The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General found that state and federal environmental regulators didn't start monitoring air quality soon enough during the monster storm, which brought a spike in hazardous emissions from industrial facilities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a887a83c06d428edfb9c118e4d78c5aa/Arkema_fire_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
After recommending Wednesday night that residents leave the area, Jefferson County officials have told residents it's safe to return home. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4929d8311cb99d0a311fb3affdcd2293/Port%20Neches%20Explosion%20REUTERS%20TT%2003.JPG)
An analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project found that 30 states have cut funding to environmental agencies over the past decade. In Texas, lawmakers slashed spending by more than a third between 2008 and 2018. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/28c4ec5834b15172128825ea6e204642/Pumpjacks_mist_JF_TT.jpg)
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt approved the settlement agreement between a scrappy environmental coalition and plastics giant Formosa. The settlement is the largest in U.S. history resulting from a citizen environmental suit. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8ceb6aabbdb46a71b0a891a7e3f898e2/05_Formosa_Plastic_Pollution_EW.jpg)
A subsidiary of Tulsa-based Williams Cos. is suing Texas' oil and gas regulatory agency after it approved a request from Dallas-based Exco Operating Co. to burn off natural gas from wells in South Texas while they were hooked up to Williams' pipeline system. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/eed3e86daa540cdcd1c3fdd5bf0fb528/poison_gas_sign_w_flare_MKC_TT.jpg)
The Southeast Texas chemical manufacturing plant, owned by Houston-based Texas Petroleum Chemical Group, has been fined multiple times by state and federal regulators for air pollution violations. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d72f6d117a7b065bb53da1fc3c9ba7f5/Port%20Neches%20Explosion%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.JPG)
Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded the new rules, saying they would make Texans safer. The Obama-era regulation was meant to improve chemical safety practices and prevent tragedies like the deadly 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in the tiny Central Texas town of West. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/18/West-TX-1.jpg)
A coalition of residents and indigenous and environmental groups has rallied against a trio of proposed terminals to export liquefied natural gas from the Port of Brownsville. Thursday's vote puts the terminals closer to final approval. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4d0c3fe2771127595e403be78af0bbf5/Ship_channel_FULL_TT.jpg)
Most Texas voters say climate change is happening, but there are significant partisan differences, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9e07f8e77a0a70580ea2820d3e1b6db2/Climate%20UT-TT.jpg)
Every year West Texas experiences more and more small earthquakes. The study by the University of Texas at Austin documented more than 7,000 starting in 2009. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/84fef901d978254bc926ed7dfbbc1553/pumpjack_w_oil_spill_MKC_TT.jpg)
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Kiah, Edgar, Emma and Cassi about a major Tribune investigation into coal clean-ups in Texas, state leaders’ role in a North Texas child custody case, a mass exodus from the Legislative Budget Board and the latest on the House speaker. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6732b660d0dae45b49b21ed5468e0a40/TribCast%2010%2030%2019%20MG.jpg)
Sulphur Springs leaders say they want Luminant — Texas’ largest electricity generator — to leave in place a 120-foot-tall mound of excavated dirt at the site of a shuttered coal mine so they can build an amphitheater. But the soil contains potentially dangerous materials, according to state regulators. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bf2363f96655c7abb7dbd0526227a9d0/lbs_sulfursprings_coal-6.jpg)
An investigation by The Texas Tribune and Grist shows that regulators in the Lone Star State have given a hand up to struggling coal companies as they face millions of dollars in mandated land restoration costs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f7cf87d060a79489c17e012e97db22cd/13%20Peeler%20Ranch%20San%20Miguel%20Coop%20Coal%20Ash%20MG%20TT.jpg)
Alcoa has put its shuttered Sandow Mine site on the market for $250 million, advertising it as a country paradise. Testing has found that groundwater under a landfill in the middle of the property is contaminated with toxic heavy metals. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d07d35a5effcdc2d0b706203cf18092b/12%20Rockdale%20Alcoa%20Mine%20MG%20TT.jpg)
The Sierra Blanca facility, which houses ICE detainees, shuts down its water supply at 11 p.m. daily to allow its on-site water tanks to replenish overnight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2d5c8b0e56013c1e542e1991aa03e0c1/West%20Texas%20Detention%20Facility%20TT.jpg)
Decades ago, lawmakers passed a law that was meant to fully fund Texas Parks and Wildlife, but the money never seemed to make it to the parks. Now they're asking voters to create a constitutional mandate that parks get more money. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6e95a6eda3ee344cac443b58c710852d/Bastrop%20State%20Park%20SS%20TT.jpg)
A judge had ruled that the company illegally dumped billions of plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and other waterways. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/133156b48f3e2849b07a2884f8be02ee/17_Formosa_Plastic_Pollution_EW.jpg)
Nearly 900 homes sustained major damage or were destroyed and uninsured in six affected counties, according to a preliminary assessment. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/149be0cb4b6816bdbb8712064c844078/05%20Imelda%20Flood%20Vidor%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
For people affected by Imelda to get FEMA aid, there have to be at least 800 flooded homes that weren't insured — and it could be weeks before Texans know if that threshold is met. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/708532936b7bfa97eaed61c9fa53263e/02%20Imelda%20Flood%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
While Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for Tropical Storm Imelda, it does not qualify individuals for financial assistance. That will have to come from FEMA. Full Story