It was a good legislative session for oil and gas companies and other Texas industries. A new bill makes it easier for companies to get environmental permits, and another bill targeted local efforts to regulate drilling. Listen to our discussion of these issues in a special episode of Texas Standard.
Neena Satija
Neena Satija worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2019. She was an investigative reporter and radio producer for the Tribune and Reveal, a public radio program from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, she was the environment reporter at the Tribune. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, she graduated from Yale University in 2011, and then worked for the New Haven Independent, the Connecticut Mirror, and WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio. She has also been a regular contributor to National Public Radio. As an East Coast transplant she is particularly thrilled with Austin tacos and warm weather.
Posted in
State Government
Storify: The Last Day of the 84th Legislative Session
The 84th Legislative Session is wrapping up today. Here’s a selection of what journalists, lawmakers and others shared on social media, along with the Tribune’s on-the-ground reporting.
Posted in
Energy
Hays County Groundwater Bill Heads to Governor’s Desk
A bill designed to protect western Hays County residents’ water wells in light of a massive groundwater pumping project is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk — following an emotional week of political drama over the issue.
Posted in
Energy
Hays County Groundwater Regulation Efforts Likely Dead
After fears of a massive, unregulated groundwater pumping project sparked a passionate display of political activism by Texas Hill Country residents earlier this year, the resulting legislative efforts appear to have failed.
Posted in
Energy
Climate Change, a Factor in Texas Floods, Largely Ignored
Climate change is taking a toll on Texas, and the devastating floods across the state are some of the best evidence yet of that phenomenon, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said. But efforts to consider climate change policy in Texas have fallen flat.
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Energy
Before Central Texas Flooding, Officials Sounded Alarm
When Wimberley residents woke up Sunday to flooding, the surprise was palpable: The area had been going through a drought. But months earlier, local officials had voiced concerns about the rapidly growing region’s vulnerability to flooding.
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Energy
OSHA Chief: Fine for Deadly Leak in Texas “Petty Cash” for DuPont
Seven months after a toxic gas leak killed four workers at DuPont’s chemical plant in La Porte, a top U.S. labor official blasted the company’s commitment to workplace safety, saying he wished he could hand out a stiffer punishment.
Posted inState Government
Reveal Radio: Tense Relationship Between “Cop Watchers,” Police
Most of the high-profile cases of alleged police abuse today are caught on tape by people who happen to be walking by. But there’s also an organized movement of “cop watchers” who consider it their jobs to police the police.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas a Flashpoint in National Debate Over Right to Film Police
As videos play an ever larger role in cases of alleged police brutality, “cop watching” is attracting organized activists in communities across the country. Clashes with police are inevitable, and now both sides are asking lawmakers to help clarify the ground rules.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Lawmakers Skeptical of Body Cameras for Police — for Now
State Rep. Ron Reynolds made his case on Thursday for requiring cops in Texas to wear body cameras, citing the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man in South Carolina. But police advocates were skeptical.