Texas House passes bill to spend more than $3 billion to help pay for flood control projects
With the damage from Hurricane Harvey in mind, lawmakers approved two bills aimed at better preparing the state for natural disasters. Full Story
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![Damage from Hurricane Harvey near the gulf coast on August 27, 2017.]()
Credit: Tomas Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas farmers could begin growing hemp under legislation gaining steam in both chambers
House Bill 1325 would legalize hemp and hemp-derived extracts like CBD oil as long as they contain no more than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive element in marijuana known as THC. Full Story
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![State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, on the Senate floor on May 15, 2019.]()
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Judge orders alleged polluter of Skull Creek to stop accepting, disposing of waste
After a day of testimony, lawyers from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, the Lower Colorado River Authority, and Inland Environmental and Remediation agreed that the company will begin cleaning up its Altair site. Full Story
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![Downstream from Inland Environmental & Remediation, Inc., contaminated water empties from Skull Creek into the Colorado River south of Columbus, Texas, on April 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Once again, bills to study the impacts of climate change in Texas have stalled
Democratic state lawmakers filed multiple bills this year to require the state to prepare for a warming planet. None of them have been scheduled for public hearings. Full Story
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![Record rainfall in Llano and Burnet counties in the Texas Hill Country cause major flooding in Marble Falls on Oct. 16, 2018.]()
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Renewable energy proponents brace for last-minute attack on tax breaks for wind and solar
For the past year, an influential conservative think tank has lobbied to make wind and solar projects ineligible for a popular local property tax abatement program. A measure to do that has stalled, but renewable advocates are watching for last-minute changes to other legislation. Full Story
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![Wind farm in Harrold, Texas.]()
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As demand for recyclables plummets abroad, Texas lawmakers back plan to boost market at home
A bill designed to encourage Texas manufacturers to use more recyclable materials won final approval Monday. It comes as China and India have implemented policies restricting the import of plastics and other materials. Full Story
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![A Greenstar Recycling Center employee removes plastic bags from a sort line in Garland, Texas.]()
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In wake of Houston-area chemical fires, Texas Senate panel weighs input on stronger storage tank regulations
The Senate Committee on Water and Rural Affairs took public testimony on a bill that would strengthen state oversight of above-ground tanks that hold hazardous hydrocarbons. 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.]()
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Beto O'Rourke unveils plan to fight climate change
In the first major policy rollout of his presidential campaign, O'Rourke focuses on one of the most dominant issues in his party. Full Story
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![Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a rally in El Paso on March 30, 2019, his first in Texas since announcing his bid on March 13.]()
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Texas House votes to legalize the farming of industrial hemp
Hemp is a cousin of the marijuana plant, but it contains low levels of the psychoactive element in marijuana known as THC. The House's bill will now go to the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, on the House floor on April 23, 2019.]()
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Point of Order: Crude awakening
In the latest episode of our podcast about the 86th Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Rep. Chris Paddie, who chairs the House Energy Resources Committee, about the impact of oil and gas activity on the Texas economy, the downside of the upside, and what the future holds. Full Story
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Hurricane Harvey destroyed every apartment in Rockport. Some residents are looking to state lawmakers for help.
This is the first legislative session since the storm devastated the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017. Several measures are afoot to aid in recovery and mitigate the effects of future disasters. Full Story
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Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
West unveils memorial six years after fertilizer plant explosion killed 15
The memorial is about 100 yards away from where the fertilizer plant once stood and has a reflecting pool surrounded by 15 plaques — one for each person who died. Full Story
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![A vehicle near the remains of a fertilizer plant burning after an explosion in West, Texas, near Waco.]()
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A creek flowing to the Colorado River turned black. Now the state has sued the alleged polluter.
Residents near Altair began complaining that Skull Creek reeked of chemicals. The Texas attorney general's office says a local company is to blame. Full Story
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![Contaminated black water flows through Skull Creek and crosses over a country road downstream from Inland Environmental & Remediation, Inc., near Columbus, Texas, on April 15, 2019.]()
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Trump issues executive orders seeking to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects
Oil and gas companies have complained that protests and court cases have slowed construction of pipelines needed as U.S. fossil fuel production expands. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump signs an executive order on energy and infrastructure during a campaign event at the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby on April 10, 2019.]()
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Why has Texas suddenly decided to immediately sue industrial polluters?
In recent weeks, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has swiftly sued two companies over major fires at their Houston-area plants. It's a dramatic departure from the state's usual approach to environmental enforcement. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston on March 18, 2019.]()
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Texas environmental chief: There's still a fire risk at Deer Park facility
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Executive Director Toby Baker told a special panel of state senators on Thursday that first responders are still actively managing an incident at a Houston-area petrochemical facility that began last month. Full Story
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Environmentalists take petrochemical giant Formosa to court over plastics pollution
For years, Diane Wilson has tried to get Formosa Plastics Corp. to stop discharging plastic pellets from its sprawling petrochemical complex on the Central Texas coast. This week, she's getting her day in court. Full Story
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![Diane Wilson organizes bags of that contain plastic pellet samples she's collected over the past three years. Seadrift, Texas. March 20, 2019.]()
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Texas sues company behind Deer Park terminal fire
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an environmental lawsuit against Intercontinental Terminals late Friday seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages. Full Story
![Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston on March 18, 2019.]()
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Shelter-in-place order lifted in Deer Park after benzene levels decline
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said that at the maximum levels detected, the benzene levels could cause headaches and nausea, but no long-term effects. State Rep. Briscoe Cain has called for an investigation into the incident. Full Story
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Laredo officials want to use border wall money to fund a riverfront project
A decade ago, Laredo leaders hatched an idea for a riverfront development aimed at luring more people to downtown. Now they're trying to get the federal government to make it part of President Donald Trump's border wall. Full Story
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Credit: Ulysses Romero for The Texas Tribune
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