The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
Thousands of low-income, Latino residents in Texas still do not have safe drinking water. In one El Paso colonia, some residents are using solar distillation to generate water from the air. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3cf03d347140b2f87a6ce2a03766ab7d/Hueco%20Tank%20Water602%20TT.jpg)
The state is now considering seizing the land to save the park after its purchase offer was rejected by a Dallas developer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dc713e85554f23fca08d5466c4563419/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2055.jpg)
Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e87e13e69213ff04cf976219b1f39e0b/1129%20PUC%20Presser%20AS%20TT%2005.jpeg)
Proposals to improve energy efficiency failed. Bills that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Texas were ignored, and legislation to block cities from taking action on climate change passed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/87477bfea1eea4bce26b9343e9661ce3/Willacy%20Co%20Windfarm%20BL%20TT%2061.jpg)
Texans across the state are affected by declining water supplies, water infrastructure disruptions and flooding in their communities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ef980ff9785253fd2055e6feec1e2b0a/West%20Texas%20Water%20JR%20TT%2039.jpg)
Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/786f0896167eafde800ced80d2ddecfd/West%20Texas%20Water%20JR%20TT%2023.jpg)
Texas parks officials said they are taking “all necessary steps” to purchase the land and save Fairfield Lake State Park from being turned into a luxury gated community and golf course. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/290d31a011d7572622eb1475ccf59492/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2024.jpg)
One to four of those storms could be Category 3 or higher, meaning they will have wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5bea9e48ff4ac305dbd144fcae7432e6/HARVEYHOUSTON0258.jpg)
The biggest barriers to making Texas’ power grid 100% renewable have little to do with politics. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f2a91e7f0af84df233b295d6e2507d6a/0410%20Mt%20Vernon%20Solar%20Tour%20EL%20TT%2023.jpg)
The bill would direct Texas agencies to not enforce federal regulations on the oil industry if there’s not a similar state regulation. But it likely wouldn’t apply to most federal environmental rules, experts and lawmakers said. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/666e0ba4c7d8239242e443063cbcabc0/Industrial%20Corpus%20MGO%20TT%2003.jpg)
Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9159181317d93a00d049c792cfddf813/Turbine%20and%20Pumpjack%20MG%20TT%2001.jpg)
Investigators say the fire was an accident and started with an engine fire in a manure vacuum truck. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9e6609a33ef37dfb5f568cb9b3b528c7/Dimmit%20Explosion%20TT%2001.jpg)
The two chambers have 10 days to cut a deal before the end of the legislative session, and they are miles apart on some of the very foundations of a corporate tax-abatement bill considered to be a priority for Republican state leaders. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/104ee70902cbeb4e9d240e8b9ae90256/Permian%20Basin%20Oil%20Boom%20EH%20TT%2012.jpg)
The federal Farm Bill is must-pass legislation that Congress debates every five years. It includes billions of dollars in farm subsidies and pays for food assistance programs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a2088c136609ee4ff024f151ce7573b6/Ralls%20Drought%20TTh%20TT%2019.jpg)
The coastal barrier project may get $550 million from the state this year, and another half a billion could be on the table for flood-control projects. But that’s a fraction of the estimated need for flood mitigation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/10878c96c102a1f3de964eb1f494ac30/2017-08-30T000000Z_1303699383_RC1E19D318B0_RTRMADP_3_STORM-HARVEY.JPG)
The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement and increase penalties on repeat violators and increase public outreach. Still, environmental advocates say the effort was too “modest” in its reach. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/831ddc46fe3f87ba44f611929b7b627a/Hillcrest%20Reginery%20CC%20ES%20TT%2006.jpg)
Groundwater levels rapidly declined in rural Lee County after San Antonio began pumping the water and moving it 100 miles southwest. A Senate bill would help affected well owners. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9933d0e01db58951285e2c0c2658726d/Lee%20County%20Wells%20SP%20TT%2032.jpg)
The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/12/14/Undrinkable_MG_3531.jpg)
The Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7352807bd06fe24360b67d83532080ca/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2045.jpg)
A fire broke out at a Deer Park Shell plant the day after a public hearing on renewing the permit for ITC, a nearby facility that caught fire in 2019, sparking a Texas Tribune/Public Health Watch investigation that documented failures in state and federal oversight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/33b3bb89637415ab79cb971a30ae0b00/0505%20Shell%20Fire%20Deer%20Park%20MF%2003.JPG)