The latest energy news from The Texas Tribune.
UPDATED: Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman apologized on Friday for retweeting an image that showed a noose beside the names of Republican U.S. senators who had voted down a gun-control filibuster. Full Story
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The Texas House on Thursday voted to formally ask the U.S. State Department to apply pressure on the Mexican government to release water owed to Texas under the terms of a treaty signed in 1944. Full Story
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The full Texas Senate will consider a plan to spend about half of the projected $11.8 billion balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund for transportation and water projects, though Democrats plan to push for money for schools as well. Full Story
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Across the U.S., drillers are finding shale formations they hope could become the next big oil play for the American energy industry. But hype over emerging oil fields, like Texas' Cline Shale, has highlighted worries about drilling companies' intentions. Full Story
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In a letter to President Obama on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry urged the federal government to press Mexico to release more water to Texas under the terms of a 1944 treaty. Full Story
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In a state fabled for its everything-is-bigger mentality, the idea of conserving resources is taking hold. Texas political and business leaders have realized that no water equals no business. Full Story
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Batheja on a House budget without vouchers or Medicaid expansion, Aguilar on obstacles to a new power plant in El Paso, Permenter on deer breeder regulations, E. Smith’s interview with San Antonio’s Castro twins, Galbraith on proposals for new underground water reservoirs, Root finds holes in a UT regent's appointment files, M. Smith on a planned school rating system that defied recommendations, Murphy maps oil and gas disposal wells in Texas, Dehn on objections to a bigger Medicaid program and Hamilton on efforts to lure gun makers to Texas: The best of our best for the week of April 1-5, 2013. Full Story
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This slideshow shows various images from a far east El Paso community where a proposed power plant near a colonia has spurred some residents to mobilize in opposition. Full Story
Texas deer breeders say that excessive oversight from Texas Parks and Wildlife is constraining their industry. Supported by the Texas Deer Association, several bills would make major changes to deer breeding across the state. Full Story
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Amid continued worries about reservoir levels statewide, several Texas communities are exploring the concept of underground storage reservoirs, which do not lose water to evaporation or flood agricultural land. Full Story
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Should groundwater districts be allowed to require permits for drilling companies wanting to withdraw water for hydraulic fracturing? Oil companies oppose the idea, and on Tuesday, the Senate Natural Resources Committee debated the issue. Full Story
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Use our interactive map to see more than 7,000 sites across Texas where wastewater from oil and gas operations is being disposed of. Enter your ZIP code to find disposal wells near you. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel: The Legislature makes progress on key education and water bills; Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, is busted for barratry; and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst bares his partisan teeth. Full Story
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As the water-intensive practice of fracking continues to spread, the amount of wastewater being buried in disposal wells around Texas has skyrocketed. But the wells bring concerns about truck traffic and the possibility of groundwater contamination. Full Story
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In drilling regions like the Permian Basin, where the water needs of fracking have run up against a historic drought, drillers are increasingly turning to brackish groundwater previously thought too expensive to use. Full Story
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Most fracking operations use several million gallons of water. But with water increasingly scarce and costly around Texas, a few companies have begun using alternative liquids, such as propane. Experts say the technology still has far to go. Full Story
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A day before a major legislative hearing about the future of the Railroad Commission, interpersonal tensions between the three commissioners boiled over at an open meeting. The commissioners also voted to approve new rules to make recycling oilfield wastewater easier. Full Story
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The state's drought and the resulting need for conservation is starting to affect voters who are not usually aware of water shortages — people in the suburbs, with lush, thirsty lawns. Full Story
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Wichita Falls is the largest city in Texas in danger of running out of water. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the city of more than 100,000 could run out of water in less than six months. Full Story
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The three Texas Railroad Commissioners get their campaign coffers replenished by the industry they regulate, and lawmakers carrying the RRC Sunset legislation seem determined to make a change. The commissioners are equally determined to hold firm. Full Story
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