding intelligent, honest planning for future growth and special interests are jockeying for influence and a stake in the lucrative development bonanza ...
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State Representative David McQuade Leibowitz (District 117) late Tuesday filed a bill that many believe is much needed to protect the quality of water in the Edwards Aquifer. H.B. 595 states "The commission (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality-TCEQ) may not issue a new permit authorizing the discharge of sewage effluent directly into any water in the contributing or recharge zone of the San Antonio or Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer."
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GEAA asks Legislature to Take Action to Protect Water & the Hill Country
Citizens from throughout the Texas Hill Country are concerned about the impacts of high-density development on our water resources - both in terms of the quantity of water available and the quality of our groundwater. The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), working with our member and the region’s elected officials has crafted a legislative agenda that includes ...
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