Gov. Rick Perry issued more than two dozen vetoes Friday, including a line-item veto that wipes out funding for the Travis County prosecutors who investigate government fraud and public corruption. He also vetoed a bill that would have had Texas law mirror gender wage protections in the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Energy
In-depth reporting on oil, gas, renewable power, and policies shaping the future of energy in Texas from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Troubled Waters
Rivers Tested by Drought, Population Growth
As the drought continues to blanket most of the state, demands for water are increasing from a growing population and industrial base. These pressures are squeezing Texas waterways, whose average streamflow remains well below normal.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Interactive: Texas Public Water Systems At Risk
Hotter days are back, and cities across Texas are again at risk of running out of water. Barnhart, a small community in West Texas, already ran out of water just this month. Use our redesigned interactive to track water systems at risk.
Posted in
Energy
Federal Legislation Targets Mexico Over Water Treaty
Saying that Mexico is violating the terms of a 1944 water treaty, federal lawmakers from Texas filed legislation Monday that they hope will compel the United States’ southern neighbor to meet its obligations.
Posted in
Energy
Focus on Border Aquifers Urged During Push for More Water From Mexico
A water war between the U.S. and Mexico dominates headlines amid a record drought. But some experts caution that a larger issue is boiling beneath the surface: the mining of unregulated transnational aquifers.
Posted in
Energy
Old Oilfield Equipment Raises Pollution Fears
Abandoned oilfield equipment is a common problem in Texas, but some fear that the recent surge in hydraulic fracturing will set off worrisome new encounters with old wells.
Posted in
Energy
Subdivision Plans May Threaten Bat Colony
Bracken Cave, north of the burgeoning San Antonio metropolitan area, has been the summer home to the world’s largest colony of bats for thousands of years. But conservationists worry a developer’s plan threatens the bats.
Posted in
Energy
West Texas Oilfield Town Runs Out of Water
Barnhart, a small community about 50 miles southwest of San Angelo in West Texas, has run out of water after the town’s only municipal water well failed. Officials say that the water demands of oil drilling are a factor.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Water Treaty Concerns Trigger Lobbying Efforts, Calls for Changes
The Rio Grande Regional Water Authority has hired a PR firm to help urge the federal government to mandate that Mexico deliver water to the U.S. under a decades-old treaty. Legal experts say such conflicts would continue if the treaty isn’t amended.
Posted in
Energy
Slideshow: Bracken Bat Cave
Every summer night, a swirling vortex of Mexican free-tailed bats emerges from Bracken Cave, the largest such colony in the world. It’s a sight the cave’s protectors say is threatened by a developer’s plans.