SpaceX wants to turn its Texas launch site into a city
Citing all the work the company has put into the region, employees are requesting a special election in Cameron County to incorporate a city. Full Story
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![The Starbase letters at SpaceX's Boca Chica Brownsville facility on Oct. 20, 2021. The SpaceX facility has become a popular destination for tourists.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
A 2021 ruling found the oil giant committed more than 16,000 violations of the Clean Air Act at its Baytown refinery and plant. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire at Exxon Mobil's refining and chemical plant complex in Baytown on July 31, 2019.]()
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Attorney General Ken Paxton sues companies over “forever chemicals”
Paxton’s office has accused 3M and DuPont of misrepresenting or concealing the health risks of PFAS, which have been sold for decades for use in consumer products. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Recycled oilfield water could aid drought-stricken West Texas
Oilfield wastewater injected underground is causing earthquakes and blowouts. Now, pilot projects are exploring whether this water could be treated and used to grow crops. Full Story
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![Eric Selinger walks on his property near the Pecos River outside Imperial on Oct. 8. He previously farmed shrimp but now hopes that treated produced water could bring the land back to life.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
Texas’ push to meet soaring power demand with nuclear energy could spark uranium mining revival
State leaders want nuclear reactors to provide consistent, low-carbon power to large industrial facilities. But in South Texas, locals worry what a uranium mining boom could mean for their groundwater. Full Story
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![Misty Ortega lives adjacent to Uranium Energy Corporation's site for deep injection disposal of radioactive waste and has campaigned against the project in Goliad County.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Texas farmers say fertilizer made from sewage poisoned land
The fertilizer was promoted as an environmental win-win for years. An untold number of farmers and ranchers across Texas have spread it on their land. Full Story
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![Tony and Karen Coleman stand over a plot of land where they buried a deceased calf and bull on their property in Grandview, Texas on Aug. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas reaches $12.6 million settlement in connection with 2019 Port Neches chemical plant explosion
The settlement directs TCP Group to repair equipment and to pay $12.6 million in penalties for clean air violations at its Southeast Texas facility. Full Story
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![A process tower flies through the air after exploding at the TPC Group Petrochemical Plant, after an earlier massive explosion sparked a blaze at the plant in Port Neches on Nov. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Erwin Seba -
Despite back-to-back deals on water from Mexico, relief for South Texas farmers is far from certain
Texas agreed to take 120,000 acre-feet of water from Mexico this month, only after the U.S. and Mexico agreed to an updated treaty. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande river is seen where it meets with the San Juan River in Rio Grande City, Texas on Dec. 19, 2020.]()
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A West Texas lawmaker wants to redirect millions of tax dollars to plug abandoned wells, curb emissions
The proposal comes after the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency said it needs more money to plug wells that are in some instances erupting. Full Story
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![State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, listens to Jazmin Cazares as she testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety at the state capitol in Austin on June 23, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
The amendment to a 1944 treaty will help Mexico catch up with its water deliveries to the U.S. and might help Rio Grande Valley farmers devastated by low rainfall. Full Story
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![A resaca near agriculture fields near Los Fresnos, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The Rio Grande Valley is facing a drought, greatly affecting farmers in the region.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Trump’s promise to unravel Biden's climate policies could take years to fulfill
The president-elect has pledged to weaken air pollution regulations, reverse efforts to slow climate change and continue to boost oil and gas production. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump addresses supporters at a rally on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida.]()
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How zebra mussels and a Lake Texoma pump station spurred Texas to redraw its border with Oklahoma
The two states agreed to a land swap to ensure that a Dallas-area water district’s pump station lies wholly within Texas. Neither state gained in size from the small change. Full Story
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![A raw water pump station at Lake Texoma on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The station is bisected by the state line between Texas and Oklahoma, complicating the transportation of water to its intended destination in Texas.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sued New Mexico over Rio Grande water. Now the states are fighting the federal government.
After the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the federal government in the long-running water dispute, the states — which had finally worked out a water-sharing agreement — are back to the drawing board. Full Story
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![The Elephant Butte Reservoir near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico stores Rio Grande water to be distributed to irrigation districts in Southern New Mexico and far West Texas.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
State oil regulator requests $100 million to tackle West Texas well blowouts
Abandoned wells in the Permian Basin are increasingly erupting with briney, polluted water. The Texas Railroad Commission says it needs emergency money to respond. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick, then-Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune -
Terlingua’s tourist season has started. Here’s why and how you can help conserve water on your visit.
It’s unclear how much water resides underneath this booming West Texas tourist haven. That makes conservation critical. Full Story
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![South Brewster County residents and tourists congregate on the porch of the Terlingua Trading Company in December.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
A West Texas pecan farm fights to save its water supply as neighbors sell it to growing cities
A yearslong dispute over exporting water to growing Texas cities offers a hint at the battles to come as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles. Full Story
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![General Manager Zachary Swick poses at Belding Farms on Sep 23, 2024]()
Credit: Julian Mancha for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over listing freshwater mussels as endangered
The lawsuit claims the endangered designation for six mussel species is a misuse of environmental law that threatens Texas’ economy. Full Story
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![The Guadalupe Fatmucket is a rare mussel that is exclusively found in the Guadalupe River Basin.]()
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Mexico is offering water to South Texas. But there’s a catch farmers aren’t happy about.
Farmers say they want the water, but not if it goes against the allotment they need for the spring planting season. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande River divides the United States, right, and Mexico. Los Ebanos on Jan. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Laredo ends boil-water notice after 11 days, turns attention to illegal connections and old pipes
The South Texas city has hired a consulting firm for $200,000 to provide an interim director for the utility amid a restructuring of the department. Full Story
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![A water faucet drips on Feb. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
A West Texas well that exploded has been sealed, cleanup will take months
While residents smelled rotten eggs, the state’s environmental agency said it has not detected any air pollution. Full Story
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![An oil well blowout shooting a mixture of oil, water, and gas over 100 feet in the air west of Toyah on Oct. 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel courtesy of DeSmog