SBCA’s March Happy Hour Talk will feature legendary environmental activist Susana Almanza, a founding member and executive director of PODER, a local grassroots group focused on environmental, economic, and social justice issues. Susana will be speaking with us about one of the most important events in the history of Austin’s environmental movement — the Tank Farm Battle. Join us on March 19 at the la Madeleine restaurant in Sunset Valley to enjoy good food and drink during Susana’s talk.
Almanza is a founding member and the Executive Director of PODER (People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources).
The East Austin Tank Farm was the issue that brought the greatest attention to PODER’s environmental justice efforts. The 52-acre facility was located at Airport Boulevard and Springdale Road in a predominantly Latino and African American neighborhood. Millions of gallons of petroleum products were stored in above-ground fuel storage tanks owned by six major oil companies — Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Star Enterprises (Texaco), CITGO and Coastal States. In 1992, PODER discovered that the companies had violated air emissions and had contaminated the groundwater, leading to numerous health problems in the community. PODER and EAST sponsored a “Toxic Tour” of the area that year. Elected officials from the city, county, and state level participated, as well as neighborhood association representatives and school leaders. As a result of the support of several elected officials, community involvement, and continued queries by PODER and EAST, soil and groundwater contamination problems at the site were brought to light. In 1993, through PODER’s community organizing, the Tank Farm was relocated out of the community and the companies agreed to remediation. You can learn more about the Tank Farm Battle on PODER’s website, and on this history page by Austin’s Watershed Protection Department.
Join us at the La Madeleine on Brodie Lane starting at 6:30 to order food and drink. We’ll be meeting in a room towards the back. We’ll start the program at 7, with time afterwards for questions. We’ll wrap up around 8, but feel free to stay and socialize.
SBCA Species Spotlight: Carolina Fanwort
Introducing the subject of our first Species Spotlight, Carolina fanwort: an aquatic perennial that is thriving and flourishing … arguably a little too much. Carolina fanwort, orCabomba caroliniana, is one of seven fanwort subspecies worldwide and one of only two found in North America. Carolina fanwort is native to Central Texas and can be seen in abundance throughout our local watersheds, including Barton Creek — although fortunately it’s not the problem here that it is elsewhere.
The plant is also referred to as Washington grass, fish grass, and Carolina water-shield. Its leaves are oppositely arranged on the stalk and display two distinctively different structures, depending on their proximity to the water’s surface. The deepest submerged leaves appear as large, feathery, fans, exhibiting Carolina fanwort’s namesake. The leaves just above and below the surface, are noticeably smaller, elliptic in shape, and lack the same fan-like appearance as the lower leaves.
