* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. OKAY. [00:00:01] WELL, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO THIS FINAL SESSION OF OUR TWO, UH, DAYS OF CELEBRATING ALL THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN HOUSTON ON, UM, UH, FURTHERING, UM, UH, OUR, AND THIS IS ON, UM, CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, MITIGATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND POLLUTION MONITORING. AND WE'RE JUST WRAPPING IT UP WITH THE, WITH THE REALLY, UM, WONDERFUL CHAT BETWEEN TWO SUPER IMPORTANT PEOPLE, UH, TO THIS WHOLE PROCESS. OF COURSE, MAYOR TURNER. AND, UM, AND OUR, OUR GUEST IS, UH, DR. UH, ATHEA NANCE. AND DR. NANCE ACTUALLY, UM, HAILS FROM HERE, A LONG TIME, UH, FACULTY MEMBER AT TSU. SO I THINK THERE'S SOME TSU PEOPLE IN THE CROWD. THAT'S FINE. . UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SO LUCKY, UH, FORTUNATE TO HAVE HER AS THEIR, UM, EPA REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR REGION SIX, UH, APPOINTED BY, UH, PRESIDENT BIDEN. AND SO SHE AND I, I'M JUST GONNA OFFER A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT THEY'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE WE STAND AND WHERE WE'RE GOING, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO HOUSTON AND WHAT THEIR VISION IS. SO, UM, SO I THINK I'LL JUST START OFF WITH YOU, DR. NANCE. UM, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST CURIOUS, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT EPA AND HOW YOU, UM, COLLABORATE WITH, UM, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS LIKE US AND, AND ABSOLUTELY. WELL, MY ROLE IS AS THE HEAD OF THE EPA REGION SIX, THERE ARE 10 REGIONS, AND REGION SIX INCLUDES FIVE STATES, TEXAS, LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA, AND NEW MEXICO. AND IN THAT REGION IS ALSO 66 FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES. SO I'M, I'M DEALING WITH CITIES LIKE HOUSTON, WHICH ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, CENTRAL CITIES IN THAT REGION. AND THEN ALSO DEALING WITH RURAL AREAS, DEALING, UH, WITH TRIBES, DEALING WITH A VARIETY OF SITUATIONS WHERE THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL, COULD BE ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE ISSUES. IN FACT, I HAD MY STAFF CREATE A MAP, UM, OF ALL OF THE CENSUS BLOCKS IN REGION SIX THAT, UH, MET THE 80TH PERCENTILE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CRITERIA. UM, YOU MAY HAVE LEARNED ABOUT EJ STRAIN IN A PREVIOUS SESSION. UM, WE HAVE OVER 11,000 CENSUS BLOCKS THAT MEET THAT EJ CRITERIA. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M DEALING WITH. UM, SOME OF THOSE BLOCKS ARE HERE IN THE HOUSTON AREA. MM-HMM . AS WE KNOW. UM, BUT IF YOU CAN IMAGINE THE EXTENT OF THAT, UM, AND IT'S, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT JOB. IT'S VERY CHALLENGING IN MANY OF THESE AREAS. COMMUNITIES ARE SURROUNDED BY POLLUTING FACILITIES, AND SO THEY RECEIVE, IN TERMS OF THE AIR THAT PEOPLE BREATHE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BREATHING A CUMULATIVE, UH, IMPACT OF POLLUTION THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MEASURE. UM, I BELIEVE THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FUTURE AND HOW WE DO ANALYSIS OF, OF POLLUTION IMPACTS FOR AIR, UH, LOOKING AT CUMULATIVE IMPACTS. AND SO WE HAVE AREAS IN REGION SIX WHERE EACH PLANT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW, AND YET THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE ARE BREATHING THAT CUMULATIVE IMPACT. AND, UH, THERE ARE NO LAWS TO STOP IT. AND SO WE HAVE, AND I'M SAYING ALL THIS TO SAY THAT, UH, WHILE HOUSTON IS A CENTER POINT IN, IN MY WORK, BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CITY, THE SIZE OF THE CITY, THE IMPORTANCE TO THE ECONOMY, UM, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, I'M DEALING WITH THE FULL RANGE OF SITUATIONS ON THE GROUND. UM, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THAT'S WHAT I'M DEALING WITH . THAT'S, THAT'S QUITE A LOT. IT'S REALLY INSPIRING TO HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT CUMULATIVE IMPACTS. 'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK A, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MM-HMM . UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL FIELD HAVE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, UM, YOU CAN'T, UH, YOU KNOW, PROTECT THE HEALTH OF A COMMUNITY BASED ON ONE SOURCE. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BREATHING MM-HMM . AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BREATHING THE MIXTURE OF POLLUTANTS, AND THEY'RE ALSO DRINKING, YOU KNOW, CON CONCERNS WITH WATER. OR PERHAPS THEY HAVE OTHER SOCIOECONOMIC STRESSORS. LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, KEYNOTE TODAY, UH, DR. BULLARD BROUGHT OUT AN AWFUL LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, COMING TOGETHER. SO IF, WHEN, AND WHEN EPA CAN COME OUT WITH CUMULATIVE IMPACTS, THAT WILL BE GREAT. MM-HMM . AND, UH, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT WORK. BUT, UM, BUT, BUT, UH, MAYOR TURNER, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, SOME OF OUR UNIQUE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE HERE, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR, WITH HURRICANE HARVEY, OF COURSE, AND OUR FREEZES AND, AND OUR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND, AND WHAT THE CITY IS DOING ABOUT THAT? AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE EXPERIENCED, UM, A GREAT DEAL, UM, THAT ME, LEMME [00:05:01] JUST GO BACK TO, UH, TO DR. BULLOCK'S PRESENTATION BECAUSE HE PROVIDED US WITH A VARIOUS HISTORICAL ANALYSIS MM-HMM . OF HOW WE FIND OURSELVES, WHERE WE ARE. I MEAN, I COULD START OFF BY TALKING ABOUT THE SEVEN FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS MM-HMM . UH, BUT THAT WOULD BE STARTING FROM 2015 COMING FORWARD. UM, BUT WHEN YOU TAKE THOSE SEVENLY FAIR, UH, FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS, AND YOU PUT THEM ON TOP OF COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE FACED A LOT OF SHOCKS AND STRESSES, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST 40 TO 50 YEARS, THEN YOU GET A BETTER PICTURE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE NEED. UM, BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THAT ARE HAVING TO DEAL WITH LANDFILLS JUST LIKE THE SUNNYSIDE OPENING, THE 1930S CLOSE IN THE NINE, IN 1970 UNDER PROTEST, BUT IT LEFT 240 CONTAMINATED ACRES THERE, OR YOU'RE LIVING WITH, UH, IN OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER TODAY AT LUNCH, WHERE THERE WERE LANDFILLS. AND THEN WHEN YOU TAKE THOSE LANDFILLS AND YOU CAN, AND YOU OVERLAY YOUR SEMEN CRUSHING PLANTS, WHICH ARE IN MANY OF THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, LOW INCOME AREAS. SO YOU HAVE THOSE, THOSE FACTORS. UM, AND THEN PEOPLE ARE STILL DEALING WITH WATER ISSUES. SO AS WATER IS AIR, IT'S THE LAND. