The Dallas Regional Chamber hosted a Joint Meeting for our Environment, Transportation and Water Committees this morning for our members. These issues are crucial to our region’s long-term success as we deal with projected population growth over the coming years.
We heard excellent presentations from Mike Eastland, Executive Director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Michael Miles, Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Sr. Manager of Government Relations, and Jim Parks, Executive Director of the North Texas Municipal Water District.
Mr. Eastland commented on the progress we have made in North Texas of addressing our air quality. Through programs like the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, the air quality in our region is getting better. However, at the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been implementing stricter air quality standards. In March of 2008, the EPA lowered the federal standard for ground-level ozone from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to 0.075 ppm. Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is formed by a chemical reaction of emissions from vehicles, diesel equipment, industrial plants, and other sources.
Currently, North Texas is classified as a serious ozone “non-attainment” area. Our region’s nine-county non-attainment zone includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant Counties. North Texas must continue to seek new opportunities to reduce emissions in order to meet the tighter standards.
Mr. Miles updated the participants on DART’s light rail project which is the largest of its kind in the United States. The Green Line has opened to Fair Park and will provide much needed transit service to Deep Ellum, Baylor Hospital and south Dallas. The remainder of the Green Line will open to Pleasant Grove in SE Dallas and to Carrollton which is 19 miles NW of downtown Dallas by end of 2010.
The Orange Line will open to DFW International Airport in 2013 and will also serve the Las Colinas Urban Center. These projects are creating billions of dollars in economic development and providing transportation options for our citizens.
Mr. Parks spoke about the extensive planning that has been undertaken to meet the water challenges of north Texas for generations to come. The Dallas/Fort Worth region has an estimated population of 6.5 million residents which represents 26% of the Texas population, yet we only use 8% of the State’s water resources.
Several strategies are being implemented to serve our future water needs including conservation, indirect and direct reuse, tapping existing water sources, and new reservoirs. None of these strategies will meet our future demands alone and all of them need to be pursued.
Discussing important policy issues after the meeting.
