Austin City Council Passes Resolution Addressing Natural Gas And Sustainability
Yesterday, the Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution requesting Texas Gas Service (TGS) to take steps to build a more sustainable business for Austin residents. This action uses technology and market mechanisms to reduce our carbon footprint, with a specific focus on opportunities related to natural gas.
The resolution will result in:
- A feasibility analysis for biomethane capture in the Austin area
- Improved transparency and up-to-date gas data for Austin
- Options for increasing leak detection and reduction efforts
- A potential GreenChoice-style program related to natural gas
TGS also will identify options for purchasing offsets as another strategy for reducing carbon equivalent emissions, and provide their expertise to accelerate deployment of renewable natural gas in the Austin area.
Council Member Alison Alter sponsored the resolution, joined by Council Members Greg Casar, Paige Ellis, Natasha Harper-Madison, and Leslie Pool.
“This resolution is a product of months-long deliberations about how to collaborate with gas distributors to reduce our carbon emissions and maintain affordability,” said Council Member Alter. “This endeavor represents a commitment by Texas Gas to help us reach our environmental goals, and I’m pleased that they are willing partners.”
“Texas Gas Service is excited to study the many opportunities of renewable natural gas (RNG) in the Austin area,” said Larry Graham, Public Affairs Manager at Texas Gas Service. “Natural gas offers a pathway to the shared goal of reducing emissions while maintaining affordability, reliability and the quality of life we all enjoy. We look forward to partnering with the City of Austin, The Office of Sustainability and Council Member Alter to be a leader in the renewable natural gas industry.”
To read the full resolution, visit http://www.austintexas.gov/department/city-council/2020/20200220-reg.htm#047.
We also need to look at banning gas and requiring electric like many peer cities for safety.
You surely are joking. All electric? Let’s enjoy some wildfires and outages caused by electric lines. How about the inefficiency of electricity, how hypocritical to use the word sustainable and feesiable why discussing an all electric city.
Since we are discussing environmental issues, has city counsel seen the trash, urine, and feces which is deposited under I-35 from the river to Mueller. As a professional engineer we should all be embarrassed by how we treat the environment in Austin. Is the carbon footprint under I-35 going to be reduced or exempted by the city? Comical! Millions are being paid by the tax payers to fund homelessness, why isn’t the trash being picked up DAILY?