FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

Natalie O'Neill 281-326-1933
Katie Chimenti 281-286-9750
Harvill E. Weller 281-286-4900

The Seabrook City Council has authorized contracts for $50,000 for technical studies to assess the impacts of the Port of Houston’s proposed Bayport container port.

"These technical studies are extremely important in determining the future of the residential areas near Bayport. The action by Seabrook, when combined with the other cities' action and the donations of individuals, gets us started," said Jim Blackburn, chairman of the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association (GBCPA). All the work in question will be completed by the beginning of March 2001.

The GBCPA studies are needed so that residents and their elected officials can be confident of having sound information with which to gauge the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Statement currently being prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Bayport project, said Blackburn. That EIS is expected to be released for public comment sometime in March.

Of the Seabrook total, $16,000 in matching funds is designated for the full cost of wetlands research and a portion of the air pollution study. These funds are to match the $16,000 joint commitment by the Cities of Shoreacres, Taylor Lake Village, Clear Lake Shores and El Lago. A further $9,000 was also authorized for air pollution work.

The remaining $25,000 is to be divided between transportation and noise research, constituting a portion of the funding for both. The City of Seabrook originally designated this money for Blackburn’s services, but under the terms of the contract he has requested that it be spent instead on technical studies.