Transportation News, Volume 19, Number 8, April 1994 Page: 4
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4
Earth Watch
TxDOT, TNRCC to battle water pollutionKaren LeFevre
Environmental Affairs Division
Everyone knows that oil and water
don't mix. So you don't pour dirty oil
from your car into a storm drain where it
can go right into the drinking water sup-
ply, right?
But every year, thousands of Texans
do just that. A quart of oil pollutes up to
250,000 gallons of water-about what a
family of four uses in a year.
Polluting a million gallons of drinking
water for an average car's oil change is a
high price to pay to avoid the hassle of
taking that oil to a recycling center. That's
why the Texas Natural Resource Conser-
vation Commission's (TNRCC) Clean
Texas 2000 team focuses on oil recycling
as part of its pollution prevention pro-
gram. It's also why TxDOT's Environ-
mental Affairs Division was developing a
public-awareness program to prevent
storm water pollution, including a public
service announcement (PSA) aimed
specifically at illegal oil dumping.
Unlike oil and water, TxDOT and
TNRCC do mix. The two were develop-
ing separate campaigns, but now they've
gotten together. The result of their part-
nership is a jointly produced PSA target-
ing do-it-yourselfers who-like the rest
of us-may wind up drinking the water
they pollute.
The TxDOT Travel and Information
Division's audio-visual section produced
the 30-second PSA using TNRCC's script
concept and a campaign slogan devel-
oped by Sherry Matthews Advertising.
As an inky mass of oil completely covers
a screen full of pure, blue water, a child's
voice gives us a message that says it all-"You Dump It, You Drink It." Without
spelling it out, the PSA conveys the need
to protect our resources today for our
children's tomorrow.
The PSA, while emphasizing the dam-
age oil dumping can cause, gives an
alternative to pouring used oil into the
nearest storm drain. Recycling is the
solution, and viewers can call a toll-free
number (1-800-64-TEXAS) for the loca-
tion of a recycling facility in their
community.
The PSA complements other "You
Dump It" public awareness materials,
such as bumper stickers, print ads, bill-
boards, and a radio PSA featuring top-10
Tejano recording artist Oscar G.
Commissioner of Transportation
David Bernsen said, "Our environment is
a reflection of our behavior. It's every-
one's responsibility to keep our environ-
ment clean. I applaud this joint effort,
and I know its impact will be
significant."
A kick-off for the television PSA was
held Nov.20 at the Montgomery Ward
Auto Center in Austin. The first 400 peo-
ple who brought their used motor oil to
recycle received free oil recycling canis-
ters bearing the "You Dump It" slogan,
provided by TNRCC.
Chairman John Hall and Commission-
er Peggy Garner of TNRCC and Robert
Cuellar, TxDOT's deputy executive direc-
tor for transportation planning and
development, all expressed their support
for the program and the partnership
between the two agencies. Montgomery
Ward manager Bob Thomas, Dianna
Noble, TxDOT's director of Environmen-
tal Affairs, and SueAnn Wade-Crouse,
president of Keep Texas Beautiful, werealso present. And Oscar G was on hand
to sign autographs.
Hall commended TxDOT as the first
state agency to become a partner in the
Clean Texas 2000 program, thus joining
the ranks of business and community
partners. Garner applauded the initiative
of the two agencies to combine their pub-
lic-education campaigns about motor oil
recycling. "Not only is this a unique
cooperative effort between state govern-
ment agencies, by working together both
agencies saved thousands of taxpayer
dollars in TV production costs," -Hall
said.
Cuellar cited TxDOT's successful anti-
litter program, "Don't Mess with Texas,"
as a model for what can be accomplished
through public education campaigns.
"Since 1985, visible roadside litter has
been reduced 72 percent. We hope that
Clean Texas 2000's 'You Dump It, You
Drink It' campaign will have a similar
effect on changing the behavior of those
who carelessly dispose of their used oil, "
he said.
While the television PSA is the first
cooperative effort between TxDOT and
TNRCC to encourage used-oil recycling
and reduce water pollution, it won't be
the last. Other projects in the planning
stages include a storm-sewer stenciling
program for communities around the
state. The goal is to paint a warning right
on curb inlets to remind folks not to
dump their used oil into the storm
drains.
Texas' water supply will be a lot safer
if everyone remembers just one thing-
"You Dump It, You Drink It."Program provides access to state government
Roger Poison
Staff Writer
It's one-stop shopping for state gov-
ernment.
That's the way Gov. Ann Richards
describes Capital for a Day, one-day ses-
sions held in various locations around
Texas. The activities bring representatives
from state government to places like
Carthage, Paris, Clear Lake, Abilene,
Kingsville and Temple, giving citizens
direct access to the agencies to help solve
their problems.
"These Capital for a Day meetings
have been great," said Executive Director
Bill Burnett. "I enjoy meeting the people,
spending some time with the district
folks, and occasionally coming up withinstant solutions. It could take citizens
days to have access to this many state
offices even if they came to Austin."
Burnett has helped at least two com-
munities locate needed equipment by
canvassing district surplus equipment
lists and working with the General Ser-
vices Commission to earmark the equip-
ment for sale to the communities.
"We found a front-end loader that was
needed by the city of Carthage and in
Abilene, the Tye Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment was looking for a water hauler. We
found one scheduled for sale in April
down in the Pharr District and made it
available to Tye. These kinds of results
are very rewarding."
But Capital for a Day is more than a
used-equipment flea market. All day
long people visit booths to pick up infor-
mation and ask questions about agency
operations. People with vehicle title prob-
lems or concerns about safety, public
transportation or pending projects in
their area can talk with Burnett or local
TxDOT officials to get answers.
"Our job is to solve problems on the
spot if we can. I've gotten on the phoneand arranged meetings or found answers
to questions," said Burnett.
The governor usually arrives at Capi-
tal for a Day in the afternoon. After
wending her way through the crowd, she
settles into her "office" and meets with
citizens one-on-one. At 5 p.m., she holds
a dinner meeting with agency heads to
talk about the day's events. In the
evening, a town-hall meeting gives area
citizens another chance to address ques-
tions directly to state officials.
"One thing for sure, someone will ask
why the lottery money is not being ear-
marked for education," Burnett said.
"Seriously, it's quite educational to hear
the community's issues discussed. It is a
unique opportunity to be in one place
with so many agency heads and elected
state officeholders. I'm pretty sure we get
was much out of the events as the citi-
zens."
The next Capital for a Day will be in
Bryan-College Station on April 28. Other
events are scheduled monthly through
August but specific locations have not
been announced.TRANSPORTATION NEWS, April 1994
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Transportation News, Volume 19, Number 8, April 1994, periodical, April 1994; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth576390/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.