To Paxton's Cheers, Court Blocks EPA Clean Water Rule
A federal appeals court has blocked a major Obama administration clean water rule, handing a victory to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other states trying to drown it in court. Full Story
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Texas Sues Volkswagen Over Emissions Cheating
Following in the footsteps of Harris County and the city of Dallas, the state announced Thursday it is suing Volkswagen in connection with the German automaker's admitted use of software that allowed its vehicles to circumvent emissions limits. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton testifies on July 29, 2015, before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on an investigation into Planned Parenthood's practices.]()
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Report: Traffic Crashes Related to Energy Boom Cost Billions
A Texas A&M University study reveals just how closely petroleum activity appears to be linked to collisions on crowded, crumbling roads in rural South and West Texas. Full Story
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New in Trib+Water: A Big Water Ruling in West Texas
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A district judge sides with a groundwater conservation district in a ruling with a potentially large impact, a San Antonio water transfer project hits a snag and an interview with Richard Seline of AccelerateH2O. Full Story
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Denton Announces Renewable Energy Plan
Denton announced a lofty plan Tuesday that aims to make the North Texas city one of the cleanest energy providers in the state. Full Story
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In Final BP Deal, Texas to Get $800 Million for Gulf
Texas and four other Gulf Coast states have reached a final settlement with BP stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the U.S. Department of Justice and states announced Monday. Full Story
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![The Deepwater Horizon fire in 2010.]()
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Two Years, Few Answers in E. Coli Discovery
The discovery of dangerous bacteria in the drinking water of two working-class communities along the Rio Grande set off alarms among state regulators and investigators. Now, it appears that efforts to hold anyone responsible are sputtering to an inconclusive end. Full Story
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Reveal Radio: But Not a Drop to Drink
For decades, residents of El Cenizo and Rio Bravo along the Texas-Mexico border have struggled to obtain safe, reliable drinking water. A new treatment plant was supposed to help, but politics got in the way. Full Story
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EPA Tightens Ozone Limits — But Less Than Some Had Expected
Determined to cut down on smog that chokes the nation’s skies, the Obama administration finalized new limits on ozone. But the limits are weaker than some had hoped, suggesting that fierce critics like Texas had some effect on the outcome. Full Story
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Dallas Mogul Launches Bid for Giant Power Company
A group of investors led by a Dallas oilman and real estate mogul has launched a bid to take control of Oncor, the state’s largest electric transmission company, putting forth an unprecedented plan. Full Story
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Video: The Future of Environmental Policy
On 9/28, we talked about the future of environmental policy in Texas with the TCEQ's Toby Baker ; John Hall of the Environmental Defense Fund; state Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria; and Mike Wetz of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Full Story
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Video: Southeast Texans Share Their Rita Stories
During an event The Texas Tribune hosted Tuesday as part of our "Road From Rita" series, audience members at Lamar University shared stories about the difficulties of evacuating ahead of Rita in 2005. Hear them describe what they went through. Full Story
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Analysis: When "We" Doesn't Include You
When you read a letter from Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter, there is a chance he wrote it. And there is a chance it was written by someone in the oil and gas industry he's supposed to be regulating. Full Story
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New in Trib+Water: Statewide Water Grid Draws Critic
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: A proposed statewide water grid is opposed by the Sierra Club, a report finds fracking activity in wetlands preserves and an interview with Navid Saleh of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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Pipeline Company Ghost-Wrote Texas Regulator's Letter
Weighing in on a case before the FCC, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter signed a letter authored by a pipeline company. Critics say the move illustrates a coziness with the industries he regulates. Full Story
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![Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter.]()
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Halliburton to Pay $18.3 Million in Back Oilfield Wages
Halliburton, the Houston-based oilfield service giant, has agreed to pay nearly $18.3 million in back overtime wages to more than 1,000 U.S. employees, following a federal investigation. Full Story
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Texas Drops Suit Over Dead Denton Fracking Ban
The Texas General Land Office has dropped its lawsuit against the city’s obliterated ban on hydraulic fracturing and moratorium on new gas drilling, officially resolving all litigation over the North Texas city's vote, which made international headlines. Full Story
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For Those Fleeing, a Plan to Keep Them Fueled
Many Texans trying to flee Hurricane Rita ran out of gas. The next time a hurricane forces Gulf Coast residents to flee, state officials say such a nightmarish scenario is less likely to occur. This is part of our "Road From Rita" series, a collaboration with the Beaumont Enterprise. Full Story
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![Slovek Lomoc filled up storage tanks at a gas station at a Beaumont Walmart a couple of days after Hurricane Rita made landfall on Sept. 24, 2005. Hundreds of evacuees ran out of gas while using overcrowded roads to escape. Many gas stations ran out of fuel.]()
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Tiny Nordheim Proclaims Small Victory in Oilfield Waste Vote
With the eyes of Nordheim cast upon them, state regulators have granted new life — if just a breath — to the tiny South Texas town’s effort to thwart an oil and gas waste site that locals argue threatens their way of life. Full Story
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![Paul Baumann's property, owned by his family for generations, is directly next to a proposed drilling waste dump in the small town of Nordheim. He, along with other concerned citizens, are protesting the dump as they fear it will pollute and ruin their way of life.]()
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Texas, Petroleum Industry Agree to Dismiss Lawsuits Against Denton
Now that Denton has repealed its ban on hydraulic fracturing and its ban on gas drilling has expired, lawyers for the oil and gas industry have agreed to drop their lawsuit against the city. Full Story
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![Vantage Energy on June 1, 2015 resumed hydraulic operations on a pad site on the western outskirts of Denton. It was the first company to frack within city limits after the Texas Legislature overturned the Denton’s ban on the process.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill