COASTAL BEND GROUP SIERRA CLUB
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                            COASTAL BEND GROUP     
                                          South Texas Uranium News

                             New Ridley Turtle update -5/3/09
                          Coastal Bend Sierra Club's Comments on TCEQ's Draft Rules for UraniumMining in Texas

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COASTAL BEND SIERRA CLUB May 2009 Meeting Minutes

The Coastal Bend Sierra Club (CBSC) met Tuesday, May 5, from 11:30 am until 1:20 pm at the Central Library at 805 Comanche Street. Chairperson Pat Suter welcomed members, mentioned that minutes are posted on CBSC’s website, and asked Treasurer Teresa Carrillo for her report. Teresa reported that the current checking account balance is approximately $1136 after expenses of approximately $1120 were paid and a recent deposit of $500 was made.
In additional financial matters, Pat Suter announced that the $500 deposit resulted from a contribution from Dorothy McLaren’s family made in Dorothy’s memory which the family requested be used to enhance the natural gardens at the Hans and Pat Suter Park. Pat stated that she had received an additional contribution in Dorothy’s memory from the Berryhills. Also, Pat reported that she had received a $100 contribution earmarked for CBSC newsletter expenses from member Ernestine Glossbrenner. An additional $148 for the CBSC treasury resulted from our sale of used environmental books at Earth Day/Bay Day.
Mina Williams moved that the $500 contribution from the McLaren family be used as the family requested. Edith Cosgrove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The group also agreed that the Berryhills’ contribution would be used for enhancement of the Suter Park.
Hal Suter, President of Lone Star Sierra and CBSC representative to the Lone Star Executive Committee (ExCom), reported on last month’s settlement of a suit filed by the Sierra Club and Environment Texas against Shell Oil Company for releasing excess air emissions at its Deer Park refinery over a five year period. Under the settlement, Shell agrees to reduce emissions by 80% over the next three years, and the company will also pay a penalty of $6 million to Environment Texas and the Sierra Club. On May 4, the Houston Chronicle carried an editorial crediting these two groups for their role in the settlement.
Hal Suter also stated that the Las Brisas contested case hearing is still scheduled for November and that three or four models of how emissions from the proposed plant might impact the local environment and its residents are being prepared in anticipation of their use in the hearing.
Pat and Hal Suter reported that many attending this year’s Sargassum Symposium were surprised to hear an official from the Texas General Land Office state that the GLO is coming down as opposed to removing sargassum from state beaches. If this non-removal of sargassum is mandated, the City of Corpus Christi’s practices of cleaning the beaches will need to be changed.
Venice Scheurich reported that the Kemp’s ridley update for the 2009 nesting season has been posted on the CBSC website and that the emphasis is on the extensive media coverage being received by the Padre Island National Seashore’s Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery. Lowering the speed limit during nesting season from 25 mph to 15 mph for all vehicles travelling down island to the Mansfield Channel has caused some protest from a few of the 4-wheel drive surf fishermen. However, Venice stated that much news coverage of the program this season has been very positive, as is seen by all who go to our website and click on the Kemp’s Ridley Update where links are given to media stories.
Joyce Jarmon and Edith Cosgrove ,who serve on the community’s Long Term Health and Industrial Committees, reported that during the last month, two large spikes in air pollution emissions were detected by area monitors; however, it has not been possible to tell what the sources of these emissions were. Pat Suter also serves on these committees and reminded CBSC members of the Coastal Issues Forum at TAMUCC on Monday, May 11, which will feature Dr. David D. Sullivan, Center for Energy and Environmental Resources at the University of Texas in Austin. His presentation will include the topic of Corpus Christi Air Monitoring and Surveillance Camera and Installation and Operation Project which started in October 2003.
Vice-Chair Mina Williams, in giving the uranium mining report, announced that Goliad County’s contested case hearing opposing Uranium Energy Corporations application to mine in the county was granted by TCEQ in February. The hearing will officially begin at the Goliad Auditorium on Thursday, May 14, at 10:00 am. It is being conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). This first session will allow the SOAH judge to grant standing to the affected parties and will set a calendar for the remaining sessions which must be completed by February 25, 2010. The hearing will be open to all interested citizens, and Goliad County officials are encouraging anyone who is interested in the quality of groundwater in the Gulf Coast Aquifer to attend.
In additional comments, Chair Pat Suter announced that Teresa Carrillo has received the honor of representing Lone Star Sierra on the board of the Gulf of Mexico Restoration Network. Teresa was also recently elected to a position on the Lone Star ExCom.
In closing, Pat reported that membership in CBSC has recently grown and is now well over 400. She asked members about their preference for meeting dates when we reconvene in September. Members decided to keep the same meeting day of first Tuesday of the month as we have had this year. This means that our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 1.
Submitted by Venice Scheurich, May 5, 2009
 


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                          COASTAL BEND GROUP

                       EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Pat Suter 852-7938 Chairman
phsuter@stx.rr.com    
Mina Williams 882-1179 V.Chairman
Teresa Carrillo 361-672-4703 Treasurer
Venice Scheurich  241-4289 Secretary
Hal Suter 852-7938 Lone Star Chapter   Represent.
COMMITTEE CHAIRS    
Recycling 993-3737 Kenn Jobe
Venice Scheurich  &
Mina Williams		 241-4289

882-1179
Uranium Mining
Bill Alling 289-9090 Air Quality
Kathy Griffith   Membership/Publicity/Audubon
Club Liason
Hal Suter and Mina
Williams		 852-7938 Political
Hal Suter 852-7938 Walks
Hal Suter
Teresa Carrillo		 852-7938 Representataive to Lone Star Chapter
Joyce Jarmon   Refinery Emissions &
Community Advisory Council/Long Term Health Care
Edie Cosgrove   Refinery Emissions
Cheryl McGrath   Webmaster



  Cheryl McGrath      Webmaster
  csmcgrath@earthlink.net             

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This page was last updated on 09/02/09.

 Protect America's Environment.
For our families, for our future.
       
A Philosophy of Stewardship               
The Sierra Club's statement of Purpose is:  To explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

As a grassroots-based organization, we rely on individuals for our resources, talent, and energy.  Our members are our most important assets.   


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