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Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
An environmental nonprofit has released an analysis of first-of-its-kind air monitoring data that shows benzene levels at 10 U.S. petroleum refineries exceeded limits established in an Obama-era environmental regulation. Six are in Texas. Full Story
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After the federal government required TPC Group to install air monitors at its Port Neches plant, the company detected a significant increase in the number and size of butadiene emissions in the months leading up to multiple blasts at the plant on Nov. 27. Full Story
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The Texas Oil and Gas Association reported that companies paid a record level of taxes and state royalties last year amid a historic oil boom. But association President Todd Staples said that continued growth is not guaranteed. Full Story
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The environmental group is trying to obtain documents showing how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality arrived at a decision on increasing emissions limits for a toxic chemical. Full Story
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In a surprising vote, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rejected a staff-proposed penalty against TPC Group's Port Neches chemical plant — which was rocked by explosions last month — for a slew of 2018 pollution violations and asked that they be referred to the Texas Attorney General's Office. Full Story
During Hurricane Harvey, thousands of properties behind two federally owned reservoirs flooded. On Tuesday, the United States Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government was liable for the flooding and that property owners are eligible for damages. Full Story
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General found that state and federal environmental regulators didn't start monitoring air quality soon enough during the monster storm, which brought a spike in hazardous emissions from industrial facilities. Full Story
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After recommending Wednesday night that residents leave the area, Jefferson County officials have told residents it's safe to return home. Full Story
An analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project found that 30 states have cut funding to environmental agencies over the past decade. In Texas, lawmakers slashed spending by more than a third between 2008 and 2018. Full Story
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U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt approved the settlement agreement between a scrappy environmental coalition and plastics giant Formosa. The settlement is the largest in U.S. history resulting from a citizen environmental suit. Full Story
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