Texas May Refuse to Follow Climate Rules
Texas’ top environmental regulator suggested Thursday that the state may ignore a proposed directive from the Obama administration to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/21/TxTrib-MartinLake-CoalPlant04.jpg)
-
![Steam rises from the stacks at the Martin Lake coal-fired power plant in Tatum, Texas.]()
Credit: Tom Pennington -
Water Board Delays Final Decision Over Controversial Reservoir
In an unexpected move, the Texas Water Development Board on Thursday punted a final decision on the controversial Marvin Nichols Reservoir a few months down the road. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/11/12/TexasWaterPlan-Submerged-spot.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Energy Efficiency Plan to Aid Low-Income Texans Remains Stuck in Neutral
A plan to provide low-income Texans with the tools to help them interact with "smart" meters and improve energy efficiency at their homes has been stuck in a bureaucratic limbo with no end in sight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/05/16/TXTrib-SmartMeter011.jpg)
![A 2007 state law said that "smart" meters must "be deployed as rapidly as possible" across the state.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Texas' Gulf Coast, Still Battered From Ike, Not Ready for Next Storm
Galveston is still recovering from Hurricane Ike in 2008. Dilapidated homes and empty lots dot the streets. Nearly six years after the storm, though, lawmakers continue to grapple with preparation for the next big one. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/17/Ike-House-TWIA.jpg)
![Galveston, TX - September 21, 2008]()
Credit: Josh Henderson -
EPA's Proposed Emissions Limits Drawing Debate
A proposal by the federal government would place stricter limits on emissions from petrochemical and other industrial plants. An EPA hearing this week in the Houston area reflected the heated debate over balancing economic growth with air quality concerns. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Oil-Refinery.jpg)
![An oil refinery is shown in the Houston Ship Channel in 2011.]()
Credit: Louis Vest for The Texas Tribune -
Some Lawmakers Want Legislative Changes to Avoid Fertilizer Blasts
A committee of Texas lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss possible legislation aimed at preventing another disaster like last year’s explosion in West — with some still skeptical of imposing regulations on fertilizer storage facilities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/18/West-TX-1.jpg)
![A vehicle near the remains of a fertilizer plant burning after an explosion in West, Texas, near Waco.]()
Credit: Mike Stone / Bay Area News -
The Brief: Aug. 5, 2014
SpaceX on Monday chose to place its first commercial launch complex on Boca Chica beach near Brownsville. The announcement solidified Texas' leading position in the country's space program even as it transitions to one with greater opportunities for private companies. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: Aug. 4, 2014
A new report raises fresh doubts about a key witness instrumental in securing the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. This new evidence forces again the question as to whether Texas executed an innocent man. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/04/CTWCollage_copy.jpg)
![Cameron Todd Willingham was executed on Feb. 17, 2004.]()
Credit: Graphic by John Jordan -
EPA Hearing to Highlight Debate Over Refinery Regulations
At a public hearing near Houston this week, the federal Environmental Protection Agency will hear from residents who live near refineries and from the industry in hopes of determining how much more needs to be done to curb toxic emissions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Refinery.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Christopher P. Bills -
Ohio Water Crisis a Warning for Texas
Algal blooms like the one that caused a water crisis in Ohio's fourth-largest city this weekend are possible in Texas. But no state requires treatment plants to test their water for the toxins, which can be lethal. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/04/CyanobacteriaLamiot2009_07_26_TTCROP3.jpg)
![Bloom of cyanobacteria ("blue-green algae").]()
Credit: Lamiot -
Pipeline Proposal Prompts Eminent Domain Debate
Landowners and pipeline companies are closely scrutinizing proposed rules aimed at clearing up confusion over a status that gives pipeline companies the right to claim private property using eminent domain. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/30/TexTrib-PIPELINES-003.jpg)
![One of the many pipeline markers sprinkled across David Holland's family farm near Beaumont, Texas. Holland is involved in major litigation involving common carrier status against Denbury Resources, which built a pipeline across his land.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato -
The Brief: Aug. 1, 2014
Ted Cruz has become the latest D.C.-based practitioner of the Pottery Barn rule: He broke the border bill, and now, possibly more than any other single person, he owns it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/06/CruzFriRPT311CMS.jpg)
![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas thanks Republican delegates in Fort Worth on June 6, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
New in Trib+Water: Reviving a Moribund River
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A Robert Redford-narrated documentary on a pulse flow out West, tracking water thieves at Lake Travis and an interview with Jim Blackburn of Blackburn Carter PC. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/08/Tribwater.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Four Guys on a Boat Set Out to Tackle a Texas-Sized Water Problem
Drought-stricken Wichita Falls is trying a bold experiment to address one of Texas' most vexing water problems. It consists of four guys, a motorboat and thousands of pounds of a white powder that suppresses evaporation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/29/WaterAdditives.jpg)
![Workers cut open bags of WaterSavr, an evaporation suppressant, to apply the powder to Lake Arrowhead. WaterSavr's manufacturers claim it will save 30 percent of water that would have otherwise evaporated from the reservoir.]()
Credit: Neena Satija -
The Brief: July 30, 2014
Top officials at the Texas National Guard and the Department of Public Safety on Tuesday told a select House committee looking at the costs of the ongoing border operation that they did not request Guard troops. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/21/Nichols1.jpg)
![Adjutant General John Nichols of the Texas National Guard explains the Guard's role in helping secure the border as Gov. Rick Perry, l, and DPS Director Steve McCraw listen July 21, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Think It's Hot in Austin Now? Get Used To 110
While an aversion to climate science persists in much of conservative, Republican-led Texas, Austin is looking to prepare for what scientists say are the inevitable consequences of climate change. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/25/TXT-Substation-CCR009.jpg)
![The Onion Creek substation was badly flooded with heavy storms last fall. It is one of the many "critical infrastructure assets" whose vulnerability to climate change will be studied by Austin.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
The Brief: July 28, 2014
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bob Ray Sanders is pushing back against one major tenet of the conventional wisdom surrounding the race for governor: Wendy Davis needs to maintain a healthy separation between her and President Obama. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/12/TXTDavisCanvas-CCR002.jpg)
![State Sen. Wendy Davis, the 2014 Democratic nominee for governor, addressing supporters on July 13, 2014, in East Austin.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Denton Fracking Ban Could Spur Legal Clash
A North Texas town's effort to ban hydraulic fracturing may prompt an unprecedented showdown between two powerful rights: a city's authority to shape development and mineral owners' right to tap their resources. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/24/FrackingDenton00002.jpg)
![A gas well is shown in 2014 sitting less than 400 feet from a home in Denton.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill -
The Brief: July 25, 2014
Can those National Guard troops being sent to the border arrest people? The latest word is they can. And the reason why is that Rick Perry sent them, and not the federal government. Full Story
![Adjutant General John Nichols of the Texas National Guard explains the Guard's role in helping secure the border as Gov. Rick Perry, l, and DPS Director Steve McCraw listen July 21, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Drinking Water Systems Draw Federal Concerns
Several public drinking water systems in Texas have quality issues that have not been adequately addressed, the Environmental Protection Agency told the state in recent correspondence obtained by the Tribune. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/22/WaterPurifier.jpg)
![Pump systems for the Freer Water Control and Improvement District's arsenic removal system facility in Freer, Texas.]()
Credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/421591e1149f0abdff499e79c4b87d71/BD%20Inc%20Space%20X%20602%202012)