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, UH, NOW YOU'RE DEALING WITH FLOODING SITUATIONS. AND SO YOU HAVE THE WATERS THAT ARE COMING IN ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, UH, MIXING IT IN. UH, THEN PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES IN A CC, CERTAIN COMMUNITIES FIND THEMSELVES IN A CONSTANT STATE OF NEED AND RECOVERY. SO WHEN, YOU KNOW, IN TAX STATE FLOOD, FOR EXAMPLE, OUT IN THE NORTHEAST, THAT WAS MORE HEAVILY IMPACTED THAN OTHER AREAS. UH, YOU, YOU WORK TO STAND THEM BACK UP. MM-HMM . AND THEN HERE COMES HARVEY IN 2017, THAT IMPACTS PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE CITY, UH, UM, AND YOU WORK TO STAND PEOPLE BACK UP. SO COUNCIL STATE OF NEED IN RECOVERY, AND THEN THAT WAS FOLLOWED IN 2019 BY TROPICAL STORMY MALDA, ANOTHER 500 YEAR FLOOD. AND SO YOU'RE WORKING, AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALREADY VULNERABLE IN THAT, THE MARGINS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE FILLING IT MORE SO OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND THEN WHEN YOU OVERLAY THAT WITH COVID FOR THE LAST, FOR TWO YEARS MM-HMM . FOLLOWED BY WINTER STORM URI IN FEBRUARY OF 2021. OKAY. THEN YOU HAVE THESE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE CONSTANT IN A STATE OF NEED AND RECOVERY, SHOCKS AND STRESSES, SHOCKS AND STRESSOR. UH, AND THEN YOU DEAL WITH A SITUATION LIKE CASHEL GARDENS, UH, WHICH IS NOT STORM RELATED, UH, BUT IT'S RAIL RELATED MM-HMM . AND SO THEY'RE DEALING WITH THE OXON AND OTHER, UH, CHEMICALS AND CONTAMINATION, UH, IN THAT AREA. SO IT'S A LOT, UH, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING ON THE MARGINS OF LIFE AND TRYING TO PAY THEIR LIGHT BILLS, TRYING TO KEEP FOOD ON THEIR TABLE, TRY TO PAY THE RENT, UH, IT'S A, IT IS A GREAT DEAL. UH, SO THOSE ARE THE SORT OF THINGS THAT DEAL WE ARE DEALING WITH. AND THEN THAT WAS POINTING OUT EARLIER, IT IS A MATTER OF LOOKING AT THE ZIP CODES BECAUSE THERE'S A ZIP CODE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON WHERE THE LIFE EXPECTANCY IS 24 YEARS LESS THAN THE NEIGHBORING ZIP CODE. SO THOSE ARE THE, AND THIS IS IN THE, IN THE GREAT CITY OF HOUSTON, A VERY PROSPEROUS CITY, BUT THEY'RE STILL, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE ELEMENTS, SOME OF THE DYNAMICS THAT WE ARE HAVING TO DEAL WITH. WELL, IT'S REALLY, UM, COMPELLING, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST THE STATISTICS AND THE NUMBERS. BUT, AND, AND JUST TO, TO THINK ABOUT IN THE PAST TWO DAYS, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE HERE, UM, THAT HAVE, I'VE LISTENED TO ALL THE VARIOUS TALKS WE'VE LEARNED SO MUCH AND HOW IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED. MM-HMM . UM, THE IDEA OF FLOODING. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS THIS MORNING, UM, WITH, UH, DIRECTOR HADDOCK AND, UM, DR. IAN AND STEVE COSTELLO TALKING ABOUT RECOVERY AND, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, TIED TO ALL THESE THINGS ABOUT HOW, I THINK YOU, I DON'T KNOW WHO SAID IT AT THE TALK THIS AFTERNOON, BUT IT WAS THAT SAME NUMBER. THOSE, THOSE, THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE FLOODED, MANY OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE $400 IN THEIR SAVINGS ACCOUNT. AND WHAT DID THEY DO AND HOW DID THEY MOVE? AND THAT'S FROM, YOU KNOW, AN IMMEDIATE THREAT. AND THEN THE OTHER KINDS OF CONCERNS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE MORE CHRONIC AND LONG-TERM THAN SYSTEMIC THAT THEY'VE HAD FOR SO LONG. UM, BUT YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD SITE. AND THAT MAKES ME, UH, JUST PERFECT SEGUE TO THE NEXT QUESTION WHICH I WANNA ASK DR. NANCE. SO, LIKE IN, UM, LATE 2021, MANY OF US WERE HERE, AND A LOT OF US HEARD ABOUT, IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SEE IT, ADMINISTRATOR MICHAEL REGAN, UM, TOOK THE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE TOUR AND HE SPOTLIGHTED LONGSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ISSUES IN THE SOUTH. UM, CAN YOU TELL US, UH, WHAT CAME OF THAT, UH, TOUR AND, AND, AND THE PURPOSE OF IT, AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO BE SEEING COMING FORWARD? WELL, BEFORE I ANSWER, I JUST WANT, EVERYONE PROBABLY KNOWS WE'RE PARTNERING ON THAT PROJECT, SO I'M [00:10:01] GONNA ANSWER A LITTLE BIT. SO THEN LET THE MAYOR, UH, TAKE THAT ONE. . UM, SO FROM THE REGION, SIX EPA PERSPECTIVE, SO AS A FEDERAL AGENCY, UM, THE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE TOUR, UM, IN MY REGION ACTUALLY STARTED IN, UH, LOUISIANA AND WENT TO TEXAS. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SITES THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR VISITED, UM, BACK IN NOVEMBER, 2021, I BELIEVE, WAS WHEN THE TOUR WAS TO HIGHLIGHT MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT THE MAYOR JUST DISCUSSED IN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS. AND SO, AS THE HEAD OF EPA, MY JOB IS TO FOLLOW UP FROM THAT TOUR WITH ACTIONS THAT HELP TO PROTECT, UM, UH, THOSE COMMUNITIES. UM, AND THOSE, THOSE ACTIONS INVOLVE, UM, ENGAGEMENT. THEY INVOLVE ENFORCEMENT, THEY INVOLVE REWRITING PERMITS, THEY INVOLVE CREATING NEW RULES. SO, SO THAT THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE MORE PROTECTIVE. SO THE, THE, THE FIFTH WARD CASHMERE GARDEN SITE, UM, THAT COMMUNITY THERE IS, IS ONE OF THESE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE SITES, ONE OF MANY THAT THERE WERE. UM, AND THAT SITE, UM, I'LL NEVER FORGET THE MEETING WE HAD IN REVEREND CALDWELL'S CHURCH. UM, QUITE AN EXCITING MEETING THERE WHERE WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, THE ADMINISTRATOR, UM, GOT TO HEAR THE NAMES OF THE FOLKS WHO HAD DIED. AND I REMEMBER THOSE NAMES. WAS IT SANDRA EDWARDS CALLING THOSE NAMES WITH, UH, LITERALLY A SKELETON IN THE ROOM. THAT WAS A POWERFUL MOMENT. UM, AND I THINK THAT TOUCHED THE ADMINISTRATOR. UM, IT WAS A VERY, IT WAS VERY MEMORABLE FOR ME AS WELL. UM, AND SO THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT IN THE CASHMERE GARDENS AND FIFTH WARD AREA, UM, WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW ON THAT, IN TERMS OF FOLLOWING UP, UH, WE ARE, UH, WE'VE HIRED, WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE CITY AS WELL AS THE COUNTY. UH, DR. HOPKINSON IS ALSO PART OF THE TEAM, UM, AND WITH THE, UH, THE UPRR, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD, UM, TO DO AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTAMINATION AT THE SITE. THIS MEANS AROUND ALL OF THE SITE, WHICH IS THE, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD SITE, AND ALL OF THE HOMES AROUND THERE IN YARDS. UM, WE, WE ARE HOPING TO GET, UH, THE RESIDENTS TO AGREE TO ALLOW THEIR SOIL TO BE TESTED, BECAUSE WITHOUT THE TESTS, WE HAVE INCOMPLETE RESULTS. SO WE'RE GONNA BE REACHING OUT AND ASKING FOR EVERYONE, PLEASE, UM, LET US, ALLOW US, ALLOW OUR TEAM TO GO OUT AND, AND TAKE SOME SAMPLES SO WE CAN FIND OUT WHERE IT STANDS, WHERE THAT PROPERTY STANDS. AND SO, UH, MYSELF, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY HAVE JUST REVIEWED THE WORK PLAN THAT THE CONTRACTOR SUBMITTED, AND WE HAVE SUBMITTED THE COMMENTS AND ARE, WILL BE AWAITING RESULTS. IN THE MEANTIME, WE ARE HOLDING COMMUNITY MEETINGS ON THURSDAY AND SATURDAY OF THIS WEEK, AND THAT AT THOSE MEETINGS, WE'RE GONNA BE GIVING OUT THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE, TAKING