The latest energy news from The Texas Tribune.
A bill designed to protect western Hays County residents' water wells received a surprising, last-minute reprieve Thursday night — after a procedural error killed the legislation the day before. Full Story
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Federal officials are giving Texans more time to assess the damage to their property so they can file insurance claims after the deadly flooding that recently devastated some parts of the state. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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. Full Story
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A measure to ban the trade of shark fins in Texas is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after clearing the Texas Senate on Wednesday. The fins are collected by a brutal fishing process: cutting off a live shark's fin and leaving the shark to die. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Texas housing advocates are sounding the alarm about disaster recovery legislation they say would be critical for those affected by the kinds of storms that devastated some parts of the state this week. Full Story
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The state House on Monday voted to make sure Texans have the final say over who gets to connect to the Texas’ near-island of an electric grid. Full Story
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The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the often-tapped insurer of last resort for Gulf Coast property owners, looks poised to get a major overhaul. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation aiming to quicken regulators' pace of cranking out permits for major industrial projects by limiting public scrutiny. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The first Texas town to ban hydraulic fracturing is poised to be fracked again. Vantage Energy plans to resume fracking operations at eight gas wells in Denton on June 1, the Colorado-based operator has told city officials. Full Story
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In a session that's been kind to business interests, local control might be about to take another hit as the Senate tentatively approves legislation that could make it harder for counties to sue polluters. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Drought has abated to levels not seen since the summer of 2012, rains bring floods to state parks and an interview with Mike Gershon, water lawyer at Austin-based Lloyd Gosselink. Full Story
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Saying Texas needs to avoid a “patchwork of local regulations” that threaten oil and gas production, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed legislation that would pre-empt local efforts to regulate a wide variety of drilling-related activities. Full Story
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With the clock winding down on the legislative session, Tesla Motors, Uber and Lyft have little to show for the money they spent on high-profile lobbying. As deadlines loom, the bills they were steering appear to have run out of gas. Full Story
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City officials are crossing their fingers that one Republican proposal – what consumer advocates call the session’s most important bill for natural gas utility customers – will pick up steam before time runs out. Full Story
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Four days after the Senate approved landmark legislation that would pre-empt local control over a variety of oil and gas activities, the Texas House advanced another response to Denton's vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
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Texas appears poised to enact environmental legislation that could trigger an unintended consequence: more federal oversight. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: California's drought response could foreshadow future action in Texas, a new study raises new concerns about fracking and drinking water and an interview with Antonietta Quigg, an oceanography professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Full Story