Midland settles with company to drill wastewater wells near the city’s drinking water supply
The city initially protested Pilot’s applications to drill the wells close to its water supply. Full Story
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![A water tower at the Midland International Air & Space Port on Jan. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Worried about safety, a small West Texas town challenges planned cross-border pipeline
Critics are calling on federal regulators to increase their scrutiny and oversight of the proposed pipeline, which would send gas from Texas to the Mexican coast for export to other countries. Full Story
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![The skyline of Van Horn, Texas, where residents are raising concerns about a proposed natural gas pipeline.]()
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Midland fights disposal of oilfield wastewater near its drinking supply
As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources. Full Story
![A water tower at the Midland International Air & Space Port on Jan. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Oil and gas companies spill millions of gallons of wastewater in Texas
An exclusive Inside Climate News analysis found that companies have spilled nearly 150 million gallons of toxic, highly saline wastewater in Texas over the last decade. Full Story
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![Oil and gas lawyer Sarah Stogner visits Lake Boehmer in Pecos County where abandoned wells have brought produced water to the surface for decades. The Railroad Commission considers these water wells and therefore not under their jurisdiction.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
Oilfield companies helped to craft Texas’ new waste rules for 2 years before the public got to see them
The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry. Full Story
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![Christi Craddick, Commissioner of the Texas Railroad Commission, Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the William B. Travis Building in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune -
Sarah Stogner announces second campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission
After losing in a Republican runoff last year, Stogner said she plans to challenge incumbent Chair Christi Craddick as a member of the Forward Party. Full Story
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![Sarah Stogner of the newly-formed Texas Forward Party speaks during Open Congress at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ environmental agency enables companies to increase oilfield wastewater disposal in rivers
Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks. Full Story
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![Fracking's water demand requires the construction of ponds like these, which store millions of gallons of fresh water. Aug. 21, 2013.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
For Texans, fighting state-regulated oilfield waste dumps can be a costly, do-it-yourself effort
Some Texans who challenge oil and gas waste sites must spend significant sums and time on investigating what they say the Texas Railroad Commission should examine. Will new regulations for handling waste increase oversight or just maintain the status quo? Full Story
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![Tara Jones, who lives half a mile from the Blackhorn Environmental oil and gas waste facility near Orange Grove, says she spent almost a year learning the state’s regulatory rules and investigating the commercial dumping operation.]()
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At a shuttered Texas coal mine, a 1-acre garden is helping feed 2,000 people per month
The garden in the middle of a 35,000-acre former mine is supplying thousands of pounds of fresh produce to families in three counties that have few grocery stores. Full Story
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![From left: Ava Moore, 18; Caleb Rappolee, 17; Pera Taylor, 11; and Salaya Henderson, 11, volunteer gardeners, pick fresh onions at the Dewey Prairie Garden in Donie on June 29, 2023. The Dewey Prairie Garden is a pilot program that practices the final stages of NRG Jewett Mine’s environmental reclamation process that takes on average 12 years from start to finish.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Look up your representatives in the Tribune’s elected officials directory
Look up information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every Texan in Congress and see who represents you. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott calls for investigation into Atmos Energy following disrupted natural gas services during freeze
Atmos, a major natural gas provider for the state, apologized for last week’s service disruption that left some Texans without heat during freezing weather. Full Story
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![The Dallas skyline is barely visible from Winfrey Point in Dallas on Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures dropped from 45 degrees at 9 a.m. to 25 degrees shortly before noon.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian wins reelection
Christian chairs the three-member board that oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian speaks during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Wayne Christian retracts “only Christian on the ballot” slogan after outcry from Jewish opponent Luke Warford
Christian, who’s running for reelection to the Texas Railroad Commission, said he did not realize Warford was Jewish and would stop using the slogan, which he’s used for previous campaigns. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian listens to opponent and candidate Sarah Stogner speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Luke Warford tries to break the Republican hold on the Railroad Commission by focusing on the power grid and climate change
One of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, is up for grabs this election. Democrat Luke Warford is betting his campaign on the issues of electric grid reliability, regulatory enforcement and reducing emissions. Full Story
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![Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commission Luke Warford speaks at a Beto O'Rourke rally in Austin on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
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Sarah Stogner, former GOP candidate for railroad commissioner, backs Democratic nominee in November’s election
Stogner, who lost in a Republican primary runoff to incumbent Wayne Christian, said she’s endorsing Luke Warford. Full Story
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![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, far-left, and candidate Sarah Stogner, far-right, speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It event hall in Paris, Texas, on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas gas companies face fines up to $1 million for failing to prepare for extreme weather
Critics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021. Full Story
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Texas will plug 800 abandoned oil and gas wells, funded by $25 million federal infrastructure grant
The initial grant will allow Texas to plug a fraction of the state’s approximately 7,400 documented abandoned oil and gas wells. Full Story
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![Brackish water flows from an unplugged abandoned well outside Imperial in Pecos County — one of several in the area likely drilled for oil but later tapped for water.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
How to know the difference between a local power outage and rolling blackouts
Power outages are a possibility during any severe weather event. But a local power outage is different from a larger power grid problem. Full Story
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![Electrical power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Wayne Christian secures GOP nomination for another term on the commission regulating Texas’ oil and gas industry
Christian beat Sarah Stogner in the Republican primary runoff for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission after she accused him of corruption during the campaign. Full Story
![Incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian listens to opponent and candidate Sarah Stogner speak during a Republican Railroad Commission Forum hosted by the Republican Women of Red River Valley at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
West Texas rancher pours $2 million into Sarah Stogner’s underdog campaign for statewide oil and gas board seat
Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin, is helping bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks before Stogner faces the Railroad Commission’s chair, Wayne Christian, in the runoff. Full Story
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![Railroad Commissioner candidate Sarah Stogner waits to speak at a Republican Railroad Commission Forum alongside incumbent Wayne Christian at Celebrate It, an event hall in Paris, Texas, on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune
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