Austin residents are sending a lot of recyclables to landfills, and city staff hopes to help change that with a new educational campaign. Austin Resource Recovery Department Director Bob Gedert made the announcement at a press conference on Monday. “The fact is that more recyclables are going to the landfill than are being recycled in […]
Resources
Posted inResources
Council prepares for reworked drainage fee
In the wake of last year’s ruling that the city’s stormwater drainage charge is unfair to certain residents, City Council will hold a public hearing today to consider adopting a new fee structure that staff says would be more equitable overall. According to Watershed Protection Department Director Victoria Li, who unveiled the proposed structure in […]
Posted inEnvironment, Resources
Almost half of Austin curbside trash recyclable
Despite the city’s ambitious goal to achieve zero waste by 2040, many Austin residents are sending items to landfills that they could be putting into the city’s blue recycling bins. Austin Resource Recovery Department Director Robert Gedert told members of the Zero Waste Advisory Commission on Wednesday that, according to a recent study, about 44 […]
Posted inParks, Resources
Residents confront Parks Board over pool closures
East Austin residents demanded answers from the Parks and Recreation Board during its Tuesday meeting over news that Metz Neighborhood Pool and Mabel Davis Municipal Pool will close this summer for extensive repairs. The item was not on the board’s agenda, but after hearing Monday that the two pools, both in District 3, will be closed, residents […]
Posted inResources, Water
New water tap rule causes cost, consternation
In the midst of what almost everyone agrees is a housing affordability crisis in Austin, planners and residential contractors have discovered a new rule that significantly increases the cost of retrofitting garages into apartments and building new granny flats. Longtime Austin architect Girard Kinney said that the Austin Water Utility’s decision to require that new […]
Posted inPreservation, Resources, Water
Downward oxygen trend a risk for salamanders
Barton Springs is the only known home to the endangered and federally protected Barton Springs and Austin Blind salamanders. Unfortunately, for these unique creatures, the level of life-sustaining dissolved oxygen in their ecosystem has dropped on average over the past 35 years. Watershed Protection Department engineer Abel Porras brought the issue to the Wednesday meeting […]
Posted inResources, Water
Aquifer district ends six-year dispute with Kyle
Board members with the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District wrapped up a six-year dispute with the City of Kyle on Thursday night at their regular meeting, pending a few issues. “This means we can move on,” said John Dupnik, general manager with the district. He commented that everyone had spent “entirely too long on the matter” anyway. The […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Energy, Resources
AE to seek new solar contracts by mid-April
Since City Council adopted a set of goals last year that will shape Austin’s future energy portfolio, most discussion has focused on how to fill a 500-megawatt power gap in the plan. This week, the focus shifted to a goal that gets the city to shop for large solar investments. Responding to a request by […]
Posted inAustin, Parks, Resources
Council weighs in on Parkland Events Task Force
Some City Council members say the naming of a public parks task force will finally bring action on discussions the city has been having for years about the strain special events place on the city’s parkland. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said the creation of a Parkland Events Task Force, passed unanimously at Council’s March […]
Posted inEnergy, Resources
EUC pushes for generation plan’s solar component
The Electric Utility Commission passed a resolution Monday urging that City Council direct Austin Energy to issue a request for proposal for 600 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy by April 15. “I feel like Austin Energy, in making their agreement to go forward with the generation plan as it was, owes the community the RFP,” […]
Posted inAustin, Budget, Energy, Resources
Explainer: The Austin Energy-CoA funds transfer
The Explainer takes a deeper look at stories we have been following. This week, we tackle the annual transfer from Austin Energy to the City of Austin’s General Fund. The annual transfer of what has historically been many millions of dollars in cash from the coffers of Austin Energy to those just across the river […]
Posted inEnvironment, Hays County, Local Government, Resources, Travis County, Water
Aquifer board backs annexation of unregulated area
At its Thursday meeting, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board of directors voted unanimously to support proposed legislation that would expand the district’s territory and give the board authority over part of an unregulated area where water supply company Electro Purification has set up shop. Electro Purification acquired three contracts for water supply in […]