The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
No state agency is taking responsibility for making sure the privately built lines that power many oil and gas sites are safe. Such lines have been blamed for sparking two recent Panhandle fires. Full Story
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When disaster strikes, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy takes command of her county’s emergency communication channels, including a text service and Facebook page. Full Story
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Homeowners typically pay $2,300 a year for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policy. The rate increase would bump premiums by 10%. Full Story
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About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base. Full Story
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Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response. Full Story
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So far, 23 people have died after Beryl made landfall on July 8. Full Story
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The program helps low-income people with heating and cooling bills, but advocates say it disadvantages Texas and other warm-weather states, even though extreme heat is a key cause of weather-related deaths. Full Story
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In Harris County, more federal money is available to help low- and moderate-income residents install rooftop solar. Full Story
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Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region's most populous cities are getting innovative. Full Story
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Repairing electricity infrastructure after storms usually costs customers. So could strengthening it before the next weather event. Full Story
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The school is in Marfa, about 45 miles east of the U.S.-Mexico border. It was closed in 1965 with the integration of the Marfa school district. Full Story
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The Odessa City Council approved the budget to replace nearly 200 water valves and 17,000 feet of pipe. Full Story
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Mexico owes Texas 900,000 acre-feet of water. But a regional drought is complicating the binational agreement. Full Story
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Insurance researchers and analysts expect insurers will continue raising already high premiums — and become more selective with what type of damage they cover. Full Story
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More than 200,000 CenterPoint Energy customers without power struggle with the heat one week after Hurricane Beryl swept through southeast Texas. Full Story
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Abbott demanded that the utility company produce a plan by the end of July outlining how it will improve power reliability ahead of future storms. Full Story
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Beryl exposed how vulnerable the electric infrastructure is to failure, leaving residents angry and at risk. Full Story
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Nearly a million Texans were still without power on Friday. And the utility company with the most outages was facing threats of violence. Full Story
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Donors are increasingly asking conservation groups to produce data on the value of their environmental work. A group’s new method helps them show their impact. Full Story
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More than 1 million Texans still don’t have electricity. For those hardest hit by Beryl, the wait will stretch into next week. Full Story
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