How to help and get help in Texas as the winter storm causes power outages
Local organizations are providing warming shelters and resources, while nonprofits are asking for donations and volunteers. Full Story
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Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott, other top Texas officials call for resignations and investigations at electrical grid operator
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. Full Story
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![A utility structure is encased in ice on Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston. A rare snowfall blanketed the city as well as other parts of Texas.]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribune -
Photos: Texans face an ice storm that's left millions of people without power
An arctic blast barreled though Texas over Valentines Day weekend. Temperatures plummeted and ice and snow blanketed the entire state, leaving millions of people without electricity. Texas Tribune photographers fanned out across the state to record the historic cold snap. Here's what they saw. Full Story
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![An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in South Austin on Feb. 15, 2021. A major winter storm affected the entire state.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“Crisis upon crisis”: Industrial pollutants leave San Angelo residents without water as winter storm bears down
In some areas of the West Texas city, the state found concentrations of benzene, a known carcinogen, to be 35 times the safe limit. For other chemicals identified in the water, no concentration is considered safe. Full Story
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![Amber Campos moves a pallet of bottled water from a semi-trailer truck at the loading dock of the H-E-B grocery store at in San Angelo on Feb. 9, 2021.]()
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Texas House Democrats launch climate, environment caucus with one goal: Talk about climate change in the Legislature
The climate, environment and energy caucus aims to start a conversation in the Legislature on how Texas can prepare for climate change and take advantage of the transition to cleaner energy sources. Full Story
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![Jeremy Boutor removes personal items on an air mattress from his home in a neighborhood along Eldridge Parkway, flooded by waters released from Addicks Reservoir on Aug. 30, 2017, adding to from Hurricane Harvey.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
West Texas is on track to get even more nuclear waste — thanks to the federal government
A hazardous waste disposal company in Andrews County wants to handle more dangerous levels of nuclear waste. Federal agencies are pondering new rules that could allow more of it to come to Texas. Full Story
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![The entrance to the Waste Control Specialists site where radioactive and hazardous waste is being stored on Jan. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Oil and gas cleanups are on Biden’s agenda. Will Texas embrace it?
Some areas of Texas could benefit from Biden’s federal directive to accelerate cleanups of legacy oil and gas, mining and hazardous waste contamination. Full Story
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![Brackish water flows from an unplugged abandoned well outside Imperial in Pecos County — one of several in the area likely drilled for oil but later tapped for water.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prepares to test for lead in schools’ drinking water for the first time
An updated EPA rule requires drinking water in elementary schools be tested for lead and copper — a mandate that emerged from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Full Story
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![Water fountains at Northside ISD in San Antonio on Aug. 11, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Biden to place environmental justice at center of sweeping climate plan
The president has directed federal agencies to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution. Full Story
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Toxic substance or water supply? Lawmakers to weigh whether wastewater from oil fields could replenish the state's aquifers
A recent EPA decision will allow Texas to regulate water discharges from oil drilling operations. Some lawmakers see a future water supply for the state in the decision, while environmental groups — and some scientists — warn it could be risky. Full Story
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![Fracking water retention pond near Big Spring, Texas.]()
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Texas legislators eye tougher rules on chemical tanks to prevent explosions, spills during storms
A string of explosions involving little-regulated petroleum and chemical storage tanks have lawmakers and regulators talking about new rules as the Legislature prepares to convene this month. Full Story
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![An aerial photograph of the Stolthaven Oil Tanking facility along the Houston Ship Channel on Nov. 10, 2015. Shell's Deer Park facility can be seen in the upper right.]()
Credit: Edmund D. Fountain/ProPublica/Texas Tribune -
Environmental groups allege Texas rubber-stamped industrial plants' pollution — and that the EPA looked the other way
The groups are suing the EPA, saying it failed to address concerns that air permits issued to big industrial facilities didn’t meet federal standards. Full Story
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![A house stands in the Manchester neighborhood while refineries are visible in the background in Houston on Sept. 8, 2018.]()
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Texas' move to control coal ash pollution could shield industry from tougher rules under Biden-led EPA
Texas is close to finalizing a years-long effort to wrangle control of coal ash pollution from the EPA, a move that could, for a time, keep coal companies insulated from tougher rules expected from the next administration. Full Story
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![The Fayette Power Project plant is a coal-fired power plant located near La Grange, in Fayette County. Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
In the shadow of “Shingle Mountain,” southeast Dallas neighbors fight to dismantle a legacy of environmental racism
The residents of Choate Road in southeast Dallas have seen the rise of Shingle Mountain, a more than 70,000-ton toxic waste dump that was created by a recycling company. Now they hope the city of Dallas keeps its promise to tear the mountain down. Full Story
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![Cecilia Del Toro Garcia stands in her backyard, where Shingle Mountain is visible in the background. Her backyard, which was once a home for Garcia’s garden, is now barren due to the toxic waste dump.]()
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As Texas grows, communities face an unwelcome neighbor: concrete companies. Homeowners have few options.
Concrete companies say they’re just following the law. A handful of bills addressing the issue have been filed for the 2021 legislative session. Full Story
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![Easy Mix Concrete Services LLC in southwest Austin.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Oil companies snag Gulf of Mexico waters for offshore drilling in last bid before Biden transition
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to ban new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters. The Trump administration held its last Gulf of Mexico auction Wednesday. Full Story
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![An Offshore oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.]()
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Texas rolls out mobile pollution monitoring capabilities following failures during Hurricane Harvey
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has deployed technology to monitor emissions in real time, part of a $2.2 million effort to fix gaps in monitoring identified during Hurricane Harvey. Full Story
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![The Valero refinery, seen from across the ship channel in Houston on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Privately built border wall will fail, engineering report says
The report, set to be filed in federal court this week, confirms reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that found portions of the wall were in danger of overturning if not fixed due to extensive erosion just months after it was built. Full Story
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![The private border wall in South Texas on Aug. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
“In survival mode”: How some evacuees are still dealing with the dual challenge of a hurricane and a recession
Many Southeast Texans were already struggling through a pandemic and its parallel recession. Then came Hurricane Laura and officials' evacuation orders. Full Story
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![Susan Collier and Donald Bass Jr. in what they described as their outdoor dining room.]()
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Hurricane after hurricane wreaked havoc in Orange, Texas. Finally, residents say they got a break.
State and local leaders and thousands of residents surveyed the comparatively little damage with gratitude — and surprise. Full Story
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![Drainage foreman Robert Walker scans the side of his house for storm damage after Hurricane Laura blew through Orange.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune
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