Trump administration announces rollback of Obama-era methane regulations
The unwinding of requirements that oil and gas companies tamp down on climate-warming methane leaks has big implications for Texas, the nation's petroleum king. Full Story
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![A gas flare burns bright on a production site northeast of Andrews, Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
Texas unemployment rate drops to lowest level since feds began tracking it in 1976
The state's unemployment rate for May dropped to 3.5%, an all-time low. That breaks the record low of 3.7% reached in April. Full Story
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![Rig workers inspect casings that will be loaded into the well in preparation for the hydraulic fracturing process at a Chesapeake Energy drill site in Dimmit.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
An amendment about waste facility fees was added to a widely supported domestic violence bill. Will it stick?
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst's office said Saturday that she "is still evaluating all options available to save SB 1804." Full Story
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![Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, at a state Senate Committee on Nominations hearing for Texas Secretary of State David Whitley on Feb. 7, 2019. Whitley was appointed to the job by Gov. Greg Abbott, but Whitley must first clear the committee, then win a two-thirds vote in the full Texas Senate.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Wind farm in Harrold, Texas.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![An aerial photograph of the Stolthaven Oil Tanking facility along the Houston Ship Channel on Nov. 10, 2015. Shell's Deer Park facility can be seen in the upper right.]()
Credit: Edmund D. Fountain/ProPublica/Texas Tribune -
Beto O'Rourke unveils plan to fight climate change
In the first major policy rollout of his presidential campaign, O'Rourke focuses on one of the most dominant issues in his party. Full Story
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![Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a rally in El Paso on March 30, 2019, his first in Texas since announcing his bid on March 13.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![A sign opposing the Trans-Pecos pipeline is shown outside the home of Suzanne Bailey and Tom Short in Alpine in June 2015. Their house sits a few feet from one of the first visible signs that the pipeline is coming: a 23-acre lot that's set to be a staging area for segments of the pipeline. The couple complained of frequent loud noise and shaking of their home as heavy machinery works to smooth the land.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: Crude awakening
In the latest episode of our podcast about the 86th Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Rep. Chris Paddie, who chairs the House Energy Resources Committee, about the impact of oil and gas activity on the Texas economy, the downside of the upside, and what the future holds. Full Story
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Trump issues executive orders seeking to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects
Oil and gas companies have complained that protests and court cases have slowed construction of pipelines needed as U.S. fossil fuel production expands. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump signs an executive order on energy and infrastructure during a campaign event at the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby on April 10, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
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. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston on March 18, 2019.]()
Credit: Jaimie Meldrum/Handout via REUTERS -
Beto O'Rourke signed this pledge on oil money. Did he break it?
O'Rourke was criticized for signing the "No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge," only to take big bucks from individuals who work in the industry. Now critics say he talks a good game on climate change but needs to put his money where his mouth is. Full Story
![Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a rally in El Paso on March 30, 2019, his first in Texas since announcing his bid on March 13.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Deer Park terminal fire extinguished after three days of burning
A fire that broke out Sunday morning at a petrochemical storage facility in the industrial Houston suburb stopped burning overnight. Full Story
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![A thick layer of smoke hangs in the air from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Explosions from unregulated pipelines can kill in Texas while energy companies go unpunished
People can die when small rural pipelines called "gathering lines" explode. But after decades of talk among industry representatives and regulators, the death of a little girl in Texas serves as a reminder that there are still no rules. Full Story
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![A firefighter tamps out flames shortly after an explosion destroyed the Tercero family's home outside Midland.]()
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GOP senator, oil industry clash over proposed eminent domain reforms
At a public hearing on Monday, state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst — who has long tried to strengthen protections for landowners facing condemnation — challenged officials from fossil fuel groups who said her latest legislation would drag down energy production. Full Story
![Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, at a state Senate Committee on Nominations hearing for Texas Secretary of State David Whitley on Feb. 7, 2019. Whitley was appointed to the job by Gov. Greg Abbott, but Whitley must first clear the committee, then win a two-thirds vote in the full Texas Senate.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Railroad commissioners voice doubts that Permian Basin flaring is more prevalent than reported
The Environmental Defense Fund concluded that oil producers burned off more natural gas than they reported to the state. But Texas officials expressed skepticism of those findings during a state Senate hearing Wednesday. Full Story
![A gas flare burns bright on a production site northeast of Andrews, Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
Report: Unauthorized air pollution in Texas up 27 percent in 2017
An analysis by the research arm of Environment Texas found that 275 companies across the state reported emitting 63 million pounds of hazardous and climate-warming pollutants from their facilities in 2017. Full Story
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![Sign indicating the presence of poison gas in Pecos County, Texas.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Report: Permian Basin oil producers flaring more natural gas than they told the state
An analysis of government satellite data by the Environmental Defense Fund shows that the amount of natural gas that energy companies burned off in 2017 is twice as high as what they reported to state regulators. Full Story
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![A flare burns on May 24, 2018, atop a drill pad on land near Carlsbad, N.M., that Wayne Smith leased for ranching before his death in October. The development covered seven times more acreage than the Bureau of Land Management said would be used, Smith said in May.]()
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Report: Texas coal power plants leaching toxic pollutants into groundwater
Analyzing groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the federal government, the Environmental Integrity Project found that groundwater under 16 Texas coal plants had unsafe levels of contaminants including arsenic. The pollution is linked to disposal pits for spent coal. Full Story
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![The Fayette Power Project plant is a coal-fired power plant located near La Grange, in Fayette County. Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
How a new oil boom is transforming West Texas and altering climate change math
Our series on the global implications of a new golden age for Permian Basin oil began with a very local story: How towns large and small are trying to deal with an explosion in drilling activity, population, traffic and other effects of the new boom. Full Story
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![Pumpjacks at sunrise in the Permian Basin in West Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. fossil fuel exports spur Asian building boom, climate worries
As American natural gas production soars, South Korea rushes to build tankers to move that energy to Asia’s top economies. Full Story
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![HOLD FOR USE WITH STORY SLUGGED US CLIMATE EXPORT BOOM. ONLY USE FOR THIS STORY: Workers board large-sized liquified natural gas carriers under construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering facility on Geoje Island, South Korea. The boom in fossil-fuel production in the United States has been matched by a rush on the other side of the Pacific to build the infrastructure needed to respond to the seemingly unquenchable thirst for energy among Asia’s top economies. Dec. 7, 2018.]()
Credit: AP