Texas releases plan for how more than $209 million from Volkswagen settlement will be spent
The state sued Volkswagen in 2016 after the German automaker admitted to using software that allowed its vehicles to circumvent emissions limits. Full Story
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![A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016.]()
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"The door to the future": How Eddie Bernice Johnson could make history if Democrats win back the House
Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, has served in the U.S. House for 26 years. If her party wins control of the chamber, she's well positioned to become the first African-American representative from Texas to lead a standing committee in Congress. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, in her Washington, D.C. office on July 18, 2018.]()
Credit: Leigh Vogel for The Texas Tribune -
Arkema officials charged with "recklessly" releasing chemicals amid Harvey flooding
As the floodwaters rose around the plant last year, chemicals began to overheat and then degrade, leading to a series of burns and huge plumes of black smoke. Full Story
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![Aerial view of the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas.]()
Credit: Arkema Group Facebook page -
Environmental groups announce multi-million dollar settlement with Houston-area refinery
The settlement will end a "citizen suit" against Pasadena Refining System that alleges years of air pollution violations. Under the Clean Air Act, citizens may sue companies if government regulators fail to act. Full Story
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Texas is using a record amount of electricity. Could demand outpace supply?
The state's grid operator set a new all-time systemwide peak demand record on two consecutive days this week, prompting reassurances that the electricity sector "is doing what they can to keep the power on for consumers." Full Story
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![Steam rises from the stacks at the Martin Lake coal-fired power plant in Tatum, Texas.]()
Credit: Tom Pennington -
As Trump backlash continues, STEM professionals in Texas run for office
Across the country, hundreds of candidates with academic or professional experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics have left their businesses and laboratories to compete in state legislative contests, congressional elections and even governor’s races. Full Story
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![Top row, right to left: Michelle Beckley, Joseph Kopser and Carla Morton. Bottom row: Allison Sawyer and Rick Kennedy.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Joseph Kopser/Others provided courtesy campaigns -
Mexico's new president is promising big changes. Will that affect trade with Texas?
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, or AMLO, won big on Sunday. Now Texan business and agriculture leaders have five months to try to predict whether his expected stand-up-to-Trump strategy will hurt their bottom lines. Full Story
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![Newly elected Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gestures to supporters in Mexico City on July 1, 2018.]()
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Faced with failure, state to propose new plan to protect West Texas lizard
The state comptroller's office went back to the drawing board after the failure of a 6-year-old plan to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard that relied on voluntary participation by the oil and gas industry. Full Story
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Credit: Steve Jurvetson -
Lucrative Los Alamos National Lab contract awarded to team that includes Texas A&M
A&M is partnering with the University of California System and a research and development organization on the effort. Their extendable five-year contract with the U.S. Energy Department is worth an estimated $2.5 billion annually. Full Story
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![Los Alamos, New Mexico.]()
Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory website -
New Mexico official says Texas landowners are “stealing” millions of gallons of water and selling it back for fracking
Water restrictions in New Mexico have created a supply crunch for the fracking industry, so more free-flowing Texas water is helping to fill the void. But not without controversy: A top New Mexico politician says Texans are pumping his state's water and piping it across the state line for oil drillers. Full Story
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![New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn walks along Highway 652 near the Texas-New Mexico border on May 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Environmental groups ask feds to protect threatened West Texas lizard
Two environmental groups asked the federal government on Tuesday to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as threatened or endangered. Full Story
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Credit: Steve Jurvetson -
Texas regulator says "misunderstanding" is making millennials shun oilfield jobs
Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian told House lawmakers on Wednesday that the biggest threat to a burgeoning oil boom is "the acceptance of the politically-correct-driven environmental anti-oil and gas science." Full Story
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Texas is making billions from oil and gas drilling, but counties say rural roads are being destroyed
Damage from heavy trucks has battered local roads in and around the state's oil fields, and many counties want the state to help pay for repairs and maintenance. Will lawmakers take action? Full Story
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![A tanker truck travels on FM 2067 between Austin and Victoria on April 18, 2018. Texas counties are asking state leaders to help pay for road damage caused by heavy traffic from the oil and gas industry.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
This Texas school that inspired "Friday Night Lights" is overcrowded amid oil boom. One class has 63 kids.
Record enrollment is putting a strain on the already low-performing Ector County Independent School District. In Odessa, school administrators and teachers are parents are asking: Where are we going to put all of these kids? Full Story
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![Permian High School in Odessa was built for 2,500 students. Next year, they’re expecting student enrollment to reach 4,100.]()
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Reports: Trump considers Rick Perry for Veterans Administration post
The current energy secretary and former Texas governor's name is being floated as Trump mulls another major shakeup in his cabinet. Full Story
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![U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry testifies at a Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 12, 2017.]()
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At Houston energy conference, Texas is the focus of American oil optimism as the last bust fades
The Permian Basin in West Texas is the driving force behind what some key energy players say is a coming milestone: The United States passing Russia as the world's top oil producer. Full Story
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![Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, at the CERAWeek conference in Houston in March 2018.]()
Credit: Cambridge Energy Research Associates -
Will Texans see sky-high electric bills this summer? Grid operator sends dire warning
A day after the state's main electric grid operator warned that a variety of factors including record high demand could lead to pricier and dicier electric service, experts added a grain of salt to the predictions. Full Story
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Credit: Andrea Parker / Cory Maluski -
Audit: Company behind Texas "clean coal" project used federal funds for liquor, limousines and lobbying
The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general says that a now-bankrupt company behind a defunct West Texas "clean coal" power plant spent more than $1.3 million in federal stimulus funds on things like spa service, alcohol, first-class travel and limousine services. Full Story
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![U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry joins the Petra Nova carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery system partners — NRG Energy, JX Nippon Oil and Gas and Hilcorp Energy — for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the NRG/Petra Nova Power Plant in Thompsons on April 13, 2017.]()
Credit: Spike Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Amarillo-area nuclear weapons plant affected by cost overruns for federal program
Millions of dollars in promised savings at the Pantex Plant in the Panhandle and another nuclear weapons facility in Tennessee haven’t appeared. But the federal government has still awarded a contractor extra profits. Full Story
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![The east gate to the U.S. Department of Energy's Pantex Plant near Amarillo.]()
Credit: U.S. Department of Energy -
White House to withdraw controversial nominee to head Council on Environmental Quality
Kathleen Hartnett White, who once headed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, may no longer be in line to serve as a top White House environmental official. Full Story
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