Keeping you up to date on the many community planning, economic development, and environmental planning programs going on at H-GAC.
Your Monthly News & Updates
Meetings, trainings, contests, funding opportunities, and more.
Upcoming Events
Environmental Enforcement Roundtable
Environmental Enforcement Roundtable to be February 9

 

Mark your calendars for the next Environmental Enforcement Roundtable from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, February 9, at H-GAC Conference Rooms B-C, Second Floor.

 

H-GAC hosts quarterly Environmental Enforcement Roundtables to provide a forum for discussing illegal dumping issues within the region. The group includes peace officers, county prosecutors, city officials, and personnel from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Region 12 office.

 

To be included in the invitation list for these roundtables, contact Erin Livingston at 832-681-2525.


Glass Bottles
Regional Recycling Roundtable to Look at Glass Recycling

 

The next Regional Recycling Roundtable will be from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, February 23, at H-GAC Conference Rooms B-C, Second Floor. Presenters will examine the state of glass recycling from a variety of perspectives.

 

H-GAC hosts quarterly Regional Recycling Roundtables to promote recycling and waste reduction and provide a forum for discussion about recycling issues within the region.

 

Register for this roundtable online. For more information, contact Becki Begley at 713-993-2410.


Texas Clean Rivers Logo
CRP Basin Steering Committee to Meet February 28

 

The H-GAC Clean Rivers Program Basin Steering Committee will meet from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 28, at the Trini Mendenhall Community Center, 1414 Wirt Road, Houston. 

 

Agenda items include approval of the final scope of work and budget and updates on various water quality projects in the region.

 

For more information, contact Jean Wright at 713-499-6660.


Stream Team volunteers testing water quality
H-GAC Texas Stream Team Training Set for March 3

H-GAC, the City of Sugar Land, and Keep Sugar Land Beautiful will host Texas Stream Team Phase I and Phase II training from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Eldridge Park, 2511 Eldridge Road, Sugar Land, 77478.


This training is open to potential volunteer monitors from across the region. Candidates interested in monitoring for at least two years in the Sugar Land area will be given preference for this training if registration reaches capacity.

 

For registration information, contact Vicki Gist at 281-313-5752. Learn more about H-GAC's Texas Stream Team program.  


Clean Waters Initiative Logo
Save the Date for CWI Workshop on March 14

 

Mark your calendars for the next Clean Waters Initiative (CWI) workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at H-GAC Conference Rooms B-C, Second Floor.

 

The topic for this workshop is Land Use Management Techniques. Online registration information will be available soon.

 

The CWI program offers workshops helping local governments, landowners, and residents develop effective strategies to reduce water pollution.

 

For more information, contact Kathy Janhsen at 713-993-2423.


Two men picking up trash at the water's edge
Trash Bash Set for March 25

 

The 24th River, Lakes, Bays 'N Bayous Trash Bash will be Saturday, March 25, rain or shine. Join thousands of volunteers cleaning up trash and debris along shorelines at multiple locations in the Galveston Bay watershed.

 

Volunteers get a t-shirt, lunch, door prizes, and the opportunity to learn more about protecting water quality in the Houston-Galveston region.

 

Trash Bash welcomes Baytown Nature Center as a new cleanup site this year. There have been several other cleanup location changes, so check the Trash Bash website for a location near you.


More Upcoming Events
 
Fort Bend Regional Vegetable Conference
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service logo
The 32nd annual Fort Bend Regional Vegetable Conference, hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, will be from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, February 2, at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, 4310 State Highway 36 South, Rosenberg.

Recyclebank Webinar
STAR Logo
The State of Texas Alliance for Recycling will present a webinar, Recyclebank--Educating, Promoting, and Inspiring Residents to Apply the 3R's, from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 7. Diane Doster, Director of Community Solution Sales, will present details about the Recyclebank program and share examples for both large and small municipalities and various program options depending on a community's solid waste infrastructure, technology, and goals.

Hydraulic Engineering Circular 17 Webinars
FHWA
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration is hosting webinars to answer questions on the recently released Hydraulic Engineering Circular (HEC 17): Highways in the River Environmental-Floodplains, Extreme Events, Risk, and Resilience. The webinars will be Climate Modeling and Risk and Resilience (Chapters 5 and 6) Wednesday, February 8, and Analysis Framework and Case Studies (Chapters 7 and 8) Wednesday, February 22. Both webinars will be from 9 to 11 a.m.
 
Urban Riparian Symposium  
Texas Water Resources Institute logo
The Texas Water Resources Institute Urban Riparian Symposium: Balancing the Challenges of Healthy Rural to Urban Streams will be February 15-17 at the BioScience Collaborative at Rice University, 6500 Main Street, MS-650, Houston. The symposium provides an opportunity for natural resource professionals to share ideas and discuss management and policy issues, lessons learned in urban riparian and stream planning, assessment, design, construction, and evaluation.

Sustainable Materials Management Webinar Series
National Recycling Coalition logo  
The National Recycling Coalition will present a webinar, Commercial Recycling--Drivers, Problems, and Solutions, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, February 21. This webinar is part of the Sustainable Material Management Series. Future webinars include Closed Loop Fund Update, Tuesday, March 21; Keys to Successful Plastics Recycling, Tuesday, April 18; Zero Waste in New York: Challenges and Opportunities, Tuesday, May 16; and Building Relationships with Regulatory Agencies, Tuesday, June 20.
 
Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium 
Texas Water Foundation Logo  
The Texas Water Foundation will host the 6th Annual Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium -- High Performing Utilities: Combining Good Data & Innovative Engagement for Maximum Efficiency from 8 a.m. to 3 pm. Wednesday, February 22, at the United Way Community Resource Center, 50 Waugh Drive, Houston. Registration is $45 and includes breakfast and lunch.

Texas Citizen Planner Foundations Course  
Texas Citizen Planner logo
TexasAgriLife Extension Service will present the Texas Citizen Planner Foundations Course Wednesdays, February 22-April 5. The classes will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at H-GAC Conference Rooms B-C, Second Floor. The introductory, six-class program is for elected and appointed officials and covers a variety of planning concepts. Early registration ($199) ends Thursday, February 16. Regular registration ($249) ends Monday, March 6. For more information, contact Celina Gauthier Lowery at 281-560-3970.

Annual Harris County Onsite Wastewater Seminar                                
Harris County logo
Plans are underway for the seventh annual Harris County Onsite Wastewater Seminar scheduled for Tuesday, May 30. Registration will open in April. Forward your suggestions for topics to Danielle Cioce.

Greater Houston Summit
CEC logo
Save the date for the Citizens' Environmental Coalition annual Greater Houston Environmental Summit from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, August 4, at the United Way of Greater Houston.
Announcements
Screen Shot of Regional Census ACS Data Portal
Demographic Data Explorer App Updated with ACS data

 

H-GAC recently updated the Demographic Data Explorer Application with the newly released 2011-2015 U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) data.


The Demographic Data Explorer can be used to view and analyze the region's demographic data for counties, tracts, places, and block groups.

 

More information is available on H-GAC's application page.


Partner Announcements

Keep Texas Beautiful Awards
Keep Texas Beautiful logo  
Each year, Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) honors Texas communities, businesses, schools, media outlets, and individuals who work to keep the environment clean. Learn more about the Governor's Community Achievement Awards (due Tuesday, February 7), the Keep Texas Beautiful Awards (due Friday, February 17), and the Youth and Educator Awards (due Tuesday, May 2).

Great American Cleanup Registration
Great American Cleanup Logo
Registration is now open for Keep Texas Beautiful's Great American Cleanup for events held  March 1 to May 31. Groups planning an event can register to gain access to resources and materials for planning, promoting and hosting the event, such as trash bags, banners, gloves, and giveaways.

Treasures of the Texas Coast Art Contest 
Adopt a Beach logo
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) Adopt-A-Beach program invites kindergarten-fifth grade students to participate in the annual Treasures of the Texas Coast Children's Art Contest. The purpose of this contest is to encourage young artists to learn about natural resources along the Texas coast. The deadline to enter is Wednesday, March 1.

Take Care of Texas Art Contest 
Take Care of Texas Proud Partner Logo  
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Samsung Austin Semiconductor are hosting an art contest for kindergarten-fifth grade students to depict how they, along with the friends and family, help keep the air and water clean, conserve water and energy, and reduce waste. The deadline to enter is Friday, March 3.

Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks 
FHWA
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released the  Small Town and Rural Design Guide. This publication applies existing national transportation safety design guidelines in a rural setting and highlights small town and rural case studies.

2017 Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards 
National Association of Development Organizations logo
The National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation's Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development is accepting applications for the 2017 Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards. The application deadline is Friday, March 17. 

Scenic City Certification Program
The Scenic City Certification Program, a project of Scenic Texas in cooperation with H-GAC, Texas Municipal League, and additional partners, will accept 2017 applications through Friday, March 31. The program supplies cities an objective review of existing infrastructure ordinances for public roadways and public spaces, evaluated against the Scenic City model.
Funding Sources
Tree with $ Money
H-GAC has compiled a list of local, regional, state, federal, and private funding sources for local governments and other organizations. H-GAC also maintains a list of ongoing funding opportunities for parks improvements.

If you know of a funding opportunity, forward it to Andrea Tantillo .

All content, including links to websites, is for informational purposes only. Users of this content are responsible for checking its accuracy, currency, and suitability.
Community and Environmental Planning Programs
GIS Globes
Mapping Applications
Looking for interactive applications or GIS data related to the H-GAC Community and Environmental Planning Department? Visit H-GAC's Interactive Web Applications web page to see the latest information, including Census, Regional Forecast, and more.
 
Grants
Community Enhancement Grants help municipalities, counties, and nonprofit organizations enhance public spaces, such as gateways, parks, waterfronts, and business districts.
  
Loans 
H-GAC's Community and Environmental Planning Department currently m anages  three loan programs:  Small Business Administration 504 Loan Program, Business Loan Fund, and Government Loan Fund.

Facebook
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H-GAC has a Facebook page where information about current and upcoming events is posted. Please visit and like H-GAC's page. While there, visit other H-GAC pages on Facebook, including  Recycling, Trash Bash, Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG), West Fork Watersheds Partnership, and  Cedar Bayou Watershed Partnership.

Twitter Logo
Twitter
Find the latest information about activities around the region at H-GAC's Twitter feed  @hgaccog. H-GAC's water resources program also offers Twitter updates on water quality issues in the region, including fish consumption advisories,  @HGACwater.
Banner Photo: Pie-billed Grebes at the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Marcus Tantillo)
 
Would you like us to consider featuring your municipality, program, or regional photo on the C&E Planning Update banner? Just forward Andrea Tantillo your picture, along with some information about the subject and the photographer, and you might see it in a future month's newsletter.   
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