The judge determined this week that the Taiwanese-owned company has been in “enormous” violation of its state-issued permits and federal clean water laws for discharging plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and other waterways from its plant in Point Comfort.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
Posted in
Transportation
Some see a plan to expand I-35 as a betrayal of Austin’s environmental values
Supporters say the $8 billion plan for one of the state’s most notorious stretches of highway is necessary to fight congestion. But critics say new lanes won’t end traffic — and worry the plan undercuts Austin’s goal to reduce single-occupancy car trips.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Renewable energy proponents brace for last-minute attack on tax breaks for wind and solar
For the past year, an influential conservative think tank has lobbied to make wind and solar projects ineligible for a popular local property tax abatement program. A measure to do that has stalled, but renewable advocates are watching for last-minute changes to other legislation.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
In wake of Houston-area chemical fires, Texas Senate panel weighs input on stronger storage tank regulations
The Senate Committee on Water and Rural Affairs took public testimony on a bill that would strengthen state oversight of above-ground tanks that hold hazardous hydrocarbons.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Oil or property rights: House panel clashes over which to favor as it weighs eminent domain reforms
Several bills meant to protect Texas landowners facing condemnation for oil pipeline construction and electric transmission projects generated heated debate on Thursday at a Capitol committee hearing.
Posted in
Transportation
Texas leads the nation in traffic deaths. These proposed laws could make roads safer.
Bills aimed at making a dent in traffic deaths have gotten mixed results at the Texas Legislature this year.
Posted inState Government
Senate bill would let felons run for office in Texas only if they’ve been pardoned
The legislation is in response to a felon who ran for Austin City Council last year.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Is Texas leading on disaster preparedness? Yes and no, experts say
During the first legislative session since Hurricane Harvey, state lawmakers are poised to make an investment in storm recovery and flood mitigation that some have described as unprecedented. But it’s more complicated than that.
Posted in
Energy
Why has Texas suddenly decided to immediately sue industrial polluters?
In recent weeks, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has swiftly sued two companies over major fires at their Houston-area plants. It’s a dramatic departure from the state’s usual approach to environmental enforcement.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas environmental chief: There’s still a fire risk at Deer Park facility
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Executive Director Toby Baker told a special panel of state senators on Thursday that first responders are still actively managing an incident at a Houston-area petrochemical facility that began last month.