QUESTIONS, UM, AND SHARING, YOU KNOW, THE TIMELINE OF WHAT'S GONNA BE HAPPENING AT THE SITE. SO THAT'S COMING UP. UM, ANOTHER REALLY CRITICAL, UH, JOURNEY TO JUSTICE SITE, UM, IS, IS IN LOUISIANA, AND I BRING IT UP BECAUSE ON THAT SITE, UH, WE ARE DOING THE MOST, UH, THE MOST ENFORCEMENT THAT WE HAVE EVER DONE, ACTUALLY. SO THIS IS QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE SITE WHERE WE HAVE, UM, ORDERED THE COMPANY TO SHUT DOWN A PIECE OF THE SITE INSIDE THE PLANT CALLED THE BRINE PIT, UM, IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE WORKERS THAT WERE THERE. AND WE HAVE ALSO ORDERED THEM TO CHANGE OUT THE KIND OF EQUIPMENT THAT THEY'RE USING TO PROTECT, UH, OR TO REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS FROM THE SITE. UM, AND SO WE'RE DOING THINGS THERE WE'VE NEVER DONE, THE ADMINISTRATOR WAS HERE, WAS THERE LAST WEEK, ANNOUNCING A NEW RULE, UH, ABOUT SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR THE TYPES OF CHEMICALS THAT ARE OMITTED FROM THAT JOURNEY TO JUSTICE SITE IN LOUISIANA. SO THESE ARE UNPRECEDENTED ACTIONS THAT HAVE HAPPENED, UM, AT THESE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE SITES. THESE ARE OUR PRIORITY SITES, AND ONE OF THOSE SITES IS, IS HERE IN HOUSTON. SO I'M GONNA LEAVE IT THERE. THANK YOU. AND LET THE MAYOR FOLLOW UP. , CAN I, SO WHAT I, I WANNA JUST ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT. IN, IN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE KIND OF COOPERATION AND SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM, UM, YOUR, UH, FROM HEADQUARTERS AND FROM REGION SIX IS JUST PHENOMENAL. UH, WE MEET WITH, UH, WITH EPA, LIKE AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK NOW. AND SO HUGE, HUGE STRIDES. UM, AND SO WE'RE SO APPRECIATIVE OF THIS, OF THIS, UH, NEW ADMINISTRATION AND SORT OF LIKE A, A, A KIND OF NEWER EPA THAT'S REALLY APPROACHABLE [00:15:01] AND OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITIES WITH US. AND THAT LEAVES ME, UM, SO SERIOUSLY, LIKE KIND OF SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT INTERNAL AND DISCUSSIONS WITH EVERYONE AND THE OPENNESS IS, IS, IS REALLY AMAZING. BUT THAT DOES LEAD ME BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT I WANNA ASK MAYOR TURNER, UM, BECAUSE AFTER, UH, ADMINISTER REGAN'S TOUR, UM, UH, UH, YOU DID A FOLLOW UP DISCUSSION WITH HIM AND, UM, WE, WE KIND OF WANNA KNOW WHAT, WHAT YOU SAID THERE THAT MADE THIS, THIS DOOR OPEN WHERE WE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENED THERE, , AND CAN YOU TALK JUST ABOUT THAT? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND YOUR PARTICULAR PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT WITH THIS SITE IS, IS, UM, WOULD BE INTERESTING FOR US TO HEAR ABOUT. LET ME START OFF BY SAYING THIS. UM, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE A GOOD PARTNER IN THIS WORK MM-HMM . AND, UM, AND WE FINALLY HAVE A GOOD PARTNER IN THIS WORK. UH, THE EPA ADMINISTRATOR, REGAN HAS BEEN A GOOD PARTNER. AND, AND WHEN I SAY GOOD PARTNER, UM, WHEN YOU SPEAK IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WILL DO AND YOU OPERATE WITH THAT INTEGRITY, AND YOU COME THROUGH AND YOU FOLLOW THROUGH, THAT MAKES A HUGE, A HUGE DIFFERENCE. I DO WANNA START OFF THOUGH, BY THANKING, UH, THE PEOPLE IN THAT, IN THE AREA, UH, THE CASHMERE GARDENS FIFTH WARD COMMUNITY, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, OVER THE YEARS, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN VOICING CONCERNS. OKAY. THEY'RE THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN SAYING SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT HERE. UH, OUR RELATIVES, OUR KINFOLK, OUR FRIENDS, OR COMING DOWN WITH CANCER OR DYING, OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING. AND THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR QUITE SOME, SOME TIME. UH, AND THEY, AND THEY, AND THEY NEVER SILENCE THEIR VOICES, OKAY? SO THEY WERE DETERMINED TO BE HEARD. SO I WANNA GIVE A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT, UH, TO THEM AND, UH, UH, IN THIS BATTLE. AND THEN I, I, I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S HEALTH DEPARTMENT AT HOPKINS AND DIRECTOR STEVE WILLIAMS, BECAUSE, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE TESTING BEING DONE BY THE STATE, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT WAS ALSO DOING TESTING. AND IT WAS THE COMBINATION OF TESTING BY THE CITY, TESTING EVEN BY THE STATE MM-HMM . THAT DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A HIGH LEVEL OF CANCER AMONGST ADULTS THAT WAS TEST NUMBER ONE MM-HMM . UH, WHEN YOU COMPARED IT THROUGHOUT THE OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY. AND THEN THE SECOND TEST WAS THE HIGH LEVEL OF THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT WERE DYING OF CANCER. SO WHEN YOU COMBINE THE ADULTS AND THEN COMBINED WITH THE CHILDREN, AND THEN THE, THE VOICES THAT WERE COMING FROM THE, FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, IT JUST, AND ONE, THOSE VOICES WERE NOT GOING TO BE SILENCED, AND YOU COULD NOT IGNORE IT. UH, AND THEN WE ARE NEW ADMINISTRATION IN MANY WAYS THAT'S COMING IN AND HAVING, UM, HAVING TO, TO ADDRESS IT. UM, AND SO IT THEN LEADS TO THE JOURNEY TO JUSTICE. AND, AND YOU HAVE THE CHANGE AT THE NATIONAL, THE FEDERAL LEVEL. AND NOW YOU HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE ADMINISTRATOR, REAGAN, WHO COMES DIRECTLY TO HOUSTON, UM, COMES AND VISITS AT TEXAS SOUTHERN. HE GOES OVER AND VISITS THE CHURCH. PASTOR CALWELL IS HERE, UH, SITS ON THE PORCH OF THE PEOPLE IN THE, IN THE AREA, LISTEN TO THEIR STORIES. AND QUITE FRANKLY, NOBODY CAN TELL A STORY BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES. AND THEY WERE VERY DIRECT. UM, AND PEOPLE RIGHTFULLY VERY DISTRUSTFUL. MM-HMM . OKAY. BECAUSE NOW HERE YOU ALL COME AGAIN. YOU KNOW, UH, OKAY, SO WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO? SO HE SIT THERE AND HE LISTENED PATIENTLY, TOURED THAT AREA, UM, DID TELL THE PEOPLE THAT, UM, HE WAS GONNA GO BACK AND ASSESS THE SITUATION. AND HE DID. UM, AND THEN WE HAD SOME SUBSEQUENT CON CONVERSATIONS, AND WE HAD A CONVERSATION IN DC UM, AND I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO THE DETAILS OF THE CONVERSATION, UM, BUT WE HAD A MEETING OF THE MINES MM-HMM . AND WE TALKED ABOUT NOT ONLY THE SITUATION IN CASHMAN GARDEN, BUT ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE SITUATION IN LOUISIANA. OKAY. AND PRELIMINARILY TALKED ABOUT HOW THAT SITUATION COULD WE BE ADDRESSED. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE BOTH DISCUSSED IS THAT PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING TO BE SATISFIED WITH JUST US TOUCHING AROUND THE SURFACES MM-HMM . THAT PEOPLE WANTED SOMETHING HOLISTIC. THEY WANTED SOMETHING, UM, THAT WOULD, UM, RECTIFY THEIR SITUATION. BUT JUST DOING SOMETHING, TOUCHING AROUND THE SERVICES AS IF YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING BUT YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING, WAS NOT GOING TO DO IT. AND IT WAS GOING TO TAKE NOT JUST THE EPA, BUT IN OTHER WAY, IN OTHER, IN MANY WAYS, IT WAS GONNA TAKE OTHER, UM, DEPARTMENTS WORKING IN COLLABORATION, CITY, COUNTY, UH, EPA AND OTHERS. MM-HMM . UH, AND THEN FROM THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THAT, UH, JOURNEY TO JUSTICE TOUR AND MEETING WITH THE EPA, UM, THEY [00:20:02] DEMONSTRATED THEIR COMMITMENT MM-HMM . TO THOROUGHLY ADDRESSING IT. MM-HMM . AND I KNOW I TALKED WITH THE ADMINISTRATOR SEVERAL TIMES, AND WE SENT TO, TO EPAA LOT OF, UH, NO, WE MADE A REQUEST ON THEM TO ASK UPRR TO SUBMIT A LOT OF DOCUMENTS THAT WE WERE HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING. AND THE EPA STEPPED UP MM-HMM . AND, UH, SAID TO UPRR, YOU WILL PROVIDE THIS, THIS DOCUMENTATION MM-HMM . AND, AND THAT CAME ABOUT. AND NOW WE LEAVE, WE ARE UP TO THIS POINT IN TALKING WITH THE EPA, WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, GIVE THEM A LOT OF CREDIT WORKING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP MM-HMM . UM, AND OF COURSE, THE CITY. UH, THEN NOW WE ARE DOING ANOTHER SERIES OF TESTING THAT THE EPA IS OVERSEEING BY UPR ARA. I JUST DID THIS VIDEO TO THE PEOPLE IN THE CASHMAN GARDENS FIFTH, WHAT AREA, ASKING THEM, UH, TO ALLOW THE TESTING TO TAKE PLACE. AND I KNOW SOMETIMES WHEN YOU GO BACK AND PEOPLE CAN SAY, HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU ALL GOING TO TEST MM-HMM . WHAT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME THAN THE LAST TIME? WELL, THIS TIME IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS MM-HMM . OKAY. THAT WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT IS IMPERATIVE TO GET TO THE, IN CONCLUSION. BUT WE ARE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS. BUT I ALSO WANT TO WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT WITH THE EPAS BACK, AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME OTHER CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE EVEN BEYOND THE TESTING THAT IS, THAT'S OCCURRING, UM, BECAUSE WE, IN THE END, YOU DO WANT TO PUT PEOPLE IN A BETTER PLACE MM-HMM . THAN THEY HAVE BEEN. AND THAT'S GOING, THAT'S GOING, THAT'S GOING TO, THAT'S GONNA TAKE SOME EFFORT. IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME RESOURCES. UM, BUT THIS IS ONE AREA THAT, AGAIN, THAT'S DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THEY'RE DEALING WITH FLOODING AND ALL OF THE OTHER ELEMENTS, THERE'S CUMULATIVE EFFECT THAT'S BEEN IMPACTED. UM, BUT I WANT TO GIVE A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT, AND I HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REAGAN. WHAT I WILL SAY, UM, WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH A PERSON LIKE ADMINISTRATION, REAGAN, WHEN PEOPLE ARE, WHEN PEOPLE HAVE WALKED IN MANY CASES, IN NO SHOES, IN THOSE SHOES, UH, WHEN THEY COME FROM THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED AND UNDER RESOURCED, WHEN THEY ARE SENSITIVE, THEN THEY GET IT. THAT'S RIGHT. AND, AND, AND THE PERSONNEL, DR. N'S, IN THESE POSITIONS, THEY RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN BURDENED SO LONG, THEY ARE FRUSTRATED AND THEY ARE DISTRUSTFUL. AND THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SATISFY THEM AT THIS POINT IS, UH, MEANINGFUL RESULTS. THAT'S RIGHT. MM-HMM . AND SO THAT'S RIGHT. THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK ANYMORE. THEY WANT, THEY, THEY WANT TO SEE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE AND A, AND A AND, AND SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE. AND QUITE FRANKLY, WHAT THEY HAVE SAID TO ALL OF US CITY INCLUDED, YOUR TIME IS OUT. MM. NOW YOU ARE OPERATING ON OUR TIME. THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. AND SO, UM, BUT I DO WANT TO GIVE A LOT OF CREDIT TO DR. NANCE AND HER TEAM AND ADMINISTRATIVE REAGAN, UH, BECAUSE THIS EPA, UH, THEY GET IT. AND I APPRECIATE IT, . THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I I, I JUST SO HAVE TO CALL OUT YOU ALSO, BECAUSE I MEAN, BEHIND THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY AN INNOVATIVE, IT, IT TOOK A LOT, YOU KNOW, OF EFFORT AND, UM, YOU, YOU RECOGNIZING, UM, THAT NEED AND BEING, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTIVE OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S INITIATIVES TO DO SAMPLING, UM, WHICH ISN'T REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE GENERALLY DO. AND, YOU KNOW, JUST THE VISION THAT YOU'VE HAD TO, TO SEE US THIS FAR, AND WE SO WANT TO, UM, FOLLOW THROUGH ON YOUR VISION IN THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS. . SO THE ROUND IS, THE ROUND IS IS THAT, UM, COMMUNITY, UM, THEY CAN RAISE THEIR VOICES. NUMBER ONE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU'RE NOT FEELING WELL, OKAY? THEY KNOW WHEN SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT. BUT THEY CANNOT BE LEFT TO CHAMPION THE, THE FIGHT BY THEMSELVES. RIGHT. AND OUR ATTITUDE IS THAT THESE ARE HOUSTONIANS, OUR RESOURCES ARE FOR THEM. WE OUGHT TO BE THEIR LAWYERS. WE OUGHT TO BE THEIR ADVOCATES. WE OUGHT TO BE THEIR CHAMPIONS. UM, AND IF WE DON'T UTILIZE OUR RESOURCES ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE THAT, UM, THAT WE REPRESENT, THEN WE HAVE BETRAYED THEM. THE OTHER ELEMENT, AND, AND WHERE I AM, AND I THINK I SAID THIS TO DR. N AND ADMINISTRATOR, RAVEN AND OTHERS, IS THAT, UM, MY TIME IS [00:25:01] LIMITED. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO MOVE WITH THE GREATEST DEGREE OF HAS, I DON'T KNOW WHO THE NEXT MAYOR IS GOING TO BE. I KNOW WHO'S THE MAYOR NOW. AND SO WE'VE GOT TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN, UH, TO ADVANCE THIS AGENDA, UH, OVER THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS. AND EVERYBODY, ALL MY DIRECTORS IN HERE, THEY, THEY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT, HOW ABOUT IT. BUT, UH, COMMUNITIES IN THIS CITY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR DECADES AND FOR DECADES, AND FOR DECADES. UM, YOU KNOW, YEAH. WE HAVE TO COME THROUGH AND WE HAVE TO MOVE WITH THE GREAT DEGREE OF URGENCY. VERY GOOD. THAT'S TRUE. YEAH. I JUST WANNA ADD ONE MORE THING TO THAT, BECAUSE THE SITE IS, YOU KNOW, UH, SO, UM, IM, I IMPORTANT AND WE SPEND, UM, A LOT OF TIME ON IT THESE DAYS. UM, I REMEMBER A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH YOU AND DIRECTOR WILLIAMS WAS THERE, AND I WAS, IT WAS EARLY ON, MAYBE IN, UH, 2019, AND I WAS EXPLAINING TO YOU, IT'S LIKE, WELL, THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD SITE IS REALLY THE JURISDICTION OF THE TCEQ. IT'S NOT OUR JURISDICTION. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE BECAUSE WE, IT'S NOT OUR JURISDICTION. AND THE MAYOR TURNED TO ME AND SAID, THEY LIVE IN HOUSTON. IT'S OUR JURISDICTION, . AND SO I WAS LIKE, OKAY, MY MARCHING QUARTER. SO, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY INNOVATION, YOU KNOW, IT, IT REALLY, REALLY LEGALLY, AS YOU SAY, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH CONTROL, BUT WE SURE MADE AN, UM, UH, HEADWAY THERE. SO, AND I, SO NOW I THINK WE SHOULD TURN TO A, A, A DIFFERENT TOPIC THAT THAT'S ALSO, UM, A LITTLE, UM, SOMETHING, UH, REAL HOPEFUL TOO. AND THAT IS OUR BROWNFIELD PROGRAM. WE'VE HAD BROWNFIELDS GRANTS FROM, UM, THE EPA, UH, FOR, FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND WE'VE DONE, UM, SO MANY THINGS WITH THEM. BUT, UM, SO DR. NANCE, DO YOU WANNA DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EPAS BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM, UM, AND HOW IT HELPS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO WORK ON THESE? YEAH. THE EPAS ROLE IN THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM, UM, IS TO CHANNEL MONEY TO LOCAL DEVELOPERS AND TO CITIES. UM, AND VERY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY HAPPY THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY THE AMOUNT OF MONEY AVAILABLE IN THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM. AND WE'RE JUST SO PROUD TO BE ABLE TO CHANNEL THAT MONEY TO THE CITY AND TO THE IMPORTANT PROJECTS THAT THE MAYOR HAS WITH THAT MONEY. SO OUR, OUR ROLE IS REALLY MORE OF A PASS THROUGH. WE ALSO HAVE TRAINING. WE CAN TRAIN COMMUNITIES. WE CAN TRAIN, UH, FOLKS WHO HAVE BROWNFIELD ON HOW TO UTILIZE IT. UM, SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF TRAINING. WE PUT ON A BROWNFIELDS CONFERENCE EVERY YEAR, UM, WHERE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES COME TO LEARN MORE. UM, IT'S PRETTY EXCITING. LAST YEAR'S WAS LIKE THE BEST EVER AND WAS GLAD REGION SIX HOSTED IT, SO THAT WAS GREAT, YOU KNOW, BUT THE REAL EXCITEMENT ABOUT BROWNFIELDS IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND. SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL PROBABLY PASS THAT TO THE MAYOR, BECAUSE HE'S GOT SOME PRETTY GOOD PRO PROJECTS HAPPENING IN THIS, IN THIS CITY THAT ARE FUNDED. SO, WELL, ST. ELIZABETH BEEN WON. YEAH. BECAUSE ST. ELIZABETH RECEIVED ABOUT 31, 30 $2 MILLION OF THAT. AND, UM, WE BROUGHT THAT BACK ONLINE. SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT IS A MAJOR ONE. MM-HMM . UM, ONE THAT WE ARE, WE ARE WORKING WITH NOW IS, THAT'S IN THE SUNNYSIDE AREA. THE LANDFILL THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THERE WAS 240 CONTAMINATED ACRES. AND, UM, BY THE FIRST OR SECOND QUARTER IN 2024, NEXT YEAR, UH, WE WILL, THE CITY WILL HAVE TURNED THAT INTO THE LARGEST URBAN SOLAR FARM IN THE COUNTRY. WOW. . SO I'M VERY MUCH, I'M VERY MUCH PROUD OF THAT. UM, IT'LL MOVE, IT'LL MOVE ANNUALLY, ABOUT 120 MILLION, UH, POUNDS OF EMISSIONS OUT OF THE AIR, ENOUGH POWER TO POWER FIVE, 10,000 HOMES. IT'S EQUIVALENT OF A $70 MILLION INVESTMENT IN SUNNYSIDE, CREATE A LOT OF, UH, JOBS, GREEN JOBS IN THAT COMMUNITY, AND THEN, UH, HOPEFULLY WILL BE A CATALYST FOR OTHER INVESTMENTS. MM-HMM . BUT THOSE ARE, I, I DO, I CERTAINLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS PROGRAM AND OTHERS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN GRANTS ARE BEING PROVIDED DIRECTLY TO THE CITIES. YES. MM-HMM . YES. THAT'S WHEN THEY WORK AT THEIR BEST NOW DOLLARS THAT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE STATE TO THEN COME TO THE CITY IS A HUGE PROBLEM, BECAUSE THOSE DOLLARS DON'T GET THERE. SO, BUT, BUT WHERE THERE ARE GRANTS COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE FEDERAL AGENCY DIRECTLY TO THE LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT, SO THEY CAN BE SPENT FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE TO ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC NEEDS IN THESE COMMUNITIES, THEN YOU SEE THE TANGIBLE RESULTS. UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY MESSAGE, MY MESSAGE TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT [00:30:01] IS THAT THEY JUST NEED TO CHANGE THE PARADIGM MM-HMM . ON HOW THESE BIG DOLLARS ARE AWARDED. WHY WOULD YOU, WHY SEND DOLLARS TO, TO, TO, UM, HOSTILE TERRITORY AND EXPECT IT TO GET AND, AND EXPECT IT TO GET TO YOUR POINT OF NEED? ? I MEAN, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, AS WE SPEAK, THE LEGISLATURE IS DEBATING ON A BILL, THE SU THE SUPER PREEMPTION BILL THAT TAKES AUTHORITY AWAY FROM CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WHEN IT COMES TO LABOR INSURANCE, HEALTHCARE, PERMITTING, YOU NAME IT. AND THE AUTHOR IS NOT ACCEPTING ANY AMENDMENTS. SO WHEN THERE IS A SUPER PREEMPTION BILL, AND IF THE FEDS SEND DOLLARS TO THIS ENTITY, ENGAGE IN HOSTILITY WITH THE CITIES, THEN HOW DO YOU MEET THE NEEDS OF THESE COMMUNITIES? MM-HMM . IT IS JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN. WHICH MEANS YOU'RE, YOU'RE GIVING, AS MY MOM WOULD SAY, YOU'RE FATING FROGS FOR SNAKES. AND WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT, YOU ARE GIVING THE GOODIES TO THE FROGS TO BE EATEN UP BY THE SNAKES, AND IT DOESN'T GET TO THE NEED. IT'S JUST YOU'RE FAT AND FROGS ARE SNAKES. IT IS, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK. AND, UH, SO ANYWAY, I CAN GO ON AND ON AND ON. BUT WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT THESE AREAS THAT ARE IN NEED, COMMUNITIES IN NEED, THE CITY IS STILL WAITING ON, UH, $1, THE $4.3 BILLION GIVEN TO HUD FOR THESE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN THE CITY WHERE HUD SAID, THESE COMMUNITIES, THE, THE STATE, UM, DISCRIMINATED AGAINST COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, AND THAT WAS FROM HARVEY. AND WE'RE STILL WAITING 4.3 BILLION. RIGHT. CITY HAS GOTTEN ZERO. I REMEMBER THAT. YEAH. AND I, I'M GONNA KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE, UH, JUST LIKE TODAY IN THE COMMUNITY SESSION, WE HAD PEOPLE FROM NORTHEAST COMING BEFORE ME SAYING, MAYOR, WE NEED MORE DOLLARS, MORE INVESTMENTS ON DRAINAGE AND IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR AREA. I COULD NOT DISAGREE WITH THEM MORE MM-HMM . BUT THE DOLLARS NEEDED FOR THAT AREA ARE AT THE STATE LEVEL. YEAH. AND WHENEVER, WHENEVER, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH BRENNA, WHEN BRENNA GETS MORE MONEY THAN HOUSTON, YEAH. SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THAT. AND BRENHAM IS . BRENHAM IS THIS BIG. NOW, I CAN TALK ABOUT BRENNA AND CHAPEL HILL, BECAUSE MY PARENTS COME FROM BRENHAM AND CHAPEL HILL, , BUT I DRIVE THROUGH BRENNA IN TWO, IN ONE IN ONE MINUTE. BUT I'VE NEVER HEARD OF BRENNA. YOU NEVER HEARD OF BRENNER? NO. WELL, DON'T TAKE A NAP. , YOU TAKE A NAP, YOU WON'T SEE BRENNA. BUT THE POINT IS, BUT THE POINT IS, BRENHAM RECEIVE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE DOLLARS THAN THE ENTIRE CITY OF HOUSTON. SO HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I GUESS THE POINT THAT I WANNA MAKE, THERE ARE TREMENDOUS HISTORICAL NEEDS IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE ENDURED A DISPROPORTIONAL IMPACT. WELL, WHEN FRIENDS GET AN OPPORTUNITY, OR WHEN POLICY MAKERS RECOGNIZING WHAT THE NEED IS ON THE GROUND, AND THEY START SENDING THE DOLLARS, DON'T EXPECT THE DOLLARS WHEN YOU SEND THEM INTO HOSTILE TERRITORY TO WAIT, MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE NEED. IT'S JUST MM-HMM . IT'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN. SO ANYWAY, THAT'S A, THAT'S AN ASIDE. I, IT'S NOT REALLY AN ASIDE, BECAUSE THE NEXT THING THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS, UM, THE, UH, BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW AND, UH, JUSTICE 40 AND THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT. AND, UH, SO DR. NANCE, UM, CAN YOU TELL US, UH, MORE ABOUT JUSTICE 40, HOW IT CAME TO BE, AND THE VISION BEHIND IT? I'M SURE SHE'LL BE GLAD TO TALK ABOUT JUSTICE 40 . I THINK IT'S GONNA, HOUSTON. