Swaths of East Texas without power amid a heat wave after severe storms
Some Texans may have to wait a week for their power to be restored during a period of extreme heat and humidity. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/721ef8b97df07f2f8e617678bd27f938/CCR_9836.jpg)
-
![Longview High School - Earlier this year the 1970 federal segregation order was lifted for Longview ISD.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
“This is pretty devastating”: Three dead, more than 100 injured after tornado strikes Perryton
More than 100 people were injured in the tornado that hit the Panhandle town. Gov. Greg Abbott sent emergency crews to assist with recovery efforts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6039b1b2ba3d35caf827fe0557a1010e/2023-06-16T133648Z_53902813_MT1USATODAY20901271_RTRMADP_3_A-TORNADO-LEFT-BUILDINGS-SIGNIFICANTLY-DAMAGED-AND-HOMES.JPG)
![A tornado left buildings significantly damaged and homes leveled in Perryton, Texas Thursday evening, June 15, 2023. At least three people were confirmed dead and dozens others injured.]()
Credit: Alex Driggars/USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect -
State environmental agency proposes new rules for concrete plants in Texas
The TCEQ has proposed changes to concrete batch plant permits including lowering production limits, reducing dust coming from plants and setting minimum distance requirements from nearby communities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/63431d411d0b34eff142dc79f94d0514/TCEQ%20Complaint%20Gunter%20ST%20TT%2005.jpg)
![A concrete truck is washed at a concrete batch plant in Gunter, TX on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opts for eminent domain to save Fairfield Lake State Park
With only three days left on the state’s lease, the agency unanimously voted to condemn almost 5,000 acres in Freestone County in an effort to keep the park open to the public after developers purchased the property to build a gated community. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d4770a518ef4b9d9f6ce58be71f6a687/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2006.jpg)
![State Park Police Officer Kyle Ware makes the rounds at Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues EPA over federal smog control plan
The lawsuit claims the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority with its plan to reduce ozone emissions that cross state lines. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/01054246555fec02b69210766bc5d8e3/San%20Antonio%20Power%20Plant%20SP%20TT%2003.jpg)
![Smoke from a power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Determined to forge ahead with canal expansion, Army Corps unveils testing plan for contaminants in Matagorda Bay
The expansion project will enable the world’s largest class of tanker ships to dock at a new oil export terminal on the Gulf Coast. It also involves dredging a Superfund site. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e9734d8a3a335d4d42139927cedf266a/0607%20Matagorda%20Dredging%20DB%20TT%2004.JPG)
![Max Midstream's Seahawk oil terminal stands across Lavaca Bay from a jetty at Lighthouse Beach in Port Lavaca on Wednesday, June 7 2023.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Hurricane season for Texas’ Gulf Coast region is here. We have predictions, preparation tips and other advice.
Hurricane season officially started June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, the six-month period when most activity in the tropics generally occurs. Here are the common things typically overlooked or misunderstood during hurricane season. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ededbdaf4650051d653ad59a300a95b5/Hurricane%20Laura%20REUTERS%20TT%2005.jpg)
![Hundreds of Hurricane Laura evacuees wait in their cars as they line up for hotel vouchers at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Aug. 26, 2020. Texans from the pocket of the state expected to be hit hardest by Hurricane Laura waited hours at Circuit of Americas for shelter. The city of Austin said they would provide hotel vouchers for evacuees, however many hotels in the city have filled up forcing hundreds of people to drive from Austin to San Antonio or Ennis.]()
Credit: Bronte Wittpenn/American-Statesman via USA TODAY NETWORK -
Houston commits to cleaning up after illegal dumpers under agreement with Department of Justice
Houston agreed to tackle illegal dumping to settle a federal civil rights case. Neighbors alleged the city failed to respond quickly enough to dumping complaints in primarily Black and Latino areas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9223eb950bd8fef1a23d04b897988a96/Houston%20Dumping%20CHRON%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Trash piles up at a spot south of the Houston Gardens Park where it is regularly dumped on the road right next to a “No Dumping Allowed” sign, on Friday, July 22, 2022 in Houston.]()
Credit: Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle/Michael Wyke -
A billion-pound problem: How unchecked “excess emissions” ballooned in Texas
Over the last two decades, state regulators have allowed companies to release more than a billion pounds of excess pollution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5cda851c3097b0304c1d70fbfea4af6e/0606%20Excess%20Emmissions%20Grist%20Repub%20MF%20TT%2002.JPG)
![An overhead view of the ExxonMobil's Beaumont refinery on May 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/Grist -
