Last week, Bayou City Waterkeeper submitted written comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as the two federal agencies begin efforts to clarify the protections offered by the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, was intended to “protect and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological […]
Welcome to our new fellows and interns for the fall semester! Ayesha Durrani, Legal Intern Ayesha is a rising second-career 2L at South Texas College of Law. Though she was born in Portland, Oregon, her family has been firmly rooted in Houston since she was two years old, and she considers herself a Texan! Ayesha […]
This is a post by summer 2021 legal intern Elizabeth Hidalgo, a third-year law student at the University of Houston Law Center. As explained by former legal intern Jessica Villalon, the legacy of racist planning decisions has caused flooding to disproportionately affect Black, brown, and low-income Houstonians. Traditional approaches to mitigating flood risks have not […]
A version of this text was previously published in Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston. Beneath our city, over 6,000 miles of sewer pipes form an invisible network. Criss-crossing underground, they connect our homes, schools, places of worship, and where we work with wastewater treatment plants across Houston. Thirty-nine of the largest plants […]
This is a guest post by summer 2021 legal intern Allie Soileau. We have all seen news stories where an unwitting individual bites into a sandwich and encounters a mystery item, such as a band-aid or a piece of plastic. While this is undoubtedly disgusting, many people do not realize that we consume thousands of […]
Join us in welcoming our new Executive Director, Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, who started with Bayou City Waterkeeper earlier this week. Ayanna brings over twenty years in nonprofit administration, leading programs and building infrastructure at environmental and cultural institutions. Before joining BCWK, she worked at Houston Botanic Garden as director of education and public programs, overseeing […]
This editorial, by the Houston Chronicle’s Editorial Board, appeared in the Houston Chronicle on June 27, 2021. Why do we keep building on wetlands? A Trump-era rule lets developers construct in low-lying areas — using Harvey disaster aid. By The Editorial Board Brett Coomer / Staff file photo A neighborhood in Spring is inundated by […]
Bayou City Waterkeeper served the city of Houston with a notice of intent to sue over its sewer problems in July 2018. After the US Environmental Protection Agency filed an enforcement action in September 2018, we intervened. In April of this year, that enforcement action culminated in a federal court’s approval of a consent decree […]
We’re excited to introduce you to the students who are joining Bayou City Waterkeeper as legal interns for the summer. Lauren Alexander-Bachelder, The University of Texas School of Law (2L) Lauren is a rising second-year law student at The University of Texas School of Law. She grew up on a cattle ranch in East Texas, […]
We’re excited to share an update in our lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Last summer, Bayou City Waterkeeper sued the Corps, challenging its decisions to allow development over wetlands and increase flood risk for residents in the Bayou Brae neighborhood of League City, Texas. The Corps sought to dismiss our lawsuit, saying […]