Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance Inc.

“No review was or will be conducted.”

“The officers and board members annually sign a "conflict of interest discl osure form" disclosing any conflicts of interest or stating that no confli cts exist.”

“The board of directors approves the executive director's salary through pe rformance assessments and approval of the annual budget.”

“The governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial stateme nts are made available to the public upon request.”

“The greater edwards aquifer alliance (geaa) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote effective broad based grassroots advocacy for aquifer protection throughout the twenty-one county edwards region, uniting fifty-one member organizations in support of a comprehensive plan to protect the edwards and trinity aquifer watersheds.”

“And other professionals committed to sustainable land and water use practices in the edwards aquifer region. Geaa publishes and distributes informational materials that beautifully illustrate the workings of our karst aquifer and what needs to be done to make sure that the edwards will be a clean and reliable source of water for future generations. We disseminate information about aquifer protection at public events throughout the region- from tractor pulls to earth day events. Geaa maintains a website, communicates through e-mail with a vast network that reaches approximately 25,000 individuals, and regularly works with the press and media to highlight issues of concern and solutions to common problems. Geaa staff is regularly invited to speak at meetings and informational forums. Our goal is to present to no fewer than twenty organizations each year; we have exceeded this goal each year since 2004. Geaa staff solicits and recruits additional geaa individual members and member groups, working to build consensus behind measures to preserve our water supply and the texas hill country. In this way, geaa educates thousands of people from all walks of life about what they can do to preserve the edwards aquifer. Key to protection of the edwards aquifer ecosystem is the cultivation of a population that is aware of these threats to their water supply, is prepared to advocate for specific measures to protect the aquifer, and will contribute support for these efforts. We were honored to receive the 2006 envision central texas community stewardship award for raising public awareness, and to be recognized for excellence by save barton springs association, lone star sierra club, and others. Our goals and objectives: "to produce and distribute educational materials that will assist public and private sector decision makers to take actions to protect and sustain the quality and quantity of edwards aquifer flows. "to expand and aid the coordination of existing public interest advocacy for sustainable water and land use practices in the greater edwards aquifer region."to catalyze much greater investment by private non-profit and for- profit organizations, government agencies, and individuals in edwards aquifer watershed preservation and sustainable water and land-use practices. To achieve these goals, we have initiated the following projects :capacity building - geaa staff provides member organizations with legal, technical, public relations and publicity, fundraising and administrative advice and services, as well as with financial support for specific projects that further the implementation of the edwards aquifer protection plan. Geaa hosts a retreat each year to engage representatives of all member organizations in setting policy, initiating new programs, and allocating resources. Geaa also presents workshops featuring experts in the fields of public relations, organizing, fundraising and campaigning, as well as presentations by government and elected officials and community activists, for the benefit of geaa member groups and the public at large. Public comment and ad hoc issues - geaa receives requests for technical assistance on a regular basis on a wide variety of issues from individual landowners, regional municipalities, and governmental agencies soliciting public comment on programs and policies relating to the region's ground and surface water systems. The expertise of our technical staff is critical to expanding our capacity to promote adequate protection of our water resources and is essential to accomplishing our goals. We rely upon the largess of several experts who have volunteered their time and the benefit of their expertise as needed on specific projects. Because of the recognized excellence of our work, geaa is regularly called upon to research specific issues and projects, to comment on proposed projects, rules and programs, and to generate policy and regulatory recommendations and remedies. Geaa provides practical guida”

“Aquiferthe agencies tasked with oversight of water quality of the edward aquifer, most notably the tceq and the edwards aquifer authority (eaa) rely on the use of stormwater management as the chief strategy for protecting water quality of the edwards aquifer. Measures to address the quality of stormwater infiltrating the edwards, however, provide no protection from the introduction of subsurface pollution of the aquifer from human sewage, which becomes particularly problematic with increased high density residential development of the edwards aquifer recharge zone. The geaa technical team, with the help of student interns from trinity university, texas state university, and our lady of the lake university, is currently researching the impact of on site sewage facilities (septic tanks) vs centralized sewage systems on the edwards aquifer recharge zone. Our goal is to produce a white paper that will examine all aspects of regulation of sewage within the edwards aquifer recharge zone, including an overview and assessment of current regulatory and agency practices, recommendations for improvements, and estimates of leakage that might determine which method of sewage disposal poses the greatest threat to the edwards aquifer.”

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