Bayou City Waterkeeper

NEWS🗞️ Per a new report from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he U.S. needs to invest $8.8 billion a year for families to have permanent relief from high water costs. This is a solvable problem if we support bills like Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s H2O UP Act to ensure every family has access to #SafeAffordableWater now and in the future. 🔗 Learn more from the #WECRCaucus here: https://lnkd.in/ecgpHc2t

Industrial facilities that produce plastics and their ingredients across the U.S. dump wastewater with nearly unlimited nutrient pollution and other cancer-causing toxins directly into waterways, according to new analysis from our partners at Environmental Integrity Project. "The EPA has not updated regulation of wastewater from plastics manufacturing plants for more than 30 years," said Kristen Schlemmer, our senior legal director, at a press conference last week. She said the delay flies in the face of a Clean Water Act requirement to revisit the standards every five years, and has left facilities free to release certain pollutants at will. "Some of the worst actors are here in our backyard in Texas," Schlemmer said. "The consequences are clear. Water across the Houston region does not meet basic water quality standards, and in many cases, is not safe for drinking, swimming or fishing." https://lnkd.in/g9zQwECV

It’s encouraging to see the work of Bayou City Waterkeeper pushing forward critical water justice issues across this region—towards real solutions!

Join us next Wednesday in Austin at the UT Visual Arts Center for a panel discussion in connection with our former Artist-in-Residence Fred Schmidt-Arenales’ film questioning the processes underlying the Ike Dike, part of the exhibition IT IS A GOOD PROJECT AND SHOULD BE BUILT. Experts in environmental engineering, law, and public policy, including Senior Legal Director & Waterkeeper Kristen Schlemmer of Bayou City Waterkeeper, will delve into the pressing ecological, economic, and political challenges facing coastal communities in Texas and beyond due to increasing superstorms and sea level rise. https://lnkd.in/g3J5jdmc

Thanks to Bayou City Waterkeeper's legal action filed in 2022, Baytown residents may be one step closer to seeing improvements to the city's sewage systems after complaining about bad smells, pollution, and backups for years. During a virtual community meeting Tuesday evening, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided an update on the agency's ongoing lawsuit against the city.

Are you a Baytown resident who is dealing with issues related to sewage, or interested in learning more about issues happening in Baytown? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 6-8pm. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 6-8pm. The public is invited to learn of a civil lawsuit against the City of Baytown, along with causes and reporting of sanitary overflows from Baytown’s sewer system. Community members have the opportunity to provide feedback on possible environmental projects that can help mitigate water contamination in the Galveston watershed.  Register to learn and share your experience: https://lnkd.in/gXHB_7WZ

BCWK’s team and some of our partners at Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience made time to visit East Beach in Galveston and Nia Cultural Center & Juneteenth Legacy Project , to connect to our waterways and the cultural histories of our watershed. As we advocate for water justice in our region, we also make space for regeneration, one of BCWK’s values. Thanks to the Nia Cultural Center for giving us a tour.

At the Environmental Justice Conference last week, co-presented by BCWK and partners (see below) at Texas Southern University—Thurgood Marshall School of Law, we welcomed Roishetta Sibley Ozane, M.S., to deliver the keynote speech. Thanks, Roishetta, for sharing your powerful work leading mutual aid, disaster relief, and building community power in Southwest Louisiana, and to all the attendees and presenters! The EJ Conference and Texas Public Interest Environmental Law Conference were presented by: Air Alliance Houston,  Bayou City Waterkeeper, Earthjustice,  Environmental Integrity Project, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Public Citizen, with generous support from The Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation, and Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Are you a Baytown resident who is dealing with issues related to sewage, or interested in learning more about issues happening in Baytown? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be hosting a virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 6 – 8 pm. The public is invited to learn about the civil lawsuit against the City of Baytown, along with causes and reporting of sanitary overflows from Baytown's sewer system. Attendees can speak with EPA and/or U.S. Department of Justice staff about related concerns and ask questions about the enforcement action against the City of Baytown, Texas. This lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022 against the city of Baytown, was prompted by Bayou City Waterkeeper's notice of intent to sue, which identified more than 800 sewage releases, representing more than 21 million gallons of sewage leaving Baytown’s system without treatment from 2016 to 2021. Our analysis also concluded the highest volume overflows have had a disproportionate impact on Hispanic/Latinx communities in Baytown.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that millions in these United States are struggling to keep water on.” Pushing the rising cost of water infrastructure on low-income families isn’t the answer! On #ImagineADayWithoutWater, the Water Equity & Climate Resilience Caucus (#WECRCaucus) has released a new #WaterAffordabilityForAll framework that lays out a vision for: 💧 Long-term investments in U.S. water infrastructure 💧 An end to water shutoffs 💧 Affordable water rates that keep people in their homes Learn more at https://lnkd.in/edP6VNm7