Environment

In 1993, the Legislature passed a law that said state parks and historic sites could receive all of the money generated by a tax on the sale of sporting goods. Since then, state lawmakers have given the parks department only about 40 percent of those collections.

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An analysis of government satellite data by the Environmental Defense Fund shows that the amount of natural gas that energy companies burned off in 2017 is twice as high as what they reported to state regulators.

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State Sen. Charles Perry, chairman of the Senate Committee on Water and Rural Affairs, has a package of bills that could create Texas' first statewide flood plan. He says coastal Texans aren't the only ones at risk of property loss.

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Analyzing groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the federal government, the Environmental Integrity Project found that groundwater under 16 Texas coal plants had unsafe levels of contaminants including arsenic. The pollution is linked to disposal pits for spent coal.

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Our series on the global implications of a new golden age for Permian Basin oil began with a very local story: How towns large and small are trying to deal with an explosion in drilling activity, population, traffic and other effects of the new boom.

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As American natural gas production soars, South Korea rushes to build tankers to move that energy to Asia’s top economies.

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The Texas Tribune produced several deep-dive investigations in 2018 that examined various issues that affect Texans across the state. Here's a look at some of those standout projects.

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A report by the Commission to Rebuild Texas says there is an urgent need to "future-proof" the Gulf Coast.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas General Land Office proposed a massive levee system for the Houston area in late October that would cost as much as $20 billion. It's part of a larger plan to protect the state's coastline from hurricane storm surge.

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The chief of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says the absence of the 54-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund is a "substantial loss" for state parks and natural areas.

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For Texas ports, the rise in oil and gas exports is a windfall. For some communities, it’s not so simple.

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As more oil and gas facilities come online in the Coastal Bend, the city and port of Corpus — and a handful of private companies — are planning to build a bevy of seawater desalination plants.

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A major scientific report released Friday by the Trump administration says Hurricane Harvey and other recent extreme weather events are a sign of things to come as the earth warms.

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Nearly 500 water utilities across the state tested positive for atrazine — a weed killer — which can lead to harmful health effects, according to a new report. The Environmental Working Group also found that utilities are testing water during times when the herbicide isn't being used as much — and that they may be lowballing the results.

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The Nature Conservancy plans to use settlement money from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to construct new oyster reefs in Galveston and Copano bays.

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The Bureau of Land Management is making it easier to produce oil and gas on federal acreage. In southeastern New Mexico, it can’t even keep up with what’s already happening.

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Rural Texans like the places where they live — the environment, the pace, the lifestyle — but they'd like to have access to better jobs, a new poll finds.

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After seven days of boiling their water, Austin Water customers are once again allowed to consume water directly from the tap.

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Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick — a Republican whose relationship with the industry she regulates has been questioned — is seeking re-election to a second term. She faces challenges from Democrat Roman McAllen and Libertarian Mike Wright.

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Find out where Texas midterm candidates stand on student debt, DACA, school gun violence and more.

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