Water has emerged as the top infrastructure issue before the 83rd Legislature — an issue that appears to be more important to lawmakers than to most of the people they represent.
water supply
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Energy
TribLive: A Conversation with Allan Ritter
Full video of my January 17 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
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Energy
TribLive: Ritter on Water as a Local Issue
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, talked about what it will take to make local communities recognize the magnitude of the state’s water crisis.
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Energy
TribLive: Ritter on Funding the Water Plan
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, the chairman of the House National Resources Committee, talked about his desire to withdraw $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund to jump-start the state water plan.
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Energy
Plans for New Reservoir Could End Long-Running Battle
The Lower Colorado River Authority this week approved a plan that should ease the strain on the Highland Lakes, the Central Texas water source that has long pitted rice farmers against municipalities.
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Energy
Amid Drought, Water Wars Pick Up on Borders
As Texas’ drought wears into its third year, the state is locked in a legal conflict over water with New Mexico, and a North Texas county is suing the state of Oklahoma to get access to a vast amount of water.
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Energy
Study: Amount of Water Used in Fracking Climbs, but Will Soon Plateau
A new University of Texas at Austin study funded by an oil and gas group has found that the amount of water used in fracking has risen sharply in recent years but would level off sometime in the decade starting in 2020.
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Energy
Lawmakers Talk of Bold Measures This Session
Momentum is growing for Texas lawmakers to commit large amounts of money to address the state’s long-term infrastructure needs, particularly water and transportation.
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Energy
Ritter’s Bills Would Put $2 Billion Toward Water Projects
State Rep. Allan Ritter, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, filed two bills on Thursday that would allocate $2 billion from Texas’ Rainy Day Fund to create a fund for water-supply projects. It’s the largest amount proposed to date.
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State Government
Dewhurst: Set Money Aside for School Lawsuits
In a wide-ranging interview, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the state budget, education, immigration, water, transportation, and his hopes and plans for the legislative session that began this week.
