The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to investigate allegations that the state is failing to enforce the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s system of issuing permits has made it too easy for industries to contaminate rivers, lakes and estuaries.
Alejandra Martinez
Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
Posted in
Environment
Environmentalists push for tougher oil and gas restrictions to protect rare whale in Gulf of Mexico
Environmental scientists say Rice’s whale, discovered in 2021, faces extinction unless the federal government sets tougher restrictions on oil and gas activities in the gulf.
Posted in
Economy
Oyster harvesters hit hard as Texas closes reefs for conservation and public health
Oyster harvesters on the Texas coast are facing twin threats to their way of life: The state shut down reefs to prevent overfishing and following recent reports of illness after people ate Texas oysters.
Posted in
Energy
GOP lawmakers accuse investment firms of breaking a law that prohibits divesting from oil and gas
At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that “boycott” oil, natural gas and coal companies.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Republican Caucus backs Dade Phelan as Texas House speaker
Republican members of the Texas House endorsed Phelan’s bid for reelection in a nonbinding vote on Saturday. An official vote from the entire Texas House will take place in January.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Feds arrest Texas man charged with threats to Boston doctor who cares for transgender children
The 38-year-old Hill Country man faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Posted in
Environment
Houston boil water notice forces schools to shut down
Millions of Houston residents are expected to be under a boil water notice until Tuesday after a power outage at a water treatment plant. At least four school districts canceled Monday classes.
Posted in
Environment
Texans affected by pollution from concrete plants push state agency to tighten regulations
As the state’s environmental agency weighs new pollution limits on the plants, several lawmakers have filed bills that would put new restrictions on the facilities, which spew pollutants into mostly low-income neighborhoods.
Posted in
Environment
Texas’ environmental regulators need to get tougher on polluters, group of lawmakers says
The group that reviews the effectiveness of state agencies recommended several changes to how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality operates.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian wins reelection
Christian chairs the three-member board that oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry.
