The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued new regulatory standards for oil and gas wells that use hydraulic fracturing.
Energy
In-depth reporting on oil, gas, renewable power, and policies shaping the future of energy in Texas from The Texas Tribune.
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Energy
End of an Era for Panhandle Wind Program
As the Department of Agriculture focuses on biofuels, it is pulling out of wind and solar research. For the tiny Panhandle hamlet of Bushland, this means the end of a wind program that has operated for 35 years.
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Energy
Daughters, Long Custodians of the Alamo, See Their Duties Change
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas are gradually being relieved of sole responsibility for one of the Lone Star state’s most important icons after years of controversy over their management of the Alamo.
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Energy
For Some Communities, Sewage Has the Sweet Smell of Success
With Texas facing dramatic population growth and constraints on its water supplies, interest in the use of sewage — or “reclaimed water,” as those in the industry prefer to call it — to provide for a variety of water needs is growing.
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry’s political ads, Murphy’s latest database includes the governor’s political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson’s visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who’s asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O’Donnell’s latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul’s candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011.
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Criminal Justice
Thompson Feeds Her “Little Dogs” and Throws a Bone to Bigger Ones
Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s almost 40-year House tenure is defined by her defense of the underserved. But her legislative career is peppered with occasional paradoxes.
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Energy
Highland Lakes’ Levels Falling, LCRA Warns
At a press conference today, the Lower Colorado River Authority warned Austin and the rest of Central Texas to brace for continued drought. Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, the region’s major reservoirs, are currently 52 percent full, and dropping steadily.
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Energy
EPA Chief, Visiting Texas, Calls Pollution Rule “Not Onerous”
Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said during a visit to Austin on Wednesday that a pollution rule adopted this month that has infuriated many Texas officials will save lives and can be enacted “cheaply and efficiently.”
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Energy
As Drought Intensifies, Ranchers Sell Off Cattle
The third-worst drought in Texas history has made it hard for ranchers to find hay, and sometimes water, for their cattle. So they are selling them off — and finding eager buyers from rainier states like South Dakota.
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Energy
The Midday Brief: July 15, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Perry for president predictions percolate, Ratliff racing to replace a representative, and districts dealing with drought.