Eco News

Texas to get millions from infrastructure bill for environmental fixes

Electric bus in Austin.

Courtesy of New Flyer of America

On November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, legislation that's anticipated to produce hundreds of thousands of union jobs and transform the U.S. transportation system, with investments in passenger rail, roads, and bridges.

A release from Environment Texas, a grass-roots environmental group, shares some of the many positive effects the package is anticipated to have on Texas' transportation and power infrastructure, and its stores of clean water.

Key environmental provisions include:

Lead pipes removal. There are an estimated 270,000 lead service lines still in Texas. Texas is expected to receive $2.9 billion over five years. The state had 6000 sewage overflows in 2019, leading the American Society of Civil Engineers to give Texas' wastewater infrastructure a grade of D.

Building electric vehicle charging stations. Texas needs an estimated 12,400 level-2 charging stations and 1,720 level-3 "fast charging stations" by 2030 to meet projected demand. The state will receive $408 million over five years and can apply for $2.5 billion in grant funding.

Improve electric grid and power infrastructure. This is obviously something Texas sorely needs, after the great freeze in February 2021 when transmission constraints contributed to blackouts across the state, leading to curtailments of wind and solar energy.

New passenger and freight rail. Amtrak has proposed new rail service connecting Dallas to Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, while Texas Central is working to build high speed rail between Dallas and Houston. According to Environment Texas, these projects could potentially benefit from the new funding.

New public transit. The bill dedicates $39 billion to new public transit projects, described as the largest investment in public transit in history. Texas stands to receive $3.3 billion over five years, with likely recipients to include Austin's Project Connect and Houston's MetroNext.

Environmental remediation. Texas has 55 superfund sites, 32 abandoned mines, and 783,000 unplugged oil and gas wells. Oy.

More zero- and low-emission buses. At least 13 school districts in Texas have expressed interest in purchasing electric buses. Nine transit agencies in Texas have already, or plan to, purchase electric buses.

The legislature is still working on the Build Back Better Act, a budget reconciliation bill with clean energy tax incentives and other investments that would help the U.S. stall climate change and clean up our environment.

politics sustainability

Train News

Dallas transportation advocates rally to encourage support of DART

Photo courtesy of DART

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Dallas transportation advocates are rallying in support of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the public transportation system that provides accessible transportation including buses and trains, to Dallas and surrounding cities.

It's a pushback against four Dallas-area cities that are discussing withdrawing their support. Highland Park, Farmers Branch, Plano, and Irving are all dissatisfied, claiming they don't receive enough service for what they invest.

Pulling out of DART means they would stop all service in those cities. In addition, DART’s yearly budget would decrease by millions, which would have a negative effect on the entire system.

The decision would affect more than train routes — it would impact how people across the region move, connect, and access opportunity including working people who use transit to commute. For some residents, it's their only source of transportation.

At least two of the cities — Irving and Plano — are both considering elections. Both state they'll "explore" replacement mobility solutions.

When DART was formed, the federal government required local cities to buy into the project in order to keep highway funding coming to the region. If cities are successful in pulling out of DART, that will endanger future funding opportunities.

A majority of DART’s revenue comes from a one-cent sales and use tax that its member cities pay.

Some cities, including Garland and Richardson, have expressed their support of DART.

Public transportation advocates like BikeDFW note that "when we weaken transit, we weaken connection — between neighborhoods, opportunities, and people."

Their post notes that "DART isn’t perfect — no large system is — but it’s one of the few truly regional transit networks in Texas. It connects 13 cities through rail, bus, and paratransit service. Every day, thousands of people use DART to get to work, school, and essential appointments. Pulling out of DART would not just remove train and bus routes. It would also weaken bike-to-transit connections that make multimodal trips possible, trail and sidewalk funding that often comes through DART partnerships, and regional collaboration that helps us plan safer streets and reduce congestion."

And a release from The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) stressed the importance of public transit for the future, when the region will grow to 12.4 million residents by 2050.

"It is also important that those who live, work and go to school in cities that are members of a transit system today are provided with a seamless transit service that works for them," the statement from NCTCOG said.

The four meetings are as follows:

Highland Park's meeting was on November 4 at 8 am.
Farmers Branch is November 4 at 6 pm, at Farmers Branch City Hall.
Plano is November 5 at 5 pm, at Plano City Hall.
Irving is November 6 at 7 pm, at Irving City Hall.

Advocates also recommend contacting city council members of all four of these cities to persuade them to continue their support of DART.

transportation