The latest energy news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas oil boom slowed during the 84th legislative session, creating implications for the state's budget. See how lawmakers responded to volatile oil prices, local drilling ordinances and other energy issues this session in the Texas Legislative Guide. Full Story
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It was a good legislative session for oil and gas companies and other Texas industries. A new bill makes it easier for companies to get environmental permits, and another bill targeted local efforts to regulate drilling. Listen to our discussion of these issues in a special episode of Texas Standard. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed two more pieces of legislation in the wake of the 84th legislative session. Full Story
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The Texas Railroad Commission has a new leader. The state’s three-member oil and gas regulator on Tuesday unanimously elected David Porter as its chairman. He replaces Christi Craddick in the largely ceremonial role. Full Story
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Who killed the House and Senate's top energy bills? Their autopsy evokes the names of T. Boone Pickens and Koch Industries and involves plenty of squabbling between the chambers. Full Story
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A draft report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds no evidence that hydraulic fracturing has “led to widespread, systemic impacts” on the nation’s drinking water supplies, though the practice has harmed water in some cases. Full Story
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Frustrated Denton residents flooded a city council meeting Tuesday for a conversation about fracking that stretched late into the night. Now that state lawmakers have slapped down the city's fracking ban, residents wonder what else they can do. Full Story
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After years of drought, heavy rain across the state has finally refilled many Texas reservoirs. Check out the Tribune's Reservoir App to see where the drought has receded, and which Texas communities' reservoirs are still parched. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Texas floods expose risks of rapid growth in Blanco River basin, controversy over EPA Clean Water Rule and an interview with Bridget Scanlon of the University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences. Full Story
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Seven months after a rag-tag group of local activists scored a surprising victory over the state’s powerful oil and gas industry when Denton voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas company Monday resumed operations under a state law passed to overturn Denton's ban. Full Story
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The Railroad Commission of Texas is set to go under intense legislative scrutiny next session after all, under an agreement by state House and Senate lawmakers. Full Story
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A bill designed to protect western Hays County residents' water wells in light of a massive groundwater pumping project is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk — following an emotional week of political drama over the issue. Full Story
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The Railroad Commission of Texas would avoid intense legislative scrutiny until 2023 under a deal reached late Friday, a surprise six-year reprieve that rankled the oil and gas regulator’s critics. Full Story
Texas has officially asked Congress to lift its 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed a resolution that calls the federal ban a “relic from an era of scarcity and flawed price control policies.” Full Story
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Heavy rains have led to substantial drought relief throughout Texas, but aquifers — which provide about 60 percent of the state's water supply — have been slower to replenish. Full Story
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A bill designed to protect western Hays County residents' water wells received a surprising, last-minute reprieve Thursday night — after a procedural error killed the legislation the day before. Full Story
Federal officials are giving Texans more time to assess the damage to their property so they can file insurance claims after the deadly flooding that recently devastated some parts of the state. Full Story
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After fears of a massive, unregulated groundwater pumping project sparked a passionate display of political activism by Texas Hill Country residents earlier this year, the resulting legislative efforts appear to have failed. Full Story
Climate change is taking a toll on Texas, and the devastating floods across the state are some of the best evidence yet of that phenomenon, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said. But efforts to consider climate change policy in Texas have fallen flat. Full Story
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A measure to ban the trade of shark fins in Texas is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after clearing the Texas Senate on Wednesday. The fins are collected by a brutal fishing process: cutting off a live shark's fin and leaving the shark to die. Full Story
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