Environment

Tesoro Penalized For EPA Violations At Fuel Refineries

Eileen Pace — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:30:50 +0000

San Antonio-based Tesoro Corporation has agreed to a settlement to resolve claims that it failed to comply with regulations under the Clean Air Act.

While the $1.1 million penalty seems low, the Environmental Protection Agency called the settlement the largest penalty for these types of violations in the history of the fuels program.

Speakers Protest Development At City Council, But Can Council Do Anything?

Eileen Pace — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:11:45 +0000

San Antonio City Council last night heard three hours of pleas from opponents of a high-density housing development who said it will be the beginning of the end of the Bracken Bat Cave.

Dozens of speakers came to ask council to prohibit SAWS from building sewer lines to the Comal County project.

Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance Executive Director Annalisa Peace told the council that the Crescent Hill subdivision will exceed the city’s 15 percent impervious cover limit by crowding houses together on a land just north of the Bexar County line and south of the Bracken Bat Cave.

Environmental Group Asking Council To Overturn SAWS Sewer Agreement for Comal Development

Eileen Pace — Wed, 29 May 2013 18:54:51 +0000

A regional water watchdog group is asking for the City of San Antonio’s help in shutting down the efforts of a developer who wants to build a high-density neighborhood north of San Antonio.

The Crescent Hill development is situated on the banks of Cibolo Creek and has a San Antonio address. It advertises on its website that it is the first conservation development in Comal County, embracing the principles of sustainability and connectivity.

Mission Reach Under Inspection For Structural Damage

Eileen Pace — Tue, 28 May 2013 18:25:30 +0000

The Mission Reach of the San Antonio River is still closed today but maintenance crews are making progress.

San Antonio River Authority spokesman Steven Schauer said inspections of the Mission Reach began Saturday as soon as it was safe to go out. He said maintenance began over the holiday weekend, first cleaning up the Museum Reach and then turning attention to the Mission Reach, which suffered greater damage.

ERCOT Predicts Another Grid-Busting Summer

Eileen Pace — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:04:52 +0000

National forecasters are predicting another hotter-than-normal summer. That could mean more of the rolling blackouts likes those San Antonio experienced in 2011.

Climatologists predict temperatures will be above normal this year and the power grid may not be able to keep up. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation projects the Texas grid will have the lowest percentage of power reserves this summer of any region in the country.

Museum Reach Oil Spill Declared Minor, Area Wildlife Not Affected

Eileen Pace — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:27:39 +0000

As the investigation continues into the cause of the oil spill that heavy rains carried into the San Antonio River on the final Saturday of Fiesta last month, officials say the spill has been remediated and restoration is almost complete.

They said it was a perfect storm: An unknown amount of oil spilling into the street during Fiesta, when hundreds of cars had driven up and down Broadway, and a heavy rain that washed everything down the hill on 10th Street and into the river along the east bank of the Museum Reach.

Bexar County Meeting With Residents On Flood Control Project For VFW Blvd.

Eileen Pace — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:02:21 +0000

Bexar County is beginning a new project in its 10-year, $500 million flood control plan, and the public is invited to ask questions about the project at tonight’s information session.

The meeting is to inform residents, business people and other members of the public what will be affected by the $8.5 million project on VFW Blvd. near Roosevelt Avenue.

BP To Pay Texas $18 Million From Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Eileen Pace — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:47:40 +0000

Texas is included in five of 28 restoration projects across the Gulf of Mexico under a conditional agreement between BP and Natural Resource Damage Assessment trustees.

Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesman Tom Harvey said although the Texas coast was less visibly impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas wildlife was affected.

TCEQ Confident It Will Find Source Of Museum Reach Oil Spill

Eileen Pace — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:53:06 +0000

Several agencies are now investigating an oil spill that flowed into the San Antonio River at 10th Street last weekend.

So much rain came down over the weekend and Monday that it is difficult for the agencies to measure the amount of oil that washed down Avenue B to 10th Street, over the berms, through the grass, and into the river.

Tests by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have determined that the spill was petroleum oil.

Updated: Oil Spill Flows Into San Antonio River Near Museum Reach

Eileen Pace — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:06:12 +0000

Update: (May 3 12:08 p.m.) The test results found that the oil is petroleum based, but SARA still doesn't know where the oil originated.

The TCEQ and SARA have agreed that they will share the cost of restoring the vegetation and grass in the affected areas.

Update: (May 3, 9:45 a.m.) Still no word on the sample results from SARA or the TCEQ.