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THIS, THIS COMES OUT OF PRESIDENT BIDEN'S, UM, TWO, TWO LAWS THAT WERE PASSED WITH CONGRESS. UM, THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW AND THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT. THESE ARE KNOWN AS BILL BIL AND IRA IRA. AND ALONG WITH THAT, HE, HE APPOINTED THE, THE COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, WHICH IS PART OF THE WHITE HOUSE TO DEFINE WHAT A DISADVANTAGED [00:35:01] COMMUNITY IS. AND SO IT'S DEFINED, THERE'S A WAY OF MAPPING IT ON THE WEBSITE AND EVERYTHING. AND 40% OF THE BILL AND IRA MONEY HAS TO GO TO THOSE DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES THAT IS WRITTEN INTO THE LAW. SO THIS, THAT, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS, UH, AND USUALLY THAT'S NOT DONE. USUALLY IT'S WHAT THE MARRIAGE HAS TOLD YOU. IT'S NOT WRITTEN DOWN THAT A A COMMUNITY HAS TO GET IT. AND SO THIS, THIS IS TREMENDOUS. AND SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY. UM, SOME OF THIS MONEY FROM THE BILL LAW HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED. SO FOR EXAMPLE, HOUSTON RECEIVED 25 CLEAN SCHOOL BUSES, UM, AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF RECEIVING THOSE BUSES FROM THAT MONEY. RIGHT? SO THAT'S A CLIMATE, UH, IMPROVEMENT THERE, RIGHT? AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENT THAT THE CHILDREN ARE IN ON THE BUS. IT'S QUIETER, THERE'S LESS FUMES, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A WIN-WIN. UM, BUT MUCH OF THAT MONEY IS STILL IN PROCESS. UM, SOME OF THAT MONEY GOES DIRECTLY TO STATES TO PAY FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE. AND YOU MIGHT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU THINK BACK OVER THE YEARS, UM, THERE HASN'T BEEN ENOUGH MONEY FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN MANY CITIES. THEIR WATER PIPES PUMPS, TREATMENT PLANTS ARE FALLING APART. UM, AND SO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BILL INITIATIVE IS, IS THE LARGEST EVER THAT HAS EVER BEEN SPENT ON THIS EVER. SO THIS IS, THIS IS HELPING THE STATES TO GET MONEY. IT'S ALSO SOME OF IT GOING DIRECTLY TO CITIES AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND, AND OTHER, NOT JUST STATES. UM, THE OTHER ONE IS THE, UM, INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, THE IRON MONEY. AND THIS IS GONNA BE PAYING FOR THINGS LIKE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION, CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, BROWNFIELD, SOME OF THAT BROWNFIELD'S MONEY ACTUALLY CAME FROM THERE, IS GOING, GOING TO CITIES. SO, UM, THAT MONEY HASN'T ACTUALLY, LIKE, BEEN RECEIVED. A LOT OF THAT HASN'T BEEN RECEIVED YET. AND SO I'VE ASKED MY STAFF TO PUT TOGETHER A DASHBOARD SO THAT I'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHO'S, WHAT COMMUNITIES ARE GETTING THE MONEY, WHAT IS THE PIPELINE OF MONEY, WHO'S GETTING IT, WHAT ARE THEY GETTING IT FOR? AND SO THIS IS TREMENDOUS. THIS IS IN THE MULTIPLE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. AND SO, UM, I'M GOING, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA BE MAKING THAT AVAILABLE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY GOING TO MY WEBSITE CAN SEE, OKAY, THEY'RE SPENDING THE MONEY. HERE'S WHO'S GETTING IT, HERE'S HOW IT'S GOING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. SO, SO THAT'S HOW, THAT'S OUR ROLE IN THIS. YEAH. SO I THINK, UM, THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND HOW THAT MONEY IS SPENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. MM-HMM . AND ACTUALLY MAYOR TERRY, YOU, YOU, YOU KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, BUT CAN YOU EXPAND ON HOW, UM, UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON WILL USE THE JUSTICE 40 INITIATIVE AND THE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS ON EDUCATION AND, UM, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, MAYBE AROUND THE SOLAR? YEAH, THERE'S THE DOLLARS, FOR EXAMPLE. UM, IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION FOR WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WHAT I LIKE NUMBER ONE IS $369 BILLION WORTH. IT IS HISTORIC TRANSFORMATIONAL FUNDING. IT IS SUBSTANTIVE FUNDING, MORE FUNDING THAN, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH, WITH REGARDS TO, UH, CLIMATE, CLIMATE MITIGATION, UH, RESILIENCE THAN HAS EVER BEEN ALLOCATED. SO THAT'S HUGE. AND SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THE BILL, THERE ARE DOLLARS FOR, UH, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES, WHICH IS HUGE. AND SO IT'S ONE THING TO TELL FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, POOR FAMILIES, UH, YOU NEED TO ENGAGE IN ANY ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND IT'LL LOWER YOUR UTILITY BILLS. WELL, THAT'S FINE IF YOU GOT THE MONEY TO ENGAGE IN THOSE SORT OF, UH, ELEMENTS. BUT IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, UH, THERE ARE DOLLARS FOR LOW AND, AND MODERATE INCOME FA FAMILIES SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO THEM INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS, THEIR MONEY FOR, UH, LET'S SAY ELECTRIC VEHICLES. AND THEN FOR MANY CASES, MANY PEOPLE BUY SECOND HAND, YOU KNOW, USED VEHICLES. THEY'RE EVEN DOLLARS IN THERE FOR THAT 4,500, I BELIEVE, FOR, FOR, FOR THE USED 7,500, UH, FOR THE NEW ONES I TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE SUNNYSIDE SOLAR FARM. UH, WHAT DR. BULLOCK WOULD TELL YOU IS THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN JUST ONE LANDFILL. UH, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. THERE ARE MANY , AND JUST LIKE WE ARE, WE ARE RE IMAGINING, UH, THIS LANDFILL IN SUNNYSIDE AND TURNING INTO THIS SOLAR FARM. THERE ARE DOLLARS IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT FOR OTHER COMMUNITY TYPE GRIDS, WHICH I FIND EXCITING AND GIVE CITIES SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL OPTIONS AND SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE. AND SO WE WANT TO TAP IN, TAP INTO, UH, UH, INTO THAT AREA, UH, FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UH, APPLIANCES AND OTHER NEEDS. THERE, THERE ARE DOLLARS IN THAT, IN THE, IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION. AND THEN WHEN YOU COMBINE THE, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WITH IRA AND WHAT THE, AND WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE LOOKING FOR, THEY'RE NOT JUST LOOKING FOR YOU JUST GIMME ONE SORT OF PROJECT THAT FITS THIS NEED, YOU'LL FALL SHORT. YOU WON'T SCORE AS HIGH WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. GIVE US PROJECT THAT, UM, [00:40:01] BIGGER, MORE TRANSFORMATIONAL THAT FACTOR IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN WHERE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN DEALS, INVESTMENTS. MM-HMM . SO TELL US HOW THESE COMMUNITIES ARE GOING TO IMPROVE IF WE GIVE YOU THIS. MM-HMM. AND QUITE FRANKLY, IN MANY CASES, THEY'LL RATHER GIVE YOU THE BIGGER AMOUNT WHEN YOU'RE FACTORING IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED THAN TO GIVE YOU A SMALL AMOUNT AND YOU JUST FOCUSING ON A LITTLE POCKET. MM-HMM . THAT'S WHAT I FIND EXCITING. AND SO ALREADY FROM THE, IN, FROM THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL YES. DOLLARS FOR ELECTRIC BUSES, UM, TELEPHONE ROAD. AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY CAROL IS HERE, YEAH. I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS WHY PUBLIC WORKS WAS SO INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING THOSE DOLLARS FOR TELEPHONE ROAD AND THOSE IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED IN MANY WAYS, OVERLOOKED. AND SO WE TIED THEM IN THIS AND THAT ANOTHER AREA, ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE, WE GOT DOLLARS FROM THAT 27 28 MIL. AGAIN, BECAUSE WE FACTORED IN THE EQUITY PORTION, PORTION, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES WHEN EQUITY CAN BE A WINNER IN TERMS OF DRAWING DOWN MONIES. SO I GIVE THE BIDEN, UH, HARRIS ADMINISTRATION A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT, UH, FOR THESE TWO BILLS IF USED IN A VERY STRATEGIC WAY. AND IF THOSE OF US LOCALLY DON'T THINK TOO SMALL, BUT THINK IN THE, IN BIGGER, BOLDER TERMS AND MAKE THE ASS, THEN I THINK WE CAN TAKE, WE CAN TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE. NOW, THAT'S THE GOOD PART, , BUT A LOT OF THESE DOLLARS ARE FULL AND STILL THROUGH THE STATE. YEAH. THE SRF MONEY IS THROUGH THE STATE. HUH? THE SRF FUNDS ARE THROUGH THE STATE. YEAH. YEAH. I, I JUST DON'T HAVE WORDS HMM. THAT I CAN, THAT I CAN USE HERE. I MEAN, I I WENT TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY AND I'M STILL FEEL FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST. SO, BUT WHEN, BUT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU SEND A HOUSTON CHUNK OF THOSE DOLLARS TO THE STATE, THE STATE USES THEM FOR THEIR PURPOSES AND NOT NECESSARILY FOR THE COMMUNITY PURPOSES. UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE DOWNSIDE. UM, BUT HAVING SAID THAT, UH, THESE TWO BILLS THE PART, WELL, REALLY IT IS THE BIPARTISAN BILL, INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, IT'S THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, AND IT'S THE CHIP BILL THAT'S BEEN THROWN IN. MM. NOW LEMME SAY SOMETHING QUICKLY ABOUT THE CHIP BILL, SINCE I HAVE AN AUDIENCE, AND HOPEFULLY UT AND A AND M HAVE COMBINED BECAUSE THEY WANT THIS $2 BILLION CHIP HUB IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. HMM. AS MUCH AS I LOVE TEXAS, WHEN THE STATE IS MOVING AWAY FROM DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, WHEN A AND M AND UT HAVE STEPPED AWAY FROM DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, IF JUSTICE 40 HAS ANY EQUITY, YOU DO NOT REWARD PEOPLE FOR STEPPING AWAY FROM DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION AND GIVE THEM A $2 BILLION CUT. LET SAY THIS NOW, AND LET ME SAY THIS TO THE STATE OF TEXAS TODAY, YOU ARE, THEY'RE VOTING TO PREEMPT CITIES. DON'T YOU DARE THINK THAT YOU CAN PREEMPT CITIES AND CITIES NOT FIND THEIR WAY TO DC AND SAY TO THE BIDEN HARRIS ADMINISTRATION, IF YOU REWARD THE STATE OF TEXAS FROM STEPPING AWAY FROM DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, THEN YOU ARE FATING FROGS FOR SNAKES. THANK YOU. THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO BRING THESE STATES IN LINE. AND SO I SAY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND A AND M, IF YOU WANNA DO THAT, THEN DO NOT EXPECT TO BE REWARDED WITH A $2 BILLION HUB. THAT WOULD BE MY POSITION. AND THAT'S THE POSITION THAT I'M TAKING, UH, WITH, WITH THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. UM, OTHERWISE, EXPLAIN TO YOUR PEOPLE OF COLOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW, IF YOU WANT TO GIVE MONEY TO PRAIRIE VIEW AND TEXAS SOUTHERN AND THOSE OTHERS, HEY, I'M ALL WITH YOU. PUT A $2 BILLION, UH, HUB ON THE CAMPUS OF TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY RIGHT NOW. IF YOU WANNA SEE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE, , YOU PUT A $2 BILLION HUB ON THE CANVAS OF TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. I TELL YOU [00:45:01] NOW, THAT'D BE MAKING A STATEMENT, , AND GOD WOULD BE SMILING. SO ANYWAY, I HAD TO, I HAD TO, I HAD TO SHOW THAT IDEA. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO LIKE, YEP. UM, SO I JUST, ONE LAST THING I THINK, UM, BEFORE WE WRAP UP AND HEAD TO OUR HAPPY HOUR, THAT'S, UH, AT FIVE O'CLOCK TODAY. UM, DR. NANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE TAUGHT HERE, YOU'VE LIVED HERE, YOU'VE SEEN, UH, THE REGION. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A, A SITE THAT HAS CUMULATIVE IMPACTS. UM, YOU ARE PRIVY TO ALL THAT'S GOING ON WITH EPA. CAN YOU JUST GIVE US LIKE A, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM OF SEEING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HERE IN HOUSTON? WELL, THANK YOU. UM, SO, SO THE TRANSFORMATION THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, UM, IT, IT TAKES A LEVEL OF LEADERSHIP THAT, UM, REALLY IS BEYOND THE NORM. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED, MY FIRST COMMENTS HAD TO DO WITH HOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF THE LAWS TO BE FOLLOWED AND FOR THERE STILL TO BE EVERY YEAR MORE AND MORE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES BEING CREATED, AND YET THE LAWS COULD BE FOLLOWED. SO, SO IT TAKES SOMEONE DOING MORE THAN WHAT'S REQUIRED IN ORDER TO CREATE A SITUATION OF JUSTICE. AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING EVERY DAY AT WORK. WHEN I GO TO WORK, I'M STEPPING OUTSIDE THE NORM AND DOING MORE THAN THAT, AND, AND I'M ACTUALLY TRYING TO INSPIRE THE STAFF TO DO THE SAME THING. UM, I WORK WITH A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THAT. UM, THE MORE PEOPLE WE CAN GET TO DO THAT, I THINK THE BETTER THINGS WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, IF WE HAVEN'T CREATED NEW LAWS, THEN WE HAVE TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO PUSH IN THAT SAME DIRECTION OF PROTECTION. WHAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY ASKING FOR IS PROTECTION, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. RIGHT? I MEAN, YES, WE HAVE TO GO TO ALL THESE MEETINGS CONSTANTLY SO THAT WE CAN BUILD, YOU KNOW, BUILD THAT POWER AND HAVE THAT VOICE. UM, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF PROTECTION THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THAT. YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, PUSHING FOR THAT PROTECTION MEANS INFLUENCING THE ANALYSIS THAT WE'RE DOING, IN ADDITION TO GETTING, GIVING PEOPLE THAT VOICE AND ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, TO BE HEARD. BUT WHOEVER'S IN THE BACK DOING THE MATH, THEY HAVE TO BE THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX TOO, AND CREATING THE PROTECTION. AND SO IT'S THOSE TWO THINGS. IT'S, IT'S REALLY KIND OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP COMBINED WITH BETTER PROTECTION AND ANALYSIS THAT GOES INTO THAT PROTECTION. THOSE ARE MY TWO FOCAL POINTS IN TERMS OF TRYING TO BRING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INTO REALITY IN REGION SIX. OKAY. SO, UM, JUST TO WRAPPING UP HERE, I WANT, I WANNA SAY, UM, UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S A LOVELY VISION. I THINK THAT WE, UM, HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM THAT THINK OUT OF THE BOX, AND THEN WE'LL KEEP PUSHING. WE HAVE A MAYOR THAT CLEARLY HAS, HAS DONE THAT FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND EVERYONE ELSE IN LEADING THESE THINGS. UM, AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE RECOGNIZED TO, IN THE PAST TWO DAYS, WE'VE RECOGNIZED, UM, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES AND WE STILL FEEL HOPE AND WE'RE MOVING A LOT IN THAT DIRECTION OF TRYING TO, TO REMEDY THAT. AND OVERWHELMING TASKS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT POLLUTION, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, EXISTING PROBLEMS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO PREVENT PROBLEMS, UM, WITH CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS AND LEGISLATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND, AND SO MY LAST QUESTION TO YOU, MAYOR, IS WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MESSAGE OF NEW BUSINESSES MOVING HERE? HOW WOULD YOU, UH, ADVISE THEM TO COME TO HOUSTON? AND HOW DO WE BALANCE GROWTH AND, AND KEEPING THINGS GREEN HERE? AND, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME LOOK. UM, WE DON'T WANT TO GOVERN TWO CITIES IN ONE CITIES OF HAVE AND HAVE NOTS. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE AT THE TOP OF ALL OF OUR MINDS. WE DON'T, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VISION THAT I HAVE IS THAT, UM, WHEREVER YOU DECIDE TO LIVE IN THIS CITY, IT'S A, IT IS A, IT IS A NEIGHBORHOOD OF, OF HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY AND PROMISE. WHETHER QUALITY OF LIFE IS GOOD, REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE. IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, UM, ON THE NORTH SIDE, NORTHEAST, IT'S YOU, YOU CONCLUDE, HEY, THIS IS A FINE COMMUNITY AND MY, THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THIS COMMUNITY IS GOOD FOR MY FAMILY AND FOR MY KIDS. IF YOU DECIDE TO GO ON THE SOUTH SIDE, ON THE WEST SIDE, YOU CAN'T DO THE SAME. AND THE HOPE IS THAT YOU CAN SAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD I'M IN, I'M GONNA BREATHE GOOD AIR. I'M GONNA DRINK GOOD WATER. UH, AND THE SOIL IS NOT GOING TO BE CONTAMINATED. THAT'S, THAT'S THE [00:50:01] HOPE. THAT'S, THAT'S HOW I LOOK AT, AT, AT THINGS. UM, AND IN SO DOING, I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL. I AGREE WITH DR. NANCE. IT'S NOT ALWAYS JUST ABOUT THE LAWS, IT'S THE POLICIES AND, UH, THE PRACTICES THAT YOU PUT IN PLACE, HOW YOU SERVICE THE VARIOUS COMMUNITIES. UM, AND REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU WANT QUALITY PARKS AND GREEN SPACE. MM-HMM . OKAY. UM, YOU WANT YOUR LIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO TURN ON WHEN YOU TURN 'EM WITH THE FAUCET, YOU WANT THE WATER TO BE GOOD. AND WHEN YOUR KIDS GO OUT AND PLAY, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT A SEMEN CRUSHING PLANT. OR AS DR. BULL SAID EARLIER, YOU DON'T WANNA LOOK OUT AND SEE THIS LANDFILL THAT'S TALLER THAN YOUR, THAN YOUR HOME. UM, THOSE, THOSE, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO, THAT'S, THAT'S MY VISION OF, OF THIS CITY. WE GOT, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, UM, BEFORE WE REACH THAT POINT. UH, BUT I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN GROW AND DEVELOP WHILE AT THE SAME TIME OF BRINGING COMMUNITIES FORWARD. MM-HMM . UM, BUT WE HAVE TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ON THAT. AND WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE TOO, THAT NO MATTER WHAT COMMUNITY I AM IN, IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF THAT COMMUNITY, UH, THAT, THAT QUALITY IS, UM, JUST BECAUSE I'M OVER HERE DOESN'T MEAN THAT I, I CAN'T IGNORE WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I SEE IT, LEADERSHIP MATTERS. MM-HMM . AND LEADERSHIP THAT'S SENSITIVE TO IT MATTERS. IT IS NOT GOING TO BE ADDRESSED, UH, IN THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS. UM, UH, WITH ME BEING AT MAYOR, THIS IS, IT IS A LONG DISTANCE RACE. AND SO YOU GOT, YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP, YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP MOVING, MOVING FORWARD. BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, I'M OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WHAT I SEE. I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE FOR BEING HERE ON A TUESDAY AFTERNOON, UH, SITTING IN THESE CHAIRS, AND WHEN THE PANEL DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN FOR TWO DAYS, UH, FROM NINE TO FIVE. SO LET ME THANK ALL OF YOU, UH, FOR BEING HERE AND THE SPEAKERS, AND YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING AND YOU'VE BEEN ATTENTIVE. I, I CERTAINLY WANT TO THANK THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS EVENT, UH, FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN. THAT THIS IS WHAT ENCOURAGES ME. YOU KNOW, I GET INSPIRED, UH, BY SITTING AND LISTENING TO OTHERS AND EVEN CHAMPIONS IN THIS GAME. AND I DON'T, I DON'T CARE WHO, WHO YOU ARE EVEN CHAMPIONS IN THIS GAME EVERY NOW AND THEN, HAVE TO COME TO THE CAMP OUT. AND WHAT I, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT, YOU CAN BE CHAMPIONS IN THE GAME AND YOU CAN GET TIRED AND YOU CAN BE SOME FRUSTRATED. UH, SO EVERY NOW AND THEN CHAMPIONS IN THE GAME HAVE TO COME AND GET WARMED UP BY THE CHARCOAL NEXT TO YOU, NICE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I CAN WALK IN AND I MAY NOT, I MAY NOT FEEL, UM, SO UP FOR IT. QUITE FRANKLY, TODAY, WHEN I CAME IN TODAY, UH, I, I, I TOLD MARETTE , NOW I'M NOT COMING OVER HERE TO SAY MUCH TODAY. NOW , UM, YOU KNOW, I'M KIND OF, I'M KIND OF TIRED, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I GOT THESE STITCHES IN MY JAW IN THIS PROCEDURE. SO, AND THEN YOU COME AND YOU SIT AND YOU LISTEN AND YOU LOOK OUT AND YOU SEE EVERYBODY ELSE, AND HELL, THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING MORE THAN YOU AIN'T PLANNING ON TALKING . SO, I MEAN, BUT THAT'S THE NATURE OF THE FIGHT, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TO KEEP, WE HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTING. WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP GOING BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE DEPENDING ON US, ESPECIALLY OUR KIDS. IT'S OUR KIDS. THEY ARE DEPENDING ON US. AND THIS IS A BATTLE THAT WE SHOULD NOT PASS TO THEM. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. THIS IS A BATTLE. WE SHOULD NOT PASS TO THEM. THEY DIDN'T CREATE THE PROBLEM. IF ANYTHING, THEY ARE WALKING, BEING BIRTHED INTO IT. BUT THIS IS A BATTLE THAT WE NEED TO FIGHT ON OUR WATCH. AND SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. SEE YOU TOMORROW AT THE FESTIVAL. THAT'S, AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE, YOU KNOW WHEN PARKS IS BUILDING THIS BIG, UH, TREE FOREST . SO IF IT RAINS, IT'S A RAINFOREST. . . THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.