A judge this week reversed the air permit for a proposed coal plant in Corpus Christi called Las Brisas, handing environmental groups a victory and dealing a major blow to one of the few such plants still being planned in Texas. 

Controversy over a professor's failure to disclose financial ties to a drilling company while leading an academic study has erupted at the University of Texas at Austin. The professor, Dr. Charles "Chip" Groat, has called the charges unfounded and overblown.

A University of Texas at Austin professor who led a report that denied a link between fracking and groundwater contamination has come under scrutiny for not disclosing financial ties to the oil and gas industry.

The 2011 drought wreaked havoc on the state's trees, but according to a new report, few of them died directly from dehydration. Rather, trees weakened by the drought likely fell prey to a different culprit: diseases and insects.

Though Texas has partly recovered from extreme drought conditions thanks to heavy rains, the Midwest is enduring one of its worst dry spells in decades. And as conditions in the Midwest drive food prices up, some say Texas farmers stand to benefit.

The sudden death of 15 cows on a Central Texas pasture in May was more than a tragedy for the rancher. It marked the beginning of a search for answers that has pointed directly to the grass on which the cows were grazing.

Drought may be a part of life in Texas, but last year's crisis left an indelible mark on the state. In a special report on the 2011 drought, KUT News, StateImpact Texas and Texas Monthly examine how the state will manage a growing population amid a shrinking water supply.

As last year’s drought intensified, the Colorado River brought less fresh water to the Gulf of Mexico. For the latest installment in KUT News' series on water issues, Mose Buchele looks at Matagorda Bay, where water quality has suffered — and the economy, too.

The drought has permanently changed life for some Texans, but in many ways, the scarcity just underlined a looming crisis. For the latest installment in KUT News' series on water issues, Mose Buchele looks at Wharton County, where water concerns have imperiled a generation of rice farmers.

The federal government has spent millions of dollars cleaning up so-called brownfields, old industrial properties contaminated by toxic waste. But as Dave Fehling reports for StateImpact Texas, the re-development of some of the state's urban cores has revived concerns over some of the sites.

A federal decision not to list the dunes sagebrush lizard — whose habitat includes the West Texas oilfields — as threatened or endangered set off a round of cheering by state officials and oil groups. But some environmentalists fear for the lizard's future.

The federal government created the so-called Superfund in 1980 to clean up hazardous-waste sites. And as Dave Fehling of KUHF News reports for StateImpact Texas, the work in Texas still isn't finished.

The Republican congressman from Lewisville on his objections to a law setting higher efficiency standards for lightbulbs and how he intends to stop the Department of Energy from enforcing the standards. 

The Lower Colorado River Authority earlier this year approved a far-reaching water plan that determined, in part, how much water rice farmers could draw from the Colorado River. But as Mose Buchele reports for StateImpact Texas, aggrieved rice farmers aren't done making their case.

The Texas Supreme Court protected property owners on the state's coast and also left the state's beaches open and accessible to the general public. But beaches don't become public overnight, when hurricanes strike.

Within the past year, the drought has spurred many municipalities in Texas to impose water restrictions. But as Andy Uhler of KUT News reports, the stakes are much higher in Las Lomitas, a low-income community in Travis County whose residents lack running water.

In a surprise move, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has withdrawn its opposition to a planned Eagle Pass coal mine that opponents allege would pollute the area's air and water supply.

Cattle prices have hit record highs in Texas, and that, naturally, means consumers can expect to pay more for beef. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas on what the drought has to do with the rise in prices.