In August, following a meeting between the Capital Area Council of Governments and the governor’s office, 15 projects and nonprofits, including the SAFE Alliance and Asian Family Support Services of Austin, lost funding they were offered in April. Because of the strict timeline of this particular competitive process – projects apply in February and receive […]
CAPCOG
The Capital Area Council of Governments is a ten-county regional entity that handles varied issues from emergency communications to some measure of economic development. Member counties include Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson.
Posted inEnvironment
County plans to lower emissions to comply with Clean Air Act
At the June 29 meeting of the Travis County Commissioners Court, commissioners discussed strategies to reduce particulate matter emissions with Jon White, director of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, and Adele Noel, the environmental project manager for air quality. “We’re here to address particulate matter pollution, and some specific actions that are being taken by […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental commissioners review emissions reduction plan
The Environmental Commission fielded discussion Tuesday on the Austin Emissions Reduction Plan. Phoebe Romero, the environmental program coordinator with the Office of Sustainability, presented alongside Christiane Alepuz, the services program coordinator with the Capital Area Council of Governments Regional Planning and Services Division. The emissions plan, which was passed toward the end of 2018, details […]
Posted inEnvironment
Some air pollutants increased in Austin during the pandemic. The big question is why?
As Covid-19 spread across the globe in the spring, people noticed a strange side effect of the pandemic: The air was getting cleaner. Stay-at-home orders, along with the economic crash caused by the outbreak, meant less industrial and transportation-related pollution. But not necessarily in Austin. A review of Austin air quality by the Capital Area […]
Posted inEnvironment
Austin risking federal sanctions over ozone levels
Despite a rapidly rising population, Austin’s air is significantly less polluted than it was 20 years ago. In a presentation to the Electric Utility Commission on Monday, Andrew Hoekzema, director of regional services at the Capital Area Council of Governments, said that Austin is the only major U.S. city that is meeting national standards in […]
Posted inTravis County
County’s clean air programs in question after Abbott’s vetoes
A pair of Gov. Greg Abbott’s line-item vetoes has Travis County once again scrambling to clean up the aftermath, this time involving two air quality programs. On June 23 12, Abbott blasted out of the state budget bill all future appropriations for the Low Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program, also […]
Posted inEnvironment
Central Texas reacts to new ozone standards
After the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Oct. 1 that it would be tightening its ground-level ozone regulations, some in Central Texas likely felt relieved, some expressed frustration and others looked ahead. The new National Ambient Air Quality Standards reduce the maximum amount of acceptable ground-level ozone in any particular region to 70 parts per […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Government
Caldwell residents fighting proposed landfill
LOCKHART — Plans for developing an industrial park and landfill in northern Caldwell County have run into fierce opposition from local residents, who say it is a danger to the county’s water supply and that there is no need for the facility. Green Group Holdings is a Georgia-based developer that specializes in large-scale infrastructure […]