Entries by admin
Juvenile and Nesting Bald Eagles, Plus Other Area Wildlife Photos
Kingwood kayaker and wildlife photographer Emily Murphy has done it again. This time her great eye and quick reflexes captured this juvenile bald eagle flying over the San Jacinto West Fork near where Romerica proposes to build 25-50 story high rises. It’s evidence that eagles are nesting nearby. The absence of white in the chin […]
Clarification and $2.8 Billion Worth of Good News Regarding Senate Bill 500 and Harvey Funding
I previously reported that Senate Bill 500, an omnibus appropriations bill passed unanimously by the House this week, deleted all funding for the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund (TIRF). However, I should also have clarified that it did NOT delete ALL funding related to Harvey and flooding. The House deleted the portion of funding related to […]
Placement Area #1 Filling Up Quickly
As dredging on the West Fork of the San Jacinto gets closer and closer to completion, placement area #1 (PA1) is filling up quickly. Callan Marine, the company operating the dredge near Kings Harbor, is pumping its spoils to PA1. PA1 is an old sand pit off Townsend in Humble near North Houston Avenue. Pipe […]
SB500 with Huberty Dredging Amendment Unanimously Approved by House
Unofficially, the vote was 134 – 0. Technically, the vote must still be certified. But I’m not worried. This means that Representative Dan Huberty’s amendment to provide $30 million for West Fork mouth bar dredging passed its second major hurdle. What happens next? If the Senate agrees with the changes, SB500 will go to the […]
Emily Murphy Photographs Inactive Bald Eagle Nest on Romerica Property from River; Active Nests Likely in Vicinity
Correction: Since posting this story two hours ago, I have spoken with an enforcement officer from US Fish & Wildlife Service. He investigated this particular nest and found no droppings or fish bones around the base of the tree. He said you would expect that if the nest was active. He also said the tree […]
Huberty Amendment to Appropriate Money for Dredging Mouth Bar Passes First of Six Hurdles Today
Five days ago, State Representative Dan Huberty offered an amendment to Senate Bill 500 (SB500). SB500 is the omnibus Senate appropriations bill making its way through the House. It contains appropriations for everything from health care to education to criminal justice and highways and more. Huberty filed his amendment last week. Below are the steps […]
Senate Appropriates $1.65 Billion for SB7, But House Omits Funding For It While Considering $3.26 Billion For HB13
Last week, I reviewed Texas Senate Bill 7 (SB7) which creates a Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund. The fund, if approved, will help local governments by providing grants and low- and no-interest loans for flood mitigation projects in four major categories. Categories include Floodplain Management, Hurricane Harvey, Floodplain Implementation and Federal Matching accounts. A competing bills […]