At a board meeting on Wednesday, the Lower Colorado River Authority approved an emergency plan that could cut off water supplies to downriver rice farmers entirely next year if the drought worsens.
Kate Galbraith
Kate Galbraith covered energy and environment for the Tribune from 2010 to 2013. Previously she reported on clean energy for The New York Times from 2008 to 2009, serving as the lead writer for the Times' Green blog. She began her career at The Economist in 2000 and spent 2005 to 2007 in Austin as the magazine's Southwest correspondent. A Nieman fellow in journalism at Harvard University from 2007 to 2008, she has an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard and a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She is co-author of “The Great Texas Wind Rush,” a book about how the oil and gas state won the race to wind power.
Posted in
State Government
Perry Appoints San Antonio Lawyer to Utility Commission
Rolando Pablos, the former chairman of the Texas Racing Commission, will fill the empty slot at the Texas Public Utility Commission. Separately, the state’s electric grid operator announced that its board chairwoman, Laura Doll, is stepping down.
Posted in
Energy
Drought Could Pose Power Plant Problems
If the drought continues well into next spring and summer, the electric grid could lose “potentially several thousand megawatts,” according to an ERCOT official. That’s roughly equivalent to several coal plants.
Posted in
Energy
LCRA Planning for Drought Worse Than 1950s Dry Spell
Fearing that this drought could reduce lake levels lower than ever before, the Lower Colorado River Authority’s board will meet next week to discuss reducing or ending its water sales to downriver farmers next year.
Posted in
State Government
Dispute Continues Between Texas, Feds on Fire Assistance
Did the federal government drag its feet in providing disaster relief to the victims of the devastating Bastrop County fires? It depends on whom you ask. It’s the latest chapter in a dispute between Texas and the feds that began in April.
Posted inState Government
Perry a No-Show at Wildfire Press Conference
Gov. Rick Perry had been expected to appear in Bastrop County today to tour areas damaged by wildfires and hold a press briefing, but after state and local officials spoke at the briefing, aides said that the governor had remained in Austin.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
With Wildfire Risk High, Military Alters Training in Texas
As the worst one-year drought in Texas history wears on, officials at some military installations around the state have banned the use of tracer fire and other pyrotechnics.
Posted in
Energy
Texas Politicians Press Feds for Fire Relief Money
Over the past year, Texas has battled wildfires that cover an area larger than the state of Connecticut. It’s straining the budgets of both state and local firefighting units, and as the prospect of a multiyear drought looms, wildfire season is in no way over.
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State Government
Perry: Central Texas Wildfire As “Mean-Looking As I’ve Ever Seen”
Gov. Rick Perry thanked emergency responders and urged Texans to remain on guard against wildfires, after touring a massive blaze near Bastrop that he described as being “as mean-looking as I’ve ever seen.”
Posted in
Energy
Controversial Pollution Rule On Track, Despite White House Shift
Even as the Obama administration delighted conservatives last week by pulling back on a broad regulation to combat ozone pollution, the controversial “cross-state” rule that would also reduce smog-forming pollutants in Texas remains on track.
