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EPA AWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE GRANT FOR BULL CREEK WATERSHED PROJECT

Release Date: 8/27/1998
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

   As part of its efforts to promote sustainable development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office has awarded a Sustainable Development Challenge Grant for $48,000 to the Austin Parks Foundation for the Bull Creek Watershed Project, a public-private partnership approach to creating a sustainable watershed in a rapidly growing urban community.

    Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke stated, "Today, non-point source pollution remains the Nation's largest source of water quality problems.  EPA strongly supports water protection policies based on watersheds as a way to deal with the needs of growing cities as well as to preserve the natural environment."  

    "The Bull Creek Watershed Project focuses on educating the people who live and work in the watershed about the key environmental issues and involving them in activities to create a sustainable watershed.  In addition, the project promotes increased coordination and cooperation among collaborating government entities, businesses and community organizations to achieve common goals within the watershed," said Mr. Cooke.

    Bull Creek and its tributaries in the northwest quadrant of the city of Austin are contained within a 32 square-mile watershed which ultimately drains into Lake Austin.  When water levels of Lake Austin are low during the winter months, Bull Creek provides up to 50 percent of Austin's drinking water.  The watershed area is also important for its unique ecological and cultural resources that are threatened by rapid growth and development.   Bull Creek Watershed is home to an array of native plants and animals, including some seldom seen species such as the Jollyville Plateau salamander and the golden cheeked warbler.  The area's cultural resources include archeological artifacts from inhabitants who lived there thousands of years ago.

    The project's educational component includes developing  a 3-dimensional model of the Bull Creek Watershed to use in schools, community meetings, and forums.  Other activities include coordinating volunteer trail workdays to build new recreational trails and repair trails eroded from trucks and 4-wheel drive vehicles that formerly had access to the area.   A Bull Creek Watershed  Management Plan will be developed to address existing and future development in the watershed and to incorporate sustainable development principles and practices.  Major  partners contributing to the project include the Bull Creek Foundation, the American Institute for Learning, the National Park Service, the Lower Colorado River Authority, and the city of Austin.

    "EPA believes that communities, businesses, and government need to accept responsibility for investing in a sustainable future that links environmental protection, economic prosperity, and community well-being.  Environmental progress will not be achieved solely by regulation," said Mr. Cooke.

    The Austin Park Foundation project was one of 45 projects funded nationwide under the Sustainable Development Challenge Grants program.  The grants, totaling $5 million, are intended to provide leveraging for other public and private funding in the communities.  The program promotes partnerships and encourages community-based projects that integrate environmental protection and local community and economic goals.  For more information about sustainable development Challenge Grants, visit EPA's web site at https://www.epa.gov/ecocommunity.