History
In January 2000, the City of El Paso in the State of Texas held the very first environmental summit called the El Paso Pride Environmental Summit. Several grassroots and community organizations had joined at the request of their local Senator, Eliot Shapleigh, and were assisted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Small Business and Local Government Assistance staff and the El Paso County Attorney’s Office. Creating great synergy, representatives of these groups formed a steering committee to help evaluate the City of El Paso and identify some of the main environmental challenges posed by their City. After multiple meetings, the steering committee outlined various potential solutions for the City's primary environmental challenges and focused their summit to expand potential solutions and implement changes to improve their community.
These annual summits have grown from 100 participants to over 350 participants, which include: neighborhood associations, colonia residents, non-profits, federal, state and local government agencies, local business leaders, high school students, and elected officials. Not only have the summits grown in attendance, but they have also been adopted by other Texas cities, including Laredo. These summits are excellent tools that help interested parties convene, brainstorm, interact, formulate solutions, and apply changes to make their community a better place to live, work, and play.
Successes reported by the City of El Paso include, but are not limited to:
· Formation of the very first Environmental Court in the State of Texas
· Implementation of a grease waste program, or FOG (fats, oils, and grease) in the City of El Paso
· Reduction of 60% of grease related blockages within the City of El Paso's sewer system
· Implementation of an emission trading program between the City of El Paso and Mexico
· Implementation of Citizen Collection Stations throughout the City of El Paso
· Implementation of four major community cleanup projects per year that include the City of El Paso's area high schools
These annual summits have grown from 100 participants to over 350 participants, which include: neighborhood associations, colonia residents, non-profits, federal, state and local government agencies, local business leaders, high school students, and elected officials. Not only have the summits grown in attendance, but they have also been adopted by other Texas cities, including Laredo. These summits are excellent tools that help interested parties convene, brainstorm, interact, formulate solutions, and apply changes to make their community a better place to live, work, and play.
Successes reported by the City of El Paso include, but are not limited to:
· Formation of the very first Environmental Court in the State of Texas
· Implementation of a grease waste program, or FOG (fats, oils, and grease) in the City of El Paso
· Reduction of 60% of grease related blockages within the City of El Paso's sewer system
· Implementation of an emission trading program between the City of El Paso and Mexico
· Implementation of Citizen Collection Stations throughout the City of El Paso
· Implementation of four major community cleanup projects per year that include the City of El Paso's area high schools
Mission Statement
The mission of the Laredo Environmental Summit is to engage and empower our citizens, elected officials, business sectors, and grassroots leaders with the ultimate purpose of identifying environmental issues and tangible solutions that will bring about positive and sustainable change to our environment.
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