Texas Promised to Track Oilfield Waste in Aquifers. It Didn't.
Texas regulators have allowed energy companies in recent years to inject toxic materials into at least a “handful” of underground sources of drinking water, records show. Full Story
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![Each day, dozens of trucks hook up to the Gulf Coast-run fracking fluid disposal well site near Gonzales, Texas.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
New in Trib+Water: A New Tool for Flood Forecasting
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: a new computer tool is designed to better forecast floods nationwide, waters highlighted during the Olympics are not alone in being polluted and questions surge after Louisiana floods. Full Story
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"Why Are You So Angry at the Railroad Commission?" Texas Lawmaker Asks Reviewers
State lawmakers on Monday considered a host of recommendations to reshape and rename the Texas Railroad Commission, a powerful agency that oversees a host of oil and gas activities but not railroads. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter speaks during a Sunset Advisory Commission hearing in Austin on Aug. 22, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
EPA: North Texas Quakes Likely Linked to Oil and Gas Drilling
Federal regulators believe “there is a significant possibility” that a recent surge in North Texas earthquakes is linked to oil and gas activity, even if state regulators won’t say so. Full Story
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![Kaylen Holmesly, a 7th grade resident of Azle, Texas, testifies before the Texas Railroad Commission and voiced her concern about an increased number of earthquakes around Eagle Mountain Lake on January 21st, 2014.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Laredo Plastic Bag Ban Tossed by Court
A state appeals court has struck down a plastic bag ban in Laredo in a high-profile fight over local control that could ultimately impact similar laws in other Texas cities. Full Story
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New in Trib+Water: Draining the Ogallala Aquifer
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: The Ogallala aquifer is being drained away, a coral reef off the Texas coast is the scene of a mass marine life die-off and an interview with Paul Choules of the Texas Desalination Association. Full Story
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Tiny Nordheim Sues State Over Drilling Waste Dump
A tiny South Texas town is continuing its fight against an oil and gas waste site half its size, even after regulators gave its developer the go-ahead. Residents of Nordheim, population 316, are suing the Texas Railroad Commission. Full Story
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![Paul Baumann's property, owned by his family for generations, is directly next to a proposed drilling waste dump in the small town of Nordheim. He, along with other concerned citizens, are protesting the dump as they fear it will pollute and ruin their way of life.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Toxic Landfill Plan Near Colonia Raises Racism Charges
Laredo residents are protesting a proposed landfill that they say will make their community a dumping ground for toxic waste from across the United States and Mexico. Full Story
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![Alejandro Obregon and his wife, Rocio, stand in front of their home near the site of a landfill proposed by developer C. Y. Benavides, about 20 miles east of Laredo. Their daughter, Abigail, is at right.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Challenges EPA's Crackdown on Oilfield Methane
Texas is again taking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to court, this time challenging new rules aimed at slashing methane emissions in the oil patch. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
NextEra Would Own Oncor in $18.4 Billion Deal
Florida-based NextEra Energy has unveiled an $18.4 billion deal to buy Oncor, Texas' largest electric transmission company. Full Story
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New in Trib+Water: Paved-Over Wetlands and Flooding
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Paving over wetlands around Houston raise risk of flooding, more worries about contaminated water sources and an interview with David Todd of the Conservation History Association of Texas. Full Story
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Texas Gets Boost in New Mexico Water Fight
Three years after Texas filed a complaint in the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that New Mexican farmers were illegally curbing the Rio Grande's flow into Texas, the justices appear closer to taking up the challenge. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande at the New Mexico-Texas border on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre -
New in Trib+Water: El Paso Water Buy Stirs Concern
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: An El Paso Water Utilities purchase of a ranch stirs concerns about water exports, algae blooms hint at systems out of balance across the globe and an interview with Greg Story of the National Weather Service West Gulf River Forecast Center. Full Story
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Sinkhole Warnings Don't Faze West Texas
A recent study has thrust the Wink Sinks — two breathtaking sinkholes in Winkler County which have long been objects of fear and fascination — into the national spotlight. Full Story
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![Wink Sink No. 2 formed in 2002 around a well that once supplied water for drillers on the the Hendrick Oilfield. The larger of Winkler County's two sinkholes, it measures 900 feet across at its widest point.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Regulator Wants to Make Shopping for Electricity Easier
Donna Nelson, who chairs the Texas Public Utility Commission, is trying to crack down on deceptive electricity providers and make it easier for Texans to shop for electricity. Full Story
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![Texas Public Utility Commissioner, Donna Nelson on Jan. 11, 2016]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Oil Patch Schools Facing Budget Nightmare
The oil bust is threatening to deal a serious financial blow to schools in oil-producing regions across the state — particularly if it lingers. Full Story
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![During the oil boom, Cuero voters approved a $76 million bond to construct a performing arts center and two elementary schools that are still under construction. The facilities are expected to open this fall.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
In Time for Shark Week, Fin Ban Takes Effect
A ban on the trade of shark fins in Texas goes into effect Friday — just in time for the popular string of Discovery Channel programming known as “Shark Week.” Full Story
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![A law banning the trade of shark fins goes into effect in Texas on Friday.]()
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Paxton Drops Challenge as Exxon Mobil Probe Shifts
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Alabama counterpart have dropped their legal bid to squelch a U.S. Virgin Islands investigation of Exxon Mobil after the U.S. territory agreed to with draw a subpoena for company documents. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a May 25, 2016, press conference.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
New in Trib+Water: Utilities and Water Conservation
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: New opportunities for water utilities to promote conservation, a new water quality study of the Pedernales River and an interview with Chelsea A.J. Hawkins of the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Full Story
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Laredo's Bag Ban Becomes Flashpoint in Debate Over Local Control
On Tuesday, lawyers for Laredo merchants argued the city's plastic bag ban conflicts with state law. The case has become a flashpoint in a roiling debate over the limits of local control, and the ruling could strike bag bans across Texas. Full Story
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