The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Austin looks at repurposing a lake to expand its water supply, the U.S. House acts to stop an EPA water rule and an interview with Sharlene Leurig of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Program at Ceres. Full Story
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Rick Perry's attorneys were back on Monday with a new filing in which they pursue a different path to quash the felony indictments handed down against the governor last month while relying on many of the same arguments as before. Full Story
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Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter on Monday became the second of the state's three oil and gas regulators to raise concerns that Russia is waging a misinformation campaign against hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. Full Story
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Texas now has 104 natural gas fueling stations, according to a map released Monday by the Railroad Commission of Texas. That’s nearly 50 more than Texas had last year. Meanwhile, 67 more stations are set to open in 2015. Full Story
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A tainted water well in North Texas has already stirred national debate about the impacts of oil and gas production. Now it stars in a free speech dispute that has landed in the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
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A U.S. district judge in New Orleans found BP to be "grossly negligent" in the 2010 Gulf oil spill, opening the door to potentially $18 billion in fines that could raise doubts about the oil company's future. Full Story
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Less than eight months after breaking ground, the company constructing one of the state’s largest solar plants says it has begun harnessing West Texas’ intense rays. Full Story
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After a drawn-out competition, Texas has lost out on Tesla Motors' $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant, according to a news report. CNBC reports that the upscale electric carmaker had chosen the Silver State to be home to its “gigafactory.” Full Story
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In Central Texas, two groundwater districts have vastly different strategies on how to allow prospective water marketers to pump from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. Full Story
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Check out Bypassed by the Miracle, our seven-part series on the people and communities that have missed out on Texas' economic success or are finding that it comes at a price. Full Story
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Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott on Tuesday reaffirmed the watchdog role of the Public Integrity Unit while also defending his agency's investigation of a Houston voter registration group in 2010. Full Story
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Texas should have more than enough electricity to keep its lights on this fall and winter, the operator of the grid covering most of the state says. Full Story
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Greg Abbott, the Republican nominee for governor, will spend his first day on the campaign trail after Labor Day unveiling a proposal to make it easier for students to get college credit for taking certain types of online courses. Full Story
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In his first in-depth interview on environmental policy, land commissioner hopeful George P. Bush's views on global warming and renewable energy set him apart from the Tea Party conservatives he has aligned himself with. Full Story
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Here's a transcript — edited for length and clarity — of The Texas Tribune's in-depth interview with land commissioner candidate George P. Bush, in which he lays out his positions on environmental policy. Full Story
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Plastic bag bans in Texas cities such as Austin and Laredo may be legally sound, according to an opinion issued by Attorney General Greg Abbott's office handed down on Friday afternoon — that is, as long as they didn't ban bags for the purposes of "solid waste management." Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: lots of talk about proposed water pipeline deal in San Antonio, extra monitoring of Comal Springs and an interview with Amy Hardberger, a water law professor at St. Mary's School of Law. Full Story
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis released her full 2013 tax return on Tuesday, changing course after previously not allowing the document to be shared or published in full. Full Story
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A major uptick in earthquakes in Texas over the last several years has been linked to the state’s oil and gas boom. A Texas House subcommittee on seismic activity met on Monday to hear what state regulators are doing about it. Full Story
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In West Texas, oil and gas development is surging, but it's also fueling a huge demand for electricity that the current infrastructure struggles to meet. The result? A congested grid and higher electricity bills for consumers. Full Story
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