Without access to water lines, Texas colonias residents are pulling water from the desert air
Thousands of low-income, Latino residents in Texas still do not have safe drinking water. In one El Paso colonia, some residents are using solar distillation to generate water from the air. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3cf03d347140b2f87a6ce2a03766ab7d/Hueco%20Tank%20Water602%20TT.jpg)
![Olga Thomas and other residents of Hueco Tanks rely on a private company to haul water to their neighborhood. Now she can count on her hydro panels for drinking water. May 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times -
Fairfield Lake State Park closes again as land sale negotiations fail
The state is now considering seizing the land to save the park after its purchase offer was rejected by a Dallas developer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dc713e85554f23fca08d5466c4563419/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2055.jpg)
![Coots dot Fairfield Lake while people cast their fishing line from a boat during sunset at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Abbott appointee resigns as chair of power grid regulator
Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e87e13e69213ff04cf976219b1f39e0b/1129%20PUC%20Presser%20AS%20TT%2005.jpeg)
![Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Peter Lake speaks at a press conference at the PUCT Headquarters in Austin, on Nov. 29, 2022. The conference spotlighted grid reliability and readiness as Texas approaches winter.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Climate proposals withered at the Texas Capitol this year
Proposals to improve energy efficiency failed. Bills that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Texas were ignored, and legislation to block cities from taking action on climate change passed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/87477bfea1eea4bce26b9343e9661ce3/Willacy%20Co%20Windfarm%20BL%20TT%2061.jpg)
![Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford on May 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers allocated more than $2 billion to increase the state’s water supply and reduce flooding
Texans across the state are affected by declining water supplies, water infrastructure disruptions and flooding in their communities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ef980ff9785253fd2055e6feec1e2b0a/West%20Texas%20Water%20JR%20TT%2039.jpg)
![Lake Alan Henry in Garza County on April. 27, 2023, in Garza County, about 65 miles southeast of Lubbock.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
After historic drought, lawmakers agree on billion-dollar plan to expand water supplies, fix infrastructure
Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/786f0896167eafde800ced80d2ddecfd/West%20Texas%20Water%20JR%20TT%2023.jpg)
![One of the city's water towers stands in Wolfforth, on April 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas parks officials want to buy Fairfield Lake State Park land after losing their lease
Texas parks officials said they are taking “all necessary steps” to purchase the land and save Fairfield Lake State Park from being turned into a luxury gated community and golf course. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/290d31a011d7572622eb1475ccf59492/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2024.jpg)
![Mary Navarro's children collect seashells and attempt to skip rocks from the bank of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Experts predict “near-normal” 2023 hurricane season of 12 to 17 named storms
One to four of those storms could be Category 3 or higher, meaning they will have wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5bea9e48ff4ac305dbd144fcae7432e6/HARVEYHOUSTON0258.jpg)
![Residents survey their flooded neighborhood near Buffalo Bayou and the Barker Reservoir dam Tuesday Aug, 29, 2017 in Houston, after Hurricane Harvey.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has gone big with renewable energy. Why can’t it go all the way?
The biggest barriers to making Texas’ power grid 100% renewable have little to do with politics. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f2a91e7f0af84df233b295d6e2507d6a/0410%20Mt%20Vernon%20Solar%20Tour%20EL%20TT%2023.jpg)
![Solar panels near Cunningham on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans want to shield oil and gas from federal climate regulations. Their bill would have little impact, experts say.
The bill would direct Texas agencies to not enforce federal regulations on the oil industry if there’s not a similar state regulation. But it likely wouldn’t apply to most federal environmental rules, experts and lawmakers said. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/666e0ba4c7d8239242e443063cbcabc0/Industrial%20Corpus%20MGO%20TT%2003.jpg)
![A house in the Hillcrest neighborhood in Corpus on Feb. 7, 2022. Houses in this neighborhood have co-existed with oil refineries like Flint Hills that spew air pollutants for decades.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Economic incentives clear Senate committee as negotiations continue
Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9159181317d93a00d049c792cfddf813/Turbine%20and%20Pumpjack%20MG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![A working pump jack sits near wind turbines on the Cline Shale near Maryneal, south of Sweetwater, on April 16, 2013.]()
Credit: Mark Graham for The Texas